Books by Susan
All of Susan’s books in order of publication. To see by genre, use the bar on the left!
The Mad Hacker
An Amber and Elliot Mystery, co-written with Anne Stephenson
Ash Grove Junior High goes on high alert when students Liz Elliot and Amber Mitchell discover they’ve been hacked! They won’t be able to enter Eastern Technology’s programming contest and neither will anybody else.
When their friend Jonathan becomes the prime suspect, Amber & Elliot are determined to clear his name. But if they don’t find out who the real hacker is, it’s game over.
Just as Amber stretched out her hand to turn on the computer, they heard the fire door slam at the end of the hall. Someone was coming!
For a split second the girls froze in their seats.
“Hurry,” whispered Liz, coming to her senses. “They’re heading this way!”
Amber jumped up, and grabbed her jacket.
The footsteps were getting nearer.
The two girls dove for cover behind the filing cabinets in the far corner of the room, frantically pressing back into the shadows…
What started as a school prank turns deadly as Amber & Elliot race to unmask the Mad Hacker – before it’s too late!
Read an excerpt of The Mad Hacker here!
Amazon | Kindle
Last Dance at the Polka Dot Restaurant
and Other Travels Through Life
Last Dance at the Polka Dot Restaurant is a breathtaking collection of stories about wide-eyed dreamers adventuring into the world, reluctant heroines unexpectedly thrust into danger, and unlikely survivors who keep on fighting when all seems lost. Laugh, cry, and travel into these eighteen tales full of the twists and turns in our surprising journeys through life.
Read an excerpt of Last Dance at the Polka Dot Restaurant here!
Pirates, Prowlers, and Cherry Pie
Available on Amazon as a paperback and Kindle, as well as other ebook platforms!
Fiona Smith is in summer exile at her horrible Aunt Irene’s house. Bullied and beleaguered by her snobby cousins, Fiona quickly realizes there is more wrong in the beachside home than miserable tempers. Someone is systematically robbing all the wealthy houses along the shore. Despite her plan for revenge on her nasty cousins, Fiona is lured into the mystery when an innocent boy is accused of the crime.
Between pirate maps, creepy prowlers, and splattered cherry pie, Fiona is determined to solve the mystery, win the reward, and make this into the best summer ever!
Read an excerpt of Pirates, Prowlers, and Cherry Pie here!
Dragons of Wind and Waves
a Dragons of Earth, Water, Fire and AIr Book
Available on Amazon as a paperback and Kindle, as well as other ebook platforms!
“Those twins stirred up a feeling of something scary, something evil. Something…dragonish. The word sprang unbidden to Margo’s mind. And she, Margo St. George, had been born into a long line of heroes fated to protect their people from the ancient evil.”
When their mother disappears, twins Addie and Jacob Medway are carried off to the Nova Scotia town of Port St. George by their distraught father. But there’s something weird about this town, something that is changing them.
Addie experiences surges of uncontrollable rage and frightening blackouts; Jacob battles physical handicaps while struggling to keep their lives normal. And local mean girl, Margo, is haunted by her supposed family heritage as a dragon slayer.
Caught between ferocious ocean storms and terrifying hunts for mythical dragons, all three teens must struggle to overcome fate and choose their own destinies in a world that seems to have no place for them.
Holiday Sampler
A Holiday Anthology from the Writers Cooperative of the Pacific Northwest
Available on Amazon as a paperback and Kindle, as well as other ebook platforms!
This wonderful Holiday Sampler of heartwarming stories and poems offers delights from the authors of the Writers Cooperative of the Pacific Northwest. The collection transports you from toe tapping, belly chuckling, and heart rending to wheels turning thoughtfulness. Holiday Sampler blankets you with reads to cozy up with in front of a fire and get you in the holiday spirit.
A Thunder of Dragons
Stories That Soar
Available on Kindle!
