Special Guest Susan Harris Howell – Author of The Spirit of Vanderlaan (The Samantha Hayes Series) #AuthorInterview / #Giveaway – Great Escapes Book Tour @susan_h_howell

The Spirit of Vanderlaan (The Samantha Hayes Series)
by Susan Harris Howell

I am delighted to welcome Susan Harris Howell
to Escape With Dollycas today!

Hi Susan,

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I’m a psychologist, speaker, and – most recently – a novelist! My debut novel, The Spirit of Vanderlaan, is a fun, cozy, ghost story featuring a professor, Samantha Hayes, and her lively band of students who get caught up in solving a campus mystery. This book draws on my teaching career of over thirty years to capture the camaraderie and warmth between a professor and the assortment of personalities which inhabit her office.

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.

What are three things most people don’t know about you?

• I created a test when I was in 6^th grade to pair up children on the playground with their perfect best friend. I wish I’d have had the foresight to become the creator of eHarmony.
• As a teenager, I owned approximately 1000 pictures of Donny Osmond.
• My favorite movie of all time is The Sound of Music. I’ve seen it a kazillion times.

What books/authors have most inspired you?

Ann B. Ross and Philip Gulley are two authors who have inspired me. Like The Spirit of Vanderlaan, their stories humorously depict the warmth and complexity of relationships. By the end of their books, I feel like their characters are my new best friends. Ms. Ross and Mr. Gulley are also exceptionally good at the turn-of-phrase that keeps me laughing throughout. I hope my readers will feel that kind of warmth and familiarity with Samantha and her entourage of students.

My work has also been inspired by those who introduce paranormal elements into the realistic worlds of their characters, specifically: Jodi Picoult’s Keeping Faith, Emma Straub’s This Time Tomorrow, and Fannie Flagg’s The Whole Town’s Talking. The possibility that something beyond the physical world is at play, even in ways that go beyond religion, has always fascinated me. I hope my readers will find the same intrigue of possibilities in my novels.

What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?

I haven’t had to do a lot of research since, like myself, my protagonist is a psychologist and university professor. A lot of the scenes, characters, and humor I wrote for Vanderlaan came out of my own experiences working within academia for over three decades. However, I did have to research the phenomenon of synchronicity to make sure I understood the various interpretations of synchronistic experiences. But since I was well into the book before I decided to include it, I researched the topic during the writing process rather than before.

Do you ever suffer from Writer’s Block?

I don’t know if I would call it writer’s block exactly, but I do sometimes have a hard time getting started on days that I write. But I try to leave myself a To Do list at the end of each day of writing, so that when starting is difficult, I have a task or two to help me move forward.

What advice do you have for someone who would like to become a published writer?

Read in the genre you want to write in and read books on the craft of writing. Go to conferences to learn all you can and find a few kindred souls who will encourage you along the way. And then of course put all that you learn into practice by writing and honing your skill.

When you are not writing, what do you like to do?

I love jigsaw puzzles, reading, walking, and travelling.

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?

Since The Sound of Music is my favorite movie, Austria has always been on my bucket list of places to go. Now that I’m retired from teaching, maybe I’ll make it to Austria in between books.

What is next on the horizon for you?

I’m currently writing the second book of The Samantha Hayes series. The Hayes Spirit will follow Samantha and her merry band of students through more hijinks, both on and off the campus of Vanderlaan University.

Specifically, in the second book, 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.

Thank you, Susan, for visiting today!

Keep reading for more information about Susan and The Spirit of Vanderlaan.

About The Spirit of Vanderlaan

The Spirit of Vanderlaan (The Samantha Hayes Series)
Paranormal Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting: This story is set on the fictitious campus of Vanderlaan University, in the Midwest or Midsouth region of the United States
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Wild Rose Press
Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 2, 2024
Print length ‏ : ‎ 370 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1509258884
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1509258888
Digital Print length ‏ : ‎ 322 pages
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0DHV65RM4

When beloved professor, Samantha Hayes, learns that her favorite four students live in as many of her old dorm rooms, she wonders how it happened and for what purpose. As she and her student entourage explore the possibilities, they uncover a death years ago and what appears to be the ghost of the dearly departed. All of this stirs up Samantha’s long-held fear that she was responsible for that death, challenging all she thought she knew about herself and the work she holds dear. They must figure out what happened before Samantha gets fired for “dabbling in the paranormal.”

Great Escapes Praise for The Spirit of Vanderlaan (The Samantha Hayes Series)
by Susan Harris Howell

4 stars!
Fun, quirky start to a warm, non-traditional new mystery series.
~Boys’ Mom Reads!

5 Stars
The Spirit of Vanderlaan will capture your heart with compelling charact

More About Susan Harris Howell

Links to My Socials:
Website    Instagram    Email List & Monthly Blog    Facebook   Amazon Author Page      Goodreads     BookBub

Purchase Links:

TOUR PARTICIPANTS
July 21 – Ruff Drafts – AUTHOR GUEST POST
July 22 – Jody’s Bookish Haven – SPOTLIGHT
July 23 – StoreyBook Reviews – AUTHOR GUEST POST
July 24 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
July 24 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea – SPOTLIGHT
July 25 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
July 25 – fundinmental – SPOTLIGHT
July 26 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT
July 27 – Eskimo Princess Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
July 28 – Deal Sharing Aunt – SPOTLIGHT
July 29 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR GUEST POST
July 30 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – AUTHOR GUEST POST
July 31 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT
August 1 – Boys’ Mom Reads! – REVIEW
August 1 – Novels Alive – REVIEW
August 2 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
August 3 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Have you signed up to be a Tour Host?
Click Here to Find Details and Sign Up Today!
Want to Book a Tour?
Click Here

Your Escape Into A Good Book Travel Agent

This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using my links, I will receive a small commission from the sale at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Escape With Dollycas.