Author Spotlight - Susan Harris Howell

Meet Susan Harris Howell, author of soon-to-be-published nonfiction work “Buried Talents”. Her first book covers a topic dear to her heart: how men and women are socialized differently and what we can do about it. We’re so excited for her success! In this quick interview, Susan shares tips and struggles from her writing journey as well as her plans for future novels.

What made you decide to write a book?

I teach a college course on how men and women relate to each other and realized that there wasn’t a book out there that covered some of the material I wanted to include. I then realized that if that book didn’t exist, maybe it should. So I wrote it!

What is your book about?

My book is entitled: Buried Talents: Overcoming Gendered Socialization to Answer God’s Call. Although, this isn’t a novel; it’s a book about how men and women are socialized differently, with the difference too often pushing men toward leadership and women away from it. It will be released on April 26, 2022.

Tell us about your writing process. How often did you write, and how did you make time for working?

I am a full-time faculty member at Campbellsville University in Kentucky. I intentionally don’t teach during summer months so I can devote my time to writing. But even so, I never would have had the time to write this particular book without the university’s help. They gave me a one-semester sabbatical so I could write. The book took longer than that to write, but it made it doable.

Do you have plans for other books?

I liked writing this non-fiction piece, but I don’t have plans for another.

I am, however, writing a novel as well. It’s a cozy mystery with elements of magical realism. And, yes, I definitely hope to write more within the same genre.

Will there be a sequel to your novel?

Yes! I love the characters and want to see what happens to them down the line!

How did you hear about Novelize?

I googled programs like Novelize because I was dissatisfied with the steep learning curve some others required. I hardly had time to write, much less learn a new program that was rather complicated. Then I found Novelize and was so relieved that within minutes I was using it like a pro.

How did Novelize help you write your book?

It helped me organize my work. And I liked having my work secured in one place. For my fiction piece, the tabs for characters, locations, and summaries prompted me to think of things I had not considered before which helped me have a more complete picture of each of my characters, their motivations, strengths, weaknesses, etc. I also loved that I could move chapters and scenes around so easily.