JUST FOR KICKS with Susan Andersen

Yummy cover, yummier back copy, and a totally delish story.

JUST FOR KICKS is sure to be as wonderful as the rest of Susan's books.

So here I am, grabbing the skinny from Susan, finding out what it's about, what inspired her, and what's up next.

Read on happy people!


Lori: Congrats on your new book hitting the shelves! Please tell me it’s finally going to be Jared and P.J.’s story.

Susan: Um, no. Sorry.

Lori: Susan! Tell me it isn’t so! I’ve been waiting forever and ever and... well, you know. A long time!

Susan: I know, and so patiently, too. Just kidding. But you’re gonna like this one as well, I promise.

Lori: Like there's any doubt. :::Snort::: I love all your books!

Susan: Well, this one is Carly and Wolfgang’s story. Remember her? Treena’s pet-loving friend and upstairs neighbor from SKINTIGHT?

Lori: Yeah, yeah! Another dancer. Okay, cool. So where did the idea of showgirls come from, anyway? Did you want to be a dancer or something?

Susan: My very first published book (SHADOW DANCE) was about a showgirl/ dancer in Reno. Amanda Charles was in her mid-twenties, semi-virginal and the best dancer in the troupe—pretty much the usual de rigueur stuff for a heroine during the early-to-mid Eighties. I got to thinking it would be a kick to do her polar opposite and that was how Treena from Skintight came to be. That heroine was thirty-five and barely hanging onto her job.

As for harboring an urge for a little showgirl action myself? Oh, mama. The desire to be a dancer, which was very strong when I was a little girl, was pretty much knocked out of me by a cigarette smoking, fog-horn voiced, leopard-skin wearing, dyed hair virago who taught my first (and last) dance class when I was about seven. That woman scared the crap out of me and single-handedly destroyed my coulda-been-fabulous-career in dance before it ever began.

Lori: Yeah, but things work out for a reason. That experience probably led to you becoming a writer. And getting back to JUST FOR KICKS: I recall that Carly’s new neighbor, the big blonde guy, didn’t exactly win her heart at the end of SKINTIGHT with his view on pets.

Susan: No, Wolfgang’s got a few issues.

Lori: Not the least of which has got to be his name. How did you come up with that?

Susan: Wolf is an Army brat, the son of an American father and German mother. I wanted a name that reflected both cultures. He was moved from pillar to post as a kid and hated always being on the outside looking in. So now he’s a man with a plan. And at the top of his agenda is a “normal” (which to him means structured) family life. Dream job? Check. Nice little Kindergarten schoolteacher wife to validate his every opinion? Check. Well, okay, he doesn’t actually have either those things yet. He’s still working security and surveillance at the Avventurato Casino and Resort Hotel. But once he gets all his ducks in a row, he knows he’ll have a shot at being happy.

Lori: And I’m sure his every wish will be granted over the course of this book, right?

Susan: Are you snickering? I’m pretty sure I can hear you snickering. You are so my kinda woman. I love creating men with agendas that I can then mess up. Lori, the man is way too starched. Too organized, too rigid. That’s why I gave him Carly. She’s warm-hearted, messy and emotional. But you can’t lay the entire burden for making over a hero on the heroine. She’s a busy woman, that just wouldn’t be right. So I also dumped his teenaged nephew Niklaus on his doorstep.

Lori: How’s he dealing with that?

Susan: Actually, he’s trying real hard. It doesn’t always go well, but you have to give the guy an A for effort. And between dealing with Niklaus, his growing attraction to Carly and looking for the stalker she seems to have picked up somewhere along the line, he’s a busy boy. But I love romance—you know that in the end Wolf’ll get his act together and wind up with what he needs rather than what he thinks he wants.

Lori: So it ends happily ever after. What’s in the works for your next book? Will that one be about Jared and P.J.??? Please! Pretty PLEASE!!??

Susan: Yes. It’s called COMING UNDONE and it will be out next summer. I think you’re gonna like it.

Lori: Damn straight! I'm going to LOVE it.

So, um Susan. :::whistling:::: Any chance your interviewer might wrangle an advance copy? :::BIG SMILE!::::

Hey, you can't blame a fan for trying!