Hidden. Terrifying. Magical. These electrifying stories tell the tales of six encounters with the dragons who live among us. Set in Alaskan ice fields, New Mexico desert, and ocean storms, the hunters and the hunted are brought face to face with mythical beings they could only dream of.
Here be Dragons.
Romance in Pajama Pants
Stories to Beguile Your happily ever after
Available on Kindle!
From a slightly worn-down waitress to a high-powered money manager, light-hearted love is on the horizon in this collection of contemporary romance stories. Sit back and enjoy a dozen tales of the modern search for romance and true love. No matter who you are, we all deserve a great Happily Ever After!
Read an excerpt of Romance in Pajama Pants here!
Holiday Cheers
Stories to Celebrate Your Year
Available on Kindle!
Upbeat stories and essays that celebrate the holidays of your year. From Valentine love between a granddaughter and her Nana, through the frenzy of the Fourth of July, to the memories and excitement of Christmas past and present, dive into tales of the rituals and loves that define our lives.
Read an excerpt of Holiday Cheers here!
Sammy and the Devil Dog
Available on Amazon as a paperback and Kindle!
No matter how hard she tries, Sammy can’t stay out of trouble – with her teacher, with the school bully, and especially with her mother. When she rescues an abused dog, Sammy's sure that Jack will love her as much as she loves him. But the pup has never learned to be a good dog. He tears up the house, threatens to bite her mom, and won’t do anything Sammy tells him to do. The more Sammy tries to care for the dog, the more things go wrong. Her messed-up life just gets worse and worse.
Sammy held out her hand. Jack cringed back and whined.
"Oh, sweetheart! I'll never hurt you." Instinctively, Sammy crouched down and held out her arms. Slowly Jack's head extended. She held her breath. His nose touched the back of her hand, cool, gentle. His eyes held hers, and her fingers extended to brush the soft tip of his ear.
Sammy won’t give up on Jack – not ever. But when danger threatens the family, can Sammy depend on Jack to save them all?
Read an excerpt of Sammy and the Devil Dog here!
Sammy received a great review from Kirkus Reviews – read it here!
Not Yet Summer
Available on Amazon as a paperback and Kindle, as well as other ebook platforms!
Marylee is a foster kid, sullen and angry, as she is moved from home to home. She’s convinced no one wants her or will ever care about her because of her lame leg. But when she finds an abandoned baby, she finally has her chance to love someone and be loved in return. But caring for a baby is far harder than she ever guessed, and the baby doesn’t seem to love her no matter how much care and affection she lavishes on her. Marylee is faced with the hardest decision of her life – does she love the infant enough to do what is best for the child?
Read an excerpt here!
Currently out of print in French as L’Ete Est Encore Loin.
Amazon | Kindle | iBooks | Nook | Kobo | Scrib'd | Inktera | 24Symbols
Hey, Chicken Man!
(previously titled The Black Tunnel)
Available on Amazon as a paperback and Kindle, as well as other ebook platforms!
Tom Kirby was chicken and everybody knew it. Billy MacPherson had made sure of that. A year has passed since Tom failed to pass the Cobras initiation – to make his way alone through the terrifying drainage tunnels cut into the Niagara Escarpment. Angry and friendless, he spends time wandering the region, trying to work up his courage. But when he makes friends with Andrew, another misfit, his summer takes an abrupt turn for the better. Despite the new friendship, Tom can’t escape the final test of bravery.
Read an excerpt here!
Amazon | Kindle | iBooks | Nook | Kobo | Scrib'd | Inktera | 24Symbols
Something’s Fishy at Ash Lake
An Amber and Elliot Mystery, co-written with Anne Stephenson
Available on Amazon as a paperback and Kindle, as well as other ebook platforms!
Someone is deliberately trying to sabotage Ash Lake computer camp! But who? And why?
Part time detectives and full time mischief-makers, Liz Elliot & Amber Mitchell get themselves in way over their heads when they try to fit all the pieces together. When they began their summer vacation, they’d had no idea they'd be risking their lives. But something has to be done before the best camp cook in the whole wide world ends up in jail – and they end up grounded for life!
