Listening In is a series of author interviews, featuring authors whose works have been transformed into audiobooks! Susan Lewis is the author of fifty books – with her latest, the literary-themed thriller, I Know It’s You, coming in at number fifty. This “emotionally gripping thriller” is narrated by Helen Stern, Clare Wille and Laura Kirman.

Audiobooks by Susan Lewis on Kobo

Please tell us more about I Know It’s You. Why should we listen to the audiobook?

This is the story of a publisher who is sent a book and as she reads she begins to realise it’s the story of her life.  It’s quite chilling, and becomes increasingly so as more chapters turn up.  A really good narrator could bring this grippingly and hauntingly to life.

Could you please tell us about your career as an author? What first drew you to writing?

I began to write for many reasons, first my love of a good story – I was an avid reader as a child, and particularly as a teenager; second, I always felt, deep down, that it was something I would do one day; third the day came when a relationship broke up and I decided to write about it.  There are actually many more reasons, but perhaps these are enough for now.

We’d love to hear about your writing process. Please elaborate!

The process often changes according to the book.  Usually, I take some time to think about things – maybe a month or two, (this can happen while I’m finishing up another book).  It’s a kind of subliminal reach for what comes next.  Eventually, hopefully, the idea coalesces with story and main characters.  Although they don’t always arrive in the order of idea, story, characters, (one can very easily drive the others), I know it’s time to begin when I start “hearing voices”.  Sometimes it’s opening dialogue, or prose; other times it’s the outline of various scenarios; it can even be an ending, although that’s very rare for me.

What drew you to Thrillers, Romantic Suspense, and Fiction? When did you know that these were the genres you wanted to write?

Thrillers, crime, suspense, family drama, romance are all genres I enjoy reading, and always have. I love to immerse myself in a fictional world and am endlessly fascinated by how writers tell their stories.

You’ve also written two Memoirs, Just One More Day and One Day at a Time. Did you approach writing your nonfiction works differently than your fiction? Were there any surprising similarities?

Actually, I approached them in exactly the same way as I would a novel, probably because I’m so entrenched in that style now that it’s hard to change.

Where is your favourite place to write?

I always write in my study at home.

Any advice for emerging writers?

It’s extremely important to read or listen to the genre you are most interested in writing for.  Get a sense of it, of why it works and what it is achieving. If you can, join a local writing group, or maybe find a manual to learn about structure, pacing, etc.

What do you do when you experience writer’s block or reader’s block?

I take a break as it’s almost always due to tiredness.

What has been the most exciting part of having your novels transformed into audiobooks?

Hearing the words spoken aloud by a great narrator is truly magical.  It’s an exceptional skill taking on all those characters and hitting all the right notes for the story.  When performed by someone who has a real connection with the book it’s taken to a whole new level.  One that the writer probably hadn’t imagined.

Please recommend an audiobook you absolutely adored!

It has to be Still Life by Sarah Winman.

What are you reading (or listening to) right now?

Platform Seven by Louise Doughty.