Welcome Susan Helene Gottfried

So while the cat’s away — that’d be Alice — this mousie gets to play here, huh? Cool. I can do that. I’ll even do it with style.

If you weren’t here last September 9, you may not know me. Maybe you recognize my name from the comments trail here at Alice’s Restaurant. But what do you really know about me?

We’ll start with the easy stuff. My name’s Susan Helene Gottfried, which is a long name for a woman who’s only five feet tall. And, like many of Alice’s friends, I’m a writer. I have three published books out in the world, and I’ve got at least three or four more in the works right now. Yep, three or four. I like to keep my writerly brain busy.

Now, to be fair, some of those books are going to be more of the Demo Tapes collections — short fiction previously posted on my blog, the Meet and Greet at West of Mars. Most of the books-in-progress fit right into my fictional world. You’ve even met some of the characters online, if you follow the Meet and Greet (and you should!).

But when you get down to it, it makes perfect sense that the four members of ShapeShifter occupy the most prominent part of my brain. The romance of Mitchell and Kerri’s relationship makes me sigh and wish for their unrealistic ardor in my own life. Trevor’s flip, devil-may-care attitudes tease my own careful, restrained approach to many of the situations he’d rule through sheer outrageousness and his unfailing, unflinching respect for the truth. Think about that contradiction. Brutally honest outrageousness.

Those of you who already know Trevor, either through the books or because you’ve been to the Meet and Greet, are nodding agreement. That does sum up our favorite bass player.

I realize this can make it hard for a new reader to pick up any of my books and not have some prickly feelings where Trevor, in particular, is concerned. He puts on a tough front, referring to his best friend and surrogate brother (that’d be Mitchell) as The Big Idiot, Blondie, and all sorts of other vague (and sometimes explicit) insults. Trevor’s cranky, and most of my fiction is told through his point of view. That means you get his thoughts seeping through your eyes and into your brain.

Still, the readers who take the time to look beyond this carefully constructed front can see Trevor’s vulnerable side. The part of him yearning so desperately to be important and respected. Maybe even a hint of tenderness and romance lurks in there, too.

It’s what makes him so real, many of his fans drop me notes asking if he can come over for a visit. They flirt with him. And then, they beg me for more.

Keeping Trevor alive for my readers is darn difficult. But it’s also some of the most fun I’ve ever had as a writer. From the reactions of many of you, it shows.

If you’d like to meet Trevr via a free e-book copy of any of my books, say so in the comments over the next day or two. I’ll hook you up at Smashwords if you’ll promise to post a review somewhere, anywhere online. (and to further whet your appetite, I do link back to reviews from my website. So I’m giving you a free book AND a link in exchange for … a review? Slam dunk, as far as I’m concerned!)