Here you can read about the girl who "accidentally" became the cover girl for the Circle C Adventure series. Scroll down further for questions from readers.

Orting Girl Picture-Perfect for Book Series

Jessica, the homeschooled daughter of my friend, never considered herself the modeling type. But one snapshot changed all that. It was a "Let's show the publisher what my 'Andi' character looks like, so they can draw a nice cover" experiment. I took a couple of quick digital shots, never dreaming Kregel Publications would actually use one of the photographs for the first book, Long Ride Home. Jessica and I were surprised when we saw the cover of the book!

But once Long Ride Home came out, we were in a race against time. Jessica wasn't getting any younger, and there was a good chance the publisher would want sequels to the first book. Yikes! Kids grow fast!

I made a Victorian dress (which Jessica hated), but she's a good sport and allowed a few shots for Andi's "forced lady mode." Jessica was pretty relieved when they chose a more western look for the second book, Dangerous Decision.

Being a "cover girl" has been an experience for Jessica and her entire family. She's been featured on the front page of her hometown newspaper, the Orting Gazette. Friends from as far away as Canada have said, "I saw your picture on a book at the store." Young readers who meet her come up and say, "I read your book!" It doesn't bother me that they think Jessica wrote the book. I'm just glad everybody's having a good time.

An article Jessica wrote, "Home School Cover Girl," appeared in Focus on the Family's Brio Magazine in July 2008. 

Some fun shots for possible future books!

Questions from Kids

Here are some questions kids ask me over and over again. If you have a question you'd like to ask me about writing, or my books, or anything at all, e-mail me at susankmarlow@comcast.net. If it is something others might want to know, I'll post your question here. If you want to see pictures of me as a kid and read about what I liked to, click here: Kids Who Grew Up to Write for Kids

How old were you when you began writing? I was nine when I wrote my first "published" poem. The teacher hung it in the teacher's lounge for everyone to see. For a list of my early works, their titles and unusual content (unpublished!), click here:  OLD STORIES

Which book did you write first? Although Dangerous Decision is the second book of the series, I actually wrote it first. I had a new computer, and had never written a story on a keyboard before (preferring pencil and paper). I wrote the story in first person, since I was reading some westerns at the time that were in first person, and I liked how it sounded. Later I changed it to third person. Much later, after I wrote Long Ride Home, I decided the sequence of events in the series worked better if Dangerous Decision came second.

How long does it take to write your book? Years! I always write scenes that are playing in my head like a movie. And I usually get stuck right after the climax (the scary stuff!) and don't know what to write next. I have to set the story aside, sometimes for months, before an idea to finish the story comes to me. After that, it takes months to revise and make it just right.

How long did it take to publish your book? From the time I first submitted it to real book was a journey of about five years. Once accepted by the publisher, the actual process took a little over a year. The second book took about 18 months to get accepted, and the third book took only 2 months. What a surprise!

How much money do you make as an author? Not much. A typical author receives only a tiny portion of the book's price--measured in cents. 

Where do you get your ideas? Riding my bike around "horse country" near our town; reading good books and getting an idea I can tweak and make my own; watching exciting movies; day-dreaming (seeing scenes playing in my head).

What's your favorite part about being an author? School visits. I love sharing writing with kids, watching as an idea comes alive for a student, or when a new skill for improving their writing "clicks." 

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