I’M RUNNING A GIVEAWAY OF SUZANNE’S BOOKS—SEE BELOW.

Versatility is a word that describes Suzanne Woods Fisher. Her 40+ books range from contemporary romance to Amish to historical fiction, as well as children’s and non-fiction.

I’m particularly grateful to Suzanne for endorsing my novel, A Hundred Magical Reasons, published by Scrivenings Press in January. My novel spotlights L. Frank Baum and embraces the magic of his stories, showing how he spurs the imagination of a young girl he befriends. Similarly, Suzanne’s book The Moonlight School brings to life educator Cora Wilson Stewart in the early 1900s through the eyes of a fictional character in rural Kentucky.

Teaser for A Hundred Magical Reasons

Most fairy tales have happy endings, but is it too late for this one? After all, Mrs. Gordon is 88.

This split-time fiction set in 1980 and the early 1900s encompasses . . . 

• A child’s unlikely friendship with The Wizard of Oz author, L Frank Baum, & his influence across 4 generations
• A young woman following a risky dream
• An old woman haunted by regret as she reveals her past

If you like historical fiction and character-driven stories—with a touch of romance—this novel fits the bill. If you like fairy tales, that’s another bonus.

If you’re a fan of Wicked, the musical or the movie, you’ll get a chance to see where all the Oz hoopla originated—with the inimitable L. Frank Baum.

If you’re a Baum fan, you’ll get the feel of what it was like to be with him.

If you’re unfamiliar with Baum, you’re in for a treat, for you’ll have the pleasure of getting to know him.

Read more and watch the book trailer on my website here.

You can purchase the book on Amazon.

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Now back to Suzanne. I’m sharing some of her books and running a GIVEAWAY!

Comment below on any of Suzanne’s books for a chance to win the paperback of your choice. 

Here are many of her book titles at a glance . . . Scroll down to see what Suzanne has to say about her upcoming release, Capture the Moment (May 2025).

A Year of Flowers series (2024):

• An Apology in Bloom—Revell (March 19, 2024)
• A Bouquet of Dreams—Revell (June 18, 2024)
• A Field of Beauty—Revell (September 10, 2024)
• A Future in Blossom—November 19, 2024

Cape Cod Creamery series: contemporary clean romance set in Cape Cod (2022 – 2024)

• The Sweet Life—Revell (May 3, 2022)
• The Secret to Happiness—Revell (May 2, 2023)
• Love on a Whim—Revell (May 7, 2024)

The Moonlight School—biographical historical fiction—Revell (February 2, 2021)

Three Sister Island series—on the coast of Maine:

• On a Summer Tide—Revell (April 30, 2019)
• On a Coastal Breeze—Revell (May 5, 2020)
• At Lighthouse Point—Revell (May 4, 2021)

Amish—several series include Lancaster County Secrets, Stoney Ridge Seasons, The Bishop’s Family, Amish Beginnings, The Inn at Eagle Hill, The Deacon’s Family, & several standalone novels—too many to list here.

• A Healing Touch—Revell (October 1, 2024–most recent)

Nantucket Legacy series—the Quakers of colonial-era Nantucket Island.

• Phoebe’s Light—Revell (February 6, 2018)
• Minding the Light—Revell (July 3, 2018)
• The Light Before Day—Revell (October 2, 2018)

Copper Star series—historical fiction WWII

• Copper Star—originally published in 2007, Vintage Romance Publishing, LLC (November 22, 2013)
• Copper Fire— Vintage Romance Publishing (May 29, 2008)

Cape Cod Creamery series:

Blurb for The Sweet Life

Dawn Dixon can hardly believe she’s on a groomless honeymoon on beautiful Cape Cod . . . with her mother. Sure, Marnie Dixon is good company, but Dawn was supposed to be here with Kevin, the love of her life (or so she thought).

Marnie Dixon needs some time away from the absolute realness of life as much as her jilted daughter does, and she’s not about to let her only child suffer alone–even if Marnie herself had been doing precisely that for the past month.

Given the circumstances, maybe it was inevitable that Marnie would do something as rash as buy a run-down ice-cream shop in the town’s tightly regulated historic district. After all, everything’s better with ice cream.

Her exasperated daughter knows that she’s the one who will have to clean up this mess. Even when her mother’s impulsive real estate purchase brings Kevin back into her life, Dawn doesn’t get her hopes up. Everyone knows that broken romances stay broken . . . don’t they?

Welcome to a summer of sweet surprises on Cape Cod–a place where dreams just might come true.

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My Thoughts

You can’t go wrong with ice cream! The unusual premise of a daughter on a honeymoon with her mom rather than her groom is a delightful read. The Cape Cod setting is charming. The ice cream shop escapades add equal amounts of tension and humor. Check out my review on the Standout Stories blog post here.

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Blurb for The Secret to Happiness (Book #2 of Cape Cod Creamery)

Escape to Cape Cod–where you just might find the secret to happiness

Callie Dixon had the world by the tail . . . until it all slipped away. Fired from her dream job after making a colossal mistake, she’s escaped to her aunt’s home on Cape Cod for time to bounce back. Except it isn’t a home, it’s an ice cream shop. And time isn’t going to help, because Callie’s bounce has up and left. There’s a reason she made that mistake at work, and she’s struggling to come to terms with it.

Things go from bad to worse when Callie’s cousin Dawn drags her to a community class about the secret to happiness. Happiness is the last thing Callie wants to think about right now, but instructor Bruno Bianco–a curiously gloomy fellow–is relentless. He has a way of turning Callie’s thoughts upside down. Her feelings, too.

Bruno insists that hitting rock bottom is the very best place to be. But if that’s true, how is it supposed to help her figure out what–or who–has been missing from her life all along?

