Suzanne Woods Fisher ~ I Love To Write!

                      

                               Suzanne Fisher

                                                   

WV STITCHER said of Suzanne Woods Fisher, “Fisher writes her characters like they are old friends, making me connect with them, hoping that their lives will work out for the best, and when I come to the end of a story, I find myself missing them, and hoping to see them again in another story.”

Suzanne Woods Fisher is an award-winning, bestselling author of more than 40 books, including The Sweet Life, The Moonlight School, and A Season on the Wind, as well as the Three Sisters Island, Nantucket Legacy, Amish Beginnings, The Bishop's Family, The Deacon's Family, and The Inn at Eagle Hill series. She is also the author of several nonfiction books about the Amish, including Amish Peace and Amish Proverbs. She lives in California.

The first book she wrote for Revell was non-fiction, Amish Peace for a Complicated World. It became a foundational book for her to write credibly about the Old Order Amish, to look beyond the bonnets, buggies and beards. That book became a ECPA Book of the Year finalist.

Her book, A Season on the Wind, released in October of 2021. With this book she welcomes her readers to the Amish community at Stoney Ridge in this engaging story of discovering just who the rare birds are in life.

Ben Zook had only two loves in his life: books and birds. In a stroke of good fortune, he'd stumbled onto a way to cobble together those two loves into a career, writing books about rare birds. He was as free as a bird--until a chase for a rare White-winged Tern takes him to the one place on earth he planned to never return: his Amish home in Stoney Ridge.

Desperate for photographs of the elusive tern, Ben hires a local field guide, Micah Weaver, and boards at Micah's farm, planning to "bag the bird" and leave Stoney Ridge before anyone recognizes him. But he neglected to plan for Micah's sister, Penny.

One long-ago summer, Penny had introduced Ben to birding, even sharing with him a hidden eagle aerie. That was when she knew true love. She'd always hoped he would come back to Stoney Ridge. Back to his Amish roots. Back to her. The only problem? Ben has absolutely no memory of Penny.

Here are a few of the praises she has received:

“Fisher has taken her research to the next level and brings to life the forgotten beginning of Quakers on Nantucket Island.” RT 4 1/2 STAR TOP PICK


“It’s so well written, and even though it’s labeled as a romance, it’s probably one of the most “real” fiction books that I’ve read.” RENEE, BLACK ‘N GOLD GIRL’S BOOK SPOT ON THE LESSON


“Fisher’s superb command of her historical setting is particularly commendable as she launches her Nantucket Legacy series.” BOOKLIST


“Fisher’s writing brings that Amish sense of peace into your own world. The Choice brings an entirely new perspective to the Amish way of life. You will love it!” KRISTIN BILLERBECK ON THE CHOICE

In May of 2022, Fisher's new book, The Sweet Life, Book #1 of her new series, Cape Cod Creamery releases. She welcomes her readers to a summer of sweet surprises on Cape Cod--a place where dreams just might come true.

You won't want to miss this exciting new story!

Learn more at www.suzannewoodsfisher.com and follow Suzanne on  Facebook@SuzanneWoodsFisherAuthor and Twitter @suzannewfisher

Photo Credit: © Dan Davis Photography

Things I Learned the Hard Way So You Don’t Have To

Suzanne Woods Fisher

Small ponds are a great place to start. I volunteered a lot of time as a writer before I ever became published. One of my first writing assignments was to write a newsletter for a diaper service and, in exchange, I received free diapers. Yes, diapers. I had so much to learn. For example, one time, someone mentioned casually that my verb tenses weren’t lining up. She was right! (They’ve lined up ever since.)

Say yes to as many writing opportunities as you can. And seek out feedback on your work, guidance, suggestions, editing. It’ll reap endless benefits.


Rejection isn’t so bad, once you get used to it. Toughen up. Learning how to take criticism is part of the author gig. When my first book came out, it was reviewed by Publisher’s Weekly (which was good) and promptly skewered (which was bad). I thought my writing career was over, before it even began.

Here’s what I learned from that experience:

-Critics have a bias.

-Critics can be wrong. That book, The Choice, has sold over 200,000 copies.


You only get one chance to debut. Don’t blow it. Not long ago, I was asked to judge first pages at a Masters’ Writing Class. In about twenty-five entries, most had so many grammatical errors and typos in those first pages that they interfered with reading the story. So unnecessary! So fixable.


Oy yeh! I should have majored in marketing. Marketing and promotion are half my job. Literally, half. They are entirely different skill sets, yet just as important as the skills of writing a good book

The Twenty Mile March. You’re probably familiar with the story of the 1911 teams that set out to reach the South Pole. They were led by two experienced explorers: Norwegian named Roald Amundsen and Englishman named Robert Falcott Scott.

Both teams departed within days of each other. Amundsen committed to traveling no more than 20 miles per day regardless of conditions. Scott stopped when conditions were bad and made up for lost time when the weather improved.

Stop for a moment. Which team do you see yourself on? Most writers would jump to Scott’s team, preferring to wait until inspiration strikes before they finish that book.

Tragically, Scott and every member of his team perished, only eleven miles from a cache of food. Amundsen and his team made it to the South Pole first, and returned back again.

The 20 Mile March is a great illustration of how consistent, disciplined action wins out over waiting for conditions to be right—because they never will be. I have written three books a year for over a decade by hitting a word count every single day but Sunday. It works!

Set reasonable writing goals for yourself. And then stick to your plan. You’ll be amazed at what can happen when you do.

Carol award winner Suzanne Woods Fisher writes stories that take you to places you’ve never visited—one with characters that seem like old friends. But most of all, her books give you something to think about long after you’ve finished reading it. With over one million copies of her books sold worldwide, Suzanne is the best-selling author of more than thirty books, ranging from non-fiction books, to children’s books, to novels. She lives with her very big family in northern California.

www.suzannewoodsfisher.com