"Amber!" Liz clutched Amber's arm. "Did you hear something?"
The two girls stood perfectly still, ears straining, hearts thumping through the darkness...
A shadow slipped across the floor. Soft footsteps sounded from the far side of the kitchen. The girls cowered against the wall. They could see feet, then legs. Moonlight silhouetted a dark figure by the door...
If they're not careful, Amber & Elliot's two-week stay at Ash Lake computer camp could be their last...ever!
Read an excerpt here!
Amazon | Kindle | iBooks | Nook | Kobo | Scrib'd | Inktera | 24Symbols
Dragons of Dust and Desert
a Dragons of Earth, Water, Fire and AIr Book
Available on Amazon as a paperback and Kindle, as well as other ebook platforms!
Fourteen-year-old Angel Cerillos is stuck living with foster parents at a second-rate desert motel while his mother is in the hospital. Despite threats from a local rancher and his greedy foster father, Angel is determined to scour the harsh desert for turquoise nuggets that could pay for his mom’s care. Without them, all he has of value is a carved, two-headed turquoise serpent, left to him by his mysterious father. It’s a hard life. But the desert spirits are awakening, and the mythic power of his dragon talisman spins Angel into terrifying danger.
Read an excerpt here!
Amazon | Kindle | iBooks | Nook | Kobo | Scrib'd | Inktera | 24Symbols
Dragons of Frost and Fire
a Dragons of Earth, Water, Fire and AIr Book
Available on Amazon as a paperback and Kindle, as well as other ebook platforms!
“I know she’s still alive!”
A year has passed since Kit Soriano’s mother disappeared in an Alaskan blizzard, but she refuses to give up. No matter what anybody says, her mother is not dead.
Against all logic, propelled by recurring dreams of ice-white dragons and a magical silver knife, Kit journeys to the place where her mother vanished. She’s clearly not welcome in the wilderness town of Silver Claw, but her knife throbs with heat and her dreams show the impossible – mythical dragons are guarding her sleeping mother.
Desperate, Kit has no choice but to rely on Dai, a white-haired boy who knows more than he says about the wild magic rippling beneath the surface of the town. She wants to trust him. But is he her friend or an enemy? If she’s wrong, will she too be lost forever in the unforgiving Alaskan wilderness?
Read an excerpt here!
Amazon | Kindle | iBooks | Nook | Kobo | Scrib'd | Inktera | 24Symbols
You’re Dead, David Borelli
After his mother dies and his father disappears with company funds, David is moved to a foster home. He has to leave his private school to attend an inner-city school, where he becomes a target for bullies. He has to learn to stand on his own, make new friends, and seize new opportunities.
Reviews:
David must make major life adjustments after his father embezzles company funds and David is sent to live in a foster home and placed in a tough city school, where bullies torment him and teachers look the other way. Using his own resources, David eventually finds ways to cope and even succeed in his new environment, without responding with violence.
– School Library Journal
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
David's world changes overnight when his mother dies and his father abruptly disappears. A rich kid who attends a private academy, David suddenly finds himself in a chaotic foster home and a public middle school in a rough neighborhood. Struggling with the loss of his parents, a bullying gang of boys at school, and his new home life, David nearly gives up. But when he reconnects with his jailed father, and then with his wealthy grandfather, David begins to triumph over the difficulties in his life, realizing that his thoughts and actions will determine whether he will thrive or become "a loser." He makes friends at school and excels as a soccer player. Brown has created very appealing characters, particularly David, who, in his struggle to survive, develops a growing capacity for friendship. The images of David's home life, the schoolyard brutality, and the excitement of athletic competition are all well rendered; the well-developed plot is believable, and its happy ending will leave young readers satisfied.
– Merri Monks, Booklist
Gr. 5-7
Currently out of print. New edition coming in 2021!