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My Thoughts

The fun and whimsy continues in The Secret to Happiness, bringing popsicles into the mix. Some lighthearted touches are the ice cream and popsicle quotes, plus the texting between characters at the end of each chapter.

Plenty of false assumptions by Dawn (from Book #1) combined with a lack of communication from her cousin Callie make for some interesting twists and turns. I predicted a few things (lucky guesses?), but definitely not all of them. 

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A Year in Flowers series:

I haven’t read these but the book covers alone are enough to draw me in!

Blurb for An Apology in Bloom (A Year in Flowers, Book #1)

When her plans wilt before her eyes, can she revive her dreams?

Jaime Harper may have learned the art of flower design at a quaint shop in Sunrise, North Carolina, but it’s in the bustling heart of New York City where she has come into her own. Working alongside the charismatic and enigmatic Liam McMillan, Jaime arranges flowers that grace the poshest weddings in town. And she has plans for even bigger and better things.

When her ambition outruns her good sense just before the most expensive wedding Epic Events has ever coordinated, Jamie finds that sometimes rising stars have spectacular falls. When a letter arrives from her former mentor, Rose Reid, claiming that all is forgiven and asking her to come home to Sunrise to run the flower shop, Jaime must make a choice: Stay in New York and face the consequences of her colossal failure? Or go home to face the woman she hurt so deeply on that terrible, long-ago summer day?

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Blurb for The Moonlight School 

Haunted by her sister’s mysterious disappearance, Lucy Wilson arrives in Rowan County, Kentucky, in the spring of 1911 to work for Cora Wilson Stewart, superintendent of education. When Cora sends Lucy into the hills to act as scribe for the mountain people, she is repelled by the primitive conditions and intellectual poverty she encounters. Few adults can read and write.

Born in those hills, Cora knows the plague of illiteracy. So does Brother Wyatt, a singing schoolmaster who travels through the hills. Involving Lucy and Wyatt, Cora hatches a plan to open the schoolhouses to adults on moonlit nights. The best way to combat poverty, she believes, is to eliminate illiteracy. But will the people come?

As Lucy emerges from a life in the shadows, she finds purpose; or maybe purpose finds her. With purpose comes answers to her questions, and something else she hadn’t expected: love.

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My thoughts

This novel was my first introduction to educator Cora Wilson Stewart and her work in rural Kentucky.  She was an amazing woman! I enjoyed getting to know Cora and her challenges through Lucy’s eyes. But Lucy has problems of her own, equally compelling. The vivid setting, imagery, and characters made this story come alive. Check out my full review on the Standout Stories blog here.

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Three Sisters Island series:

Blurb for On a Summer Tide (Book #1 Sisters Island series)

Sometimes love hurts–and sometimes it can heal in the most unexpected way.

Camden Grayson loves her challenging career, but the rest of her life could use some improvement. “Moving on” is Cam’s mantra. But there’s a difference, her two sisters insist, between one who moves on . . . and one who keeps moving.

Cam’s full-throttle life skids to a stop when her father buys a remote island off the coast of Maine. Paul Grayson has a dream to breathe new life into the island–a dream that includes reuniting his estranged daughters. Certain Dad has lost his mind, the three sisters rush to the island. To Cam’s surprise, the slow pace of island life appeals to her, along with the locals–and one in particular. Seth Walker, the scruffy island schoolteacher harbors more than a few surprises.

With On a Summer Tide, bestselling author Suzanne Woods Fisher begins a brand-new contemporary romance series that is sure to delight her fans and draw new ones.

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Most recently published Amish novel:

Blurb for A Healing Touch

Ruth “Dok” Stoltzfus is the kind of doctor who still believes in house calls, addressing not just her patients’ physical needs but their emotional ones too. When newly widowed Bee faces a breast cancer diagnosis, Dok connects her with Fern Lapp for support. When her painfully shy assistant Annie finds herself drawn to a new calling, Dok goes to great lengths to help her achieve her dream. And when an abandoned newborn mysteriously appears at her office one frosty morning, Dok’s world takes an unexpected turn as ripples of change touch several lives.

A Healing Touch is a captivating tale of compassion, resilience, and the bonds that form in surprising places. Bestselling and award-winning author Suzanne Woods Fisher invites you into a new story that’s like medicine for the weary soul. Join Dok, Annie, and the tight-knit Stoney Ridge community as they navigate the twists of fate, discovering that sometimes the greatest healing comes from the heart.

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Coming soon from Revell . . . May 6, 2025:

Blurb for Capture the Moment

Kate Cunningham is facing the opportunity of a lifetime. As a zoo photographer, she’s spent years photographing animals in carefully controlled environments, but now National Geographic has dangled an irresistible prize: if Kate can snag a unique photo of a legendary bear in Grand Teton National Park, they just might publish it. It’s the kind of challenge Kate has been waiting for, and she’s eager to prove herself in the wild. 

With more enthusiasm than experience, Kate soon realizes that capturing an image of this bear isn’t as simple as she hoped. Fortunately, she crosses paths with Grant Cooper, a seasonal park ranger who knows the terrain–and the bears–better than anyone. His tracking skills could be exactly what Kate needs to succeed, and it doesn’t hurt that he’s easy on the eyes. But they’re not the only ones with an interest in the park’s most famous bear. And his motives are far from innocent.

A clean, kisses-only contemporary romance and summer read by Suzanne Woods Fisher for wildlife, travel, and photography enthusiasts set in Grand Teton National Park.

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You can pre-order now on Amazon! Here’s what Suzanne has to say about Capture the Moment:

Out of the Zoo, Into the Wild

In Capture the Moment, Kate Cunningