We chat with author Susan Mallery about For The Love of Summer, which is an unforgettable beach read about the unbreakable bond between mothers and daughters and finding friendship with the unlikeliest person.
Hi, Susan! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi, my name is Susan, and I’m addicted to books. 😊 Both reading them and writing them, it turns out. What I’m really interested in are relationships—families, friendships, dating, marriage, divorce. My books are feel-good reads about real people who will feel as real to you as people you know, and the way they overcome personal obstacles to reach a place of happiness.
Three other things I love:
- Animals, especially the ones who live with me—a ragdoll cat named Alex who is convinced he’s royalty (which may be my fault), and a small poodle named Kelli who is a total Daddy’s girl.
- Travel, especially cruises. I love being traveling with my husband to fascinating historic places and landmarks around the world, and not having to live out of a suitcase. On sea days, I often write so that I can keep my head and heart in the story I’m working on.
- Wine, especially red. ‘nough said.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
Two different answers—I’ve loved stories for as long as I can remember. When I was little, my dad took me to the library every Saturday. I may have read every book in the children’s section, many of them more than once.
I didn’t discover my love for writing until I was in college. I was studying to be an accountant, taking a full course load of for-credit classes, when I saw an ad for an adult ed not-for-credit class called “How to Write a Romance Novel.” I felt such a strong ping in my heart. I desperately wanted to take that class, but I was so busy already with school, and I was a newlywed. Next semester, same thing, but I realized that the person teaching that class might not teach it forever, and if I really wanted to take it, I had to just do it.
By week six of that eight-week class, I knew that I had found my calling.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: The Little Prince
- The one that made you want to become an author: I can’t think of a single book that made me want to be an author. To be honest, before I took that class, being an author really didn’t occur to me. It didn’t feel like something that regular people like me could do.
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Oh, so many. I’ll go with Mackenzie’s Mountain by Linda Howard. It stuck with me so strongly that I even made it one of the book club books in The Summer Book Club.
Your latest novel, For the Love of Summer, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Woman befriends husband’s new wife. (It’s so much more than that—five words is hard!)
What can readers expect?
For the Love of Summer is an emotional story about two very different women who have one thing in common: they married the same man, years apart. Erica and Peter divorced four years before the book starts. Erica’s a strong, savvy woman, but she was pretty devastated by the divorce, which took her by surprise. Now she feels like she might be losing her teen daughter Summer, too. Summer seems to prefer hanging out with her dad, his pregnant wife Allison, and their toddler son.
Then Peter is arrested, and his bank accounts are frozen, leaving Allison in dire straits. Summer begs her mom to help her stepmom.
This is the story of friendship with the unlikeliest person. It’s about two good women—wonderful mothers with tremendous heart for their children—and how they navigate one of the most challenging times of their lives. It’s uplifting and heartfelt, and early reviews have been so wonderful.
Where did the inspiration for For the Love of Summer come from?
I genuinely don’t know—seriously. This was one of those stories when the glimmer of an idea popped into my brain seemingly out of nowhere. I was going about my day, when I suddenly thought, “What if a woman had to let her ex-husband’s replacement wife move into her house?” That was the spark, and then bit by bit, I built the story.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I adore Erica. She’s one of those women who seems like she has everything together. She intimidates a lot of other women (unintentionally) because she seems so perfect. She’s a savvy business owner—started her own salon and built it into a chain of three high-end salons and spas. She’s fashionable and fit and as sharp as they come. But behind that façade of perfection, there’s a hidden vulnerability. She’s been hurt, and she’s afraid of being hurt again. She was a joy to write.
What’s next for you?
Next up will be my favorite Christmas book that I’ve ever written—One Big Happy Family comes out in October. Julie, who owns a tow truck company, is secretly kind of thrilled when her adult kids say they have other plans for Christmas, because it means she can cozy up over the holidays with her new secret boyfriend, a younger man. Then her kids change their minds, and Julie loves her kids, so she agrees to host Christmas at the family cabin. It’s complicated and funny and full of hard-won holiday cheer.
Lastly, what books have you enjoyed so far this year and are there any that you can’t wait to get your hands on?
Christina Dodd gave me an early copy of her new book, A Daughter of Fair Verona, and it’s fabulous. Imagine if Romeo & Juliet didn’t die that day, then went on to have a hot-headed daughter named Rosie who rejected all suitors even at the ripe old age of 20. It’s fun and creative.
I’m really looking forward to Katherine Center’s new book, The Rom-Commers, about a screenwriter who is grumpy that a perky script doctor has been brought in to fix the rom-com he wrote. Sounds like a super fun read!
