Today, our Featured Author is Australian multi-genre writer, Susanne Burke.
Writing as S. Burke and Stacey Danson, she has published 5 books to date, with more in the pipeline.
Tell us something about the woman, Suzanne Burke.
Suzanne Burke lives loves and laughs in the beautiful rural township of Bathurst in New South Wales, Australia. She recently relocated from the bustling cosmopolitan City of Sydney, where she had lived for much of her sixty-three years. Due to the violent nature of her chaotic childhood, Suzanne lived on the streets of Sydney from the age of eleven, she had no education, she was alone, ill, and afraid. Her bestselling memoir ‘Empty Chairs’ and its sequel ‘Faint Echoes of Laughter’ released under the pen name of Stacey Danson were written to honor a promise Suzanne made to an eight-year-old child with the oldest eyes she had ever seen. The child, Jenny, took her own life before the promise was kept. Ms. Burke was finally brave enough to relive that journey and honor her word to Jenny when Suzanne was in her fifties, both books continue to garner wonderful reviews.
And who's the writer? How was Acts Beyond Redemption conceived?
Acts Beyond Redemption was conceived originally as a pressure release valve whilst I was writing my memoirs. I needed to escape the flashbacks that recurred almost daily both during and long after the memoirs were done. It contains compilations of characters that I have met over the course of my life. I found the perfect outlet for all the pent-up anger and frustration in writing this book. I was able to inflict punishment on those that most often earned it, and all in a perfectly legal and no jail time served way.
The cheapest form of therapy, and infinitely satisfying.
Why did you choose the Thriller genre?
Thrillers have long been my read of choice. I love the challenge they present, to reveal enough to propel the reader forward without revealing a possible ending along the way. It’s intensely satisfying for me as a writer to have had reviews that have all concurred that the readers did not see the ending that revealed itself in the way that it did.
Is there a book or author that inspired you to be a writer?
I learned to read in the State Library of Sydney, I was ravenous for knowledge and everything I touched fueled the driving need I had to write.
What can readers expect when they read Acts Beyond Redemption?
It's a relentlessly fast-paced and, at times, unconditionally brutal thriller.
Rather than give you a rough synopsis, let me share with you what a few of my Amazon reviewers had to say …
"When you sit down to read “Acts Beyond Redemption” you better have an extra cushion under your rump. The pace and the plot have you sitting on the edge of your chair. And just when you don’t expect it; wam! you are knocked to the floor—so you better have a cushion on the floor as well."
"A gripping thriller that didn't hesitate to jump the line into the dark side."
"Acts Beyond Redemption is exactly the kind of book that I love to read, and Suzanne Burke is exactly the kind of author who turns me into a raving fangirl."
"I like reading books about serial killers, especially when the killer is unusual in some way, or turns out to be someone completely unexpected. Is Sheila responsible for numerous grisly murders, or is it someone else?"
"This is not a tame little read with a few twists thrown in here and there. This is an intense, complicated story that will keep you guessing all the way through. The characters are well-developed and quite engaging. Even the "bad guys" are likable on one level or another, depending on how you see them."
"Suzanne Burke is a highly talented author, and there is not a doubt in my mind that she will be around for a very long time."
Where can they buy a copy?
Acts Beyond Redemption is on AMAZON
Are you releasing a new book anytime soon?
Yes, I am, I have a work in progress “A Darker Justice” which is a compilation of Dark Psychological Thrillers. It’s due out February 2018.
What do you love about being an author?
I love to entertain people, and more importantly, I love to help them think outside the box. I gain great pleasure from learning that a stranger somewhere on this crazy planet took a few hours of personal downtime and enjoyed reading my work. I love it when I hear that they simply could not put my work down. That is the best reward of all.
What is your message to readers?
I don’t know that I have a specific message with my works of fiction. If anything, I guess it may be for readers to look beneath the surface, for not everyone is how they may appear.
Suzanne has just released her latest novel, MIND-SHAFT, a Paranormal Anthology.
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