Interview with Sue Durkin

Jen: Sue, welcome to Book Talk with J & J. We’re excited to have you here and can’t wait to learn more about your writing and publishing company. Will you please share a short bio with us?
Sue: I am 58 years old, living with my husband of 28 years, 3 dogs (a German Shepherd Mix, a Chow/Malamute, and a St. Bernard) and 2 indoor black cats. I can’t forget my outside black and white cat or my friends will be upset with me. We live in Illinois, but I am transplanted from Arizona. I have one book published and many books in progress. Some are non-fiction and some are fiction. I am also collaborating on a workbook for my current book, Life is Like Making Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Jen: On your website bio, you describe yourself as “a six-sensory, motivational author, speaker, and intuitive consultant with worldwide clientele”. Can you explain more?
Sue: Being a six-sensory means I live by and use all my senses, not just the five that most people use. You know, what I mean: those gut feelings we all get. Those feelings when things just don’t “feel” right or we “know” something is going to happen. We all have the ability. Because of Society people just don’t develop them. If they did they would have happier lives and wouldn’t have to come to someone like me.

I am going to elaborate a bit here. I have never liked the words psychic or gifted. I have ‘knowings’. I use my God-given knowings to help others lead happier lives. I give people tools in their lives so they can make life changes and trust themselves to know what is right for them. I work with people all over the world by phone, email, im’s, or face-to-face depending on the particular circumstance. I am in the process of putting up a website to make it easier for people to contact me.

I speak on various topics such as writing, publishing and being a six-sensory. My book signings have gone as long as 3-1/2 hours because people won’t let me go home. They have so many questions.

Jen: Tell us about Life is Like Making Chocolate Chip Cookies and where it's available.
Sue: Life is Like Making Chocolate Chip Cookies is a motivational/self-help/spiritual book in which I use metaphors and real life scenarios to show people how everyday living can be changed to the life they want. The chapters are short so they are good to read if you only have a few minutes or want to use them as devotions. You don’t have to read it from front to back. You can open my book and choose to read chapters at random if you wish. All the feedback I have gotten has been positive and people tell me it has helped them in their lives in dramatic ways. I have also been told it is like having me sitting there talking to them. I guess you could say I write the way I talk.

Life is Like Making Chocolate Chip Cookies is available through Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble online. For an autographed copy they can go to Weaving Dreams Publishing’s website and order it or order directly from me.

Jen: At what age did you discover writing and when were you first published? We’d love to hear your call story.
Sue: What age? That is a difficult question. I have written all my life. Just never really thought about getting published until my current book. I wrote poems and short stories before I got to high school. There, I was feature editor of our school paper for 4 years and received a Journalism award upon graduation. I took the Famous Artist course back in the 1970’s and wrote many short stories. I write poetry as well. Just haven’t had any of that work published.
Weaving Dreams Publishing published my current book on January 2nd of this year. It took me 6 months to write my book. It took over a year and a half to publish it. With very little marketing on my part my book has reached many countries such as Ireland, England, South America, and Canada to mention a few, as well as many areas all across the United States. Word of mouth has been a big help in attracting people to read it. Readers buy 4 and 5 books to give as gifts. I guess they like it.

Jen: Describe your writing in three words.
Sue: Easy to Read

Jen: Do you have a writing routine?
Sue: Yes, and no. When I was writing Life is Like…. I wrote everyday. I would wake up at 3am with a subject, title, and first paragraph for a chapter. If I didn’t write it down it would haunt me until I did. Once I would start writing the first paragraph the rest of the chapter would come. Then when that chapter was completed, a new subject, title, and first paragraph would come to me. Eventually I received this information on awakening in the morning rather than at 3am. Finally, it started coming to me as soon as I finished a chapter. I guess the powers that be thought I was taking too long to write the book.

Jen: Where do you draw your inspiration?
Sue: It is difficult to describe. It just comes to me. There are no triggers that prompt me to write. I get thoughts in my head at all hours of the day and night. I can’t write them down fast enough. I have lost a lot of material because of that. When I am driving I have my husband write down what I am thinking so I don’t lose it. I am hoping eventually, in some way, what I haven’t written down will return. The material isn’t limited to motivational books either. I just have been blessed with listening and following through on thoughts and ideas that I receive.

Jen: Who are some of your favorite authors and books? What are you reading now?
Sue: It depends on the genre. For light reading I like to read books by Janet Evanovich and Jennifer Crusie, Lonnie Cruse and Meg Cabot, books like that. I also like suspense and murder mysteries. I like to read books by little known authors, as well.

Being an intuitive I like reading books by Sonia Choquette, Carolyn Myss, Dr. Wayne Dyer, Dr. Steven Farmer, just to name a few. However, I read just about anything anyone suggests or puts into my hands.

Jen: Tell us about Weaving Dreams Publishing. What made you start a publishing company?
Sue: Weaving Dreams Publishing is about making dreams come true through writing and publishing. It was started so that I could have full control of my book. It evolved so that others, who normally wouldn’t get published, would be able to become published authors. Most publishing companies control the title, book cover, and many other aspects of the book. I didn’t want those things decided for me. Plus I didn’t want to take the time to find an agent and submit manuscripts. My book came about in such a way that even Peggy Collins, author of Help Is Not a Four Letter Word, told me that my book was pushing me out of the way to be published. She was so right. It even generated its own money to be published!

Since I have been on the net, several authors have approached me to publish their books. I am in the process of screening manuscripts and working with other authors.

Jen: What's next for you?
Sue: Currently I am working on the workbook I mentioned before, another book like my current one, my life story, 2 romance novels, and a 5 book murder series based on cases in which I have some way been involved.

Jen: Where can you be found on the web?
Sue: I am all over the place. I am not hard to find if you Google my name, book name, or publishing company name. For specifics though:
*The website for my book is http://lifeislike.suesunshine.com/.
*My publishing company website is http://www.weavingdreamspublishing.com/.
*I have two consulting websites:
Reboot Your Life™ at http://rebootyourlife.suesunshine.com/ and
Soul Glances at http://www.soulglances.com/ .
*I have two blogs that I don’t keep up as regularly as I should. I just get so busy. They are:
Sue’s Soul Glances at http://www.weavingdreamspublishing.com/authorblog1 and
Sue’s Snippets at http://suesunshine.blogspot.com/ .
*I am on Facebook, Myspace, and all over the Ning.com network.

Jen: Is there anything you would like to ask our readers?
Sue: Yes! I would love to know what makes a reader pick up a book and buy it? Is it the cover, or the recommendations on the cover? Do you start to read the first chapter or is it the contents page? What about a book entices you other than the subject matter?

Sue, thanks so much for joining us this week. And to our readers, please take a moment to answer Sue's questions. Keep in mind that she's asking about all books and not just the romance genre. Comment here or on her excerpt and be entered for a copy of Life is Like Making Chocolate Chip Cookies. And if you're already the proud owner of the book, comment and give us a short review and I enter you in a separate drawing for the book Wild Notion by Cathy McDavid. The contests end on Friday, September 12 at 5 pm PDT.