Meet the Author Monday: Susan Grant

Today I'd like to introduce you to author Susan Grant, who has long been a part of the science fiction romance community and is a member of the SFR Brigade. Susan, thanks so much for joining us as our Monday Meet the Author feature today!


How or why did you first start writing SFR? Any particular inspirations?

I was an astronaut wanna-be—still am! From my earliest memories, I dreamed about going into space, exploring other worlds. I was a book worm as a kid, like many of us authors were. The Sword of Shannara, Childhood’s End, Dragon Riders of Pern, and The Wind’s Four Quarters were favorites. It makes sense that I ended up writing sci-fi romance because I love science fiction and having a great romance as part of the plot.

I call myself the accidental sci-fi romance author because I did, in fact, not set out to write such a story. Back when I was first seeking publication—1997 or so—these were rare books to find. Only Justine Dare and a few others were writing them. I wrote my first sci-fi romance, The Star King, in 1998 as a book of the heart (a hero and heroine in their 40s, and he was an alien! My agent pretty much passed out, hearing of such an out-of-the-box storyline). But a publisher was interested in my first book—Once a Pirate, a time travel romance—and after winning a contest with The Star King, the prize was a face-to-face meet with that editor. I pitched The Star King, he loved the premise, and ended up buying both books in a two-book deal. He encouraged me to keep going with the Star series, and so I did. Happily, the rest is history.


How many SFR books have you published and what are the titles?

I think I’m up to 19 or 20 by now, not counting boxed sets. They’re all listed conveniently at this link: Author Susan Grant Book List


Can you give us a quick blurb on your most recent or upcoming title?

WARLEADER just came out!

Here’s the blurb:

Admiral Brit Bandar is the Coalition's greatest starship commander. The outlaw known as the Scourge of the Borderlands taunted her in a galactic game of cat and mouse for years, but she never caught him. Now they’re supposed to make peace AND serve together on the same starship? Not so easy to do when your sworn enemy turns out to be the hottest piece you've ever seen.

Warleader Finn Rorkken doesn't care how many medals “Stone-Heart” Bandar has. He's going to show her what it's like to be pursued and caught by a master. Intergalactic peace is on the line, and if she wants his obedience, she'll have to pay his price. Challenge accepted, Admiral.

Welcome to the Borderlands, where rules are meant to be broken...


Give us a brief snippet of a favorite scene or passage from your work.

From Warleader… An early scene with Finn and Brit. In a gender flip of sorts, she’s invited him to her quarters for a glass of wine, and suddenly Finn realizes he doesn’t have a thing to wear! :)

Finn threw open the door to his wardrobe to find a fresh pair of skivvies. He’d been given a stack of them, brand new, along with new socks and undershirts. It hit him how little he owned, not counting his Triad-issued gear. There was his old Imperial Navy uniform, if one could call it that—a threadbare, mended collection of little more than rags and leather. Another pair of old leather pants hung next to a pair of cloth trousers, a vest, and several faded shirts. None of it would impress a woman like Brit Bandar. She was a class above him—several classes.

You own nothing but rags, Rorkken! Except, maybe, for his Cloudan tunic.

He grasped its luxurious sleeve, examining the condition of the garment. It was silver and white, shot through with threads of pure sapphire. The fitted piece allowed for the breadth of his shoulders and was entirely handmade, no advanced tech inside or out. As a pirate, he’d had no need for a uniform, but for the times he had to make an appearance—or an impression—he’d worn this, his finest article of clothing. With the Cloudan belted over his leathers, sword hanging from his belt, and polished boots, he’d been able to maintain the image of prosperity even in the lean times between raids when the coffers had run low. It was during one of those lean times, before he owned the tunic, that he’d saved the leader of a rogue encampment in the Cloudlands. In thanks, the man had gifted Finn and his crew with varied treasures, including the tunic, tailored specifically to him. Nothing lasted long in a pirate’s hands—valuable goods sold and bartered—but Finn had never let go of the Cloudan. He was too freepin’ sentimental. The day he’d received it, he was called a hero. That didn’t happen often—all right, not ever. The tunic was a way of hanging on to the memory. Aye, and he looked good in it, too.

The garb of a pirate king.

Bandar will laugh her ass off if you show up at her door dressed in that.


Have any of your books received any special recognition? What and where?

I’ve been blessed to have had my books win or be nominated for many awards. I have finaled four times in the RWA Rita contest and won once. Across from where I sit at my desk I see six gorgeous Prism awards catching sun rays on the windowsill. My books have been honored with best of the year nods by Library Journal and Booklist. I even won a Daphne DuMaurier Award for romantic suspense. The recognition is great, but knowing that readers love your stories is the best kind of award.


Do you have any other upcoming new releases?

Hunting the Warlord’s Daughter, The Borderlands Book # 2, comes out in January!

Author Bio

Susan's childhood dreams of becoming a space explorer fizzled when she found out that calculus was involved. Luckily, she didn’t need math skills to fly jets—or to create space stories in her head, first for herself, then for friends, and now for readers everywhere.

A New York Times/USA Today bestselling author and a military veteran, Susan won the prestigious RITA® Award for her book Contact, a sci-fi aviation-thriller romance.

Find Susan Grant here:

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