Susan Harris Howell Writes Cozy Mysteries with a Touch of Paranormal
Susan Harris Howell is here today to tell us about her newest cozy mystery and where she got the idea.
Welcome, Susan,
Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
I have recently retired from university teaching to write. I am currently working on the sequel to The Spirit of Vanderlaan. In addition to writing, I love reading, jigsaw puzzles, and travel.
What event or experience in your life affected you as a writer?
I’m most influenced by having been an avid reader all my life. Reading good books by excellent writers gave me the desire to find my own voice and tell my own stories.
Why did you become a romance writer?
I’m not a romance writer; mine are cozy mysteries. When I first started writing Vanderlaan, I honestly didn’t know what its genre would be. I just started writing to see where it went and, somewhere along the way, it took the form of a cozy. I wouldn’t mind branching out into other genres at some point, but for now, cozy it is!
What inspired the idea for this book?
The inspiration for this novel came from one of my students before I retired as a psychology professor. We had just learned that he lived in a dorm room that I had lived in as a student. He and I agreed that a novel in which all the students who hang out in their favorite professor’s office mysteriously live in her former rooms would be great fun as they unravel how and why this “coincidence” happened. Since that student was an excellent writer, I suggested he write the story. He said he didn’t have the time and that I should write it. I dismissed the idea as nonsense – Me? A fiction writer? But when I couldn’t shake the idea, I wrote it!
Can you tell us about any other upcoming books, series, or writing plans?
I’m currently working on the second in the Samantha Hayes Series. In The Hayes Spirit, Samantha discovers that her grandfather lived under a different name before marrying Samantha’s grandmother. As she sets out to learn his motive for keeping such a secret, she must decide how much of his story she wants to uncover and how much is better left buried. Clues to this family mystery arise unexpectedly from seemingly impossible sources, including Grandpa himself, who died years ago. With her lively entourage of students jumping in to provide help and humor, Samantha finds that life journeys are never taken alone.
When Samantha and her students uncover a campus death, they must draw on everything from science to seances to learn what happened before Samantha gets fired for “dabbling in the paranormal.”
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Susan Harris Howell
I am a psychologist, speaker, and author of The Spirit of Vanderlaan, my debut novel released in December of 2024. This fun cozy mystery draws on my teaching career of over thirty years to capture the camaraderie and warmth between a professor and the assortment of personalities that inhabit her office. While my book indeed includes a few funny scenes based on real-life office shenanigans, I can attest that I have never found a dead body nor a ghost – on or off campus! I have also published extensively on equality between women and men. My first book, Buried Talents, explores the subtle ways women are discouraged from entering male-dominated occupations. Buried Talents was named a winner in InterVarsity Press’s 2022 Readers’ Choice Awards. My husband and I have two grown children, a daughter-in-law, one adorable grandson, and an incorrigible beagle named Doc. While Doc doesn’t understand a word I say, he fully supports my books and their message.
Thanks for featuring my novel today, Zara! I appreciate the opportunity to introduce The Samantha Hayes Series to your readers!