Find more information about Susannah Sandlin (who also writes as Suzanne Johnson) at her website and connect with her online at Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
Welcome, Susannah! I’m addicted to your new suspense-filled Wilds
of the Bayou series. What was your inspiration for these books?
Thank you! I fell in love with South Louisiana even before I
moved there. The cultural gumbo, the music, the heritage, the language, the
wildlife, and the terrain are unique. I love New Orleans, of course, but it’s
in the rural parishes of South Louisiana where one finds the real blend of
Native American, Acadian, French, Southern, and West Indies cultures. That’s
why I wanted to set the Wilds of the Bayou series in the parishes west of New
Orleans.
The second book in
the series, Black Diamond releases October 18 and, as with Wild Man’s Curse, had me
riveted to the story from beginning to end. What should readers expect from
this book?
Black Diamond is
a romance between two very damaged people who have to learn how to trust again
and accept themselves. It’s a suspense story about people who make very bad
choices in the face of desperation, and, yes, it has alligators in it—there are
more than 1.5 million in Louisiana, even more than in Florida. I love
alligators. (It’s not normal, I know. I even collect them. Well, not real
ones…)
I was in Cole’s and
Jena’s cheering section from the moment they met. Will we see more of them in
future books in this series?
Absolutely! Because Cole and Jena have a lot of painful
history to overcome, I didn’t want to push their romance as quickly as I
normally might. So they will get some catch-up time in a future book. I always
like to keep readers up to date on previous series characters.
You have a terrific
secondary cast of characters in these books. I haven’t seen nearly enough of
Jena’s temporary partner, Mac or senior agent, Paul Billiot. Do you have
stories planned for either – or both – of these characters?
I have books planned for both Mac and Paul. Originally, I
had planned for the next book to be Mac’s, but Paul keeps nagging me. He has a
story and keeps whispering bits of it to me when I’m not expecting it. (Yes,
stuff like that really happens—LOL.) So the next Wilds of the Bayou book will
see our stern, obsessively neat Native American agent Paul Billiot finally meet
his romantic match.
You excel at creating
a sense of place in these books as well as creating characters who are complex
and authentic – from gator hunters to game wardens to drug addicts to PTSD
recluses. What kind of research was required for this series?
I’m an obsessive researcher. I came up with the idea of
building a series around wildlife agents (i.e., game wardens) after Hurricane
Katrina. I was living in New Orleans at the time, and LDWF agents were first on
the scene, plucking people out of the floodwaters. I didn’t know until then
that wildlife enforcement agents are the state’s first responders in search and
rescue, but it makes sense because Louisiana has so many waterways, swamps, and
marshes. So I read biographies of game wardens, learned about their training
and structure, talked to law enforcement officers from South Louisiana,
subscribed to a survivalist magazine to see how far I could take my hero
off-grid, visited some South Louisiana marshes….I want my readers to feel as if
they’re really in the story! And, of course, I spent much of my adult life on
that stretch of I-10 between Houston and New Orleans.
Your descriptions of
the gators in this book remind me of why I don’t spend a lot of time in
gator-infested waters. Have you traveled the waterways of the bayous? Ever had
an up close and personal encounter with a gator?
I find alligators fascinating! They have been around for
more than 180 million years, making them contemporaries of dinosaurs…except
they’re still here. (When we’re all gone, I’m convinced only cockroaches and
alligators will survive.) I do have a healthy respect for them, however, so I
have only traveled the bayous as a tourist. My up-close experience with
alligators has come through friends—there are two herpetologists in my local
writing group, both of whom have worked extensively with alligators—one even
has the scars to prove it! So they’re my go-to sources for things like how long
it might take a gator to digest something and how fast gators can move in the
cold waters of early spring. I did stump them by asking how an alligator might
react to a hallucinogenic drug, though.
Your bio says you’re
a longtime resident of New Orleans. What are your three favorite things about
living in southern Louisiana?
I had to move away from NOLA for family reasons a few years
ago, but I’m pondering my return. I love the eccentricity of the place—people
accept others for who they are, and every time you leave the house you can’t
predict who or what you might see. I love the architecture, the history, and
the marshes and swamps. The sound of ships’ horns echoing on the river. And did
I mention the food? South Louisiana is the home of my heart, and always will be,
no matter where I live.
What’s next? Will
there be more books in 2017?
Definitely! I’d love to see both Paul and Mac’s books in the
Wilds of the Bayou series out next year, as well as beginning a new suspense
series I’m working on. I’ll be transitioning out of the day job next spring so
I’ll be able to devote myself wholly to writing.
Thank you for
visiting with me, Susannah! Would you like to ask our readers a question?
Thanks so much for having me! Here’s something I always want
to ask readers.
Do you like a “slow burn” in your romantic suspense, or would you prefer to see the hero and heroine make their commitment early on?
Do you like a “slow burn” in your romantic suspense, or would you prefer to see the hero and heroine make their commitment early on?
Wild Man's Curse
Wilds of the Bayou - Book 1
On sale for Kindle @ $1.99
Read FREE on Amazon Prime
Wilds of the Bayou - Book 1
On sale for Kindle @ $1.99
Read FREE on Amazon Prime
The bones said death was comin’, and the bones never lied.
While on an early morning patrol in the swamps of Whiskey Bayou, Louisiana wildlife agent Gentry Broussard spots a man leaving the home of elderly Eva Savoie—a man who bears a startling resemblance to his brother, whom Gentry thought he had killed during a drug raid three years earlier. Shaken, the agent enters Eva’s cabin and makes a bloody discovery: the old woman has been brutally murdered.
With no jurisdiction over the case, he’s forced to leave the investigation to the local sheriff, until Eva’s beautiful heir, Celestine, receives a series of gruesome threats. As Gentry’s involvement deepens and more victims turn up, can he untangle the secrets behind Eva’s murder and protect Celestine from the same fate? Or will an old family curse finally have its way?
Black Diamond
Wilds of the Bayou - Book 2
Release Date: October 18, 2016
On sale for Kindle @ $3.99
The mysterious deaths aren’t her only problem. A dangerous drug known as Black Diamond is circulating through Terrebonne Parish, turning addicts into unpredictable sociopaths. Jena’s investigation leads her to Cole Ryan—a handsome, wary recluse struggling with his own troubled history—who knows more than he’s willing to admit. If they want to stop the killer, Jena and Cole must step out of the shadows of their pasts and learn to help each other…before the evils lurking in the bayou consume them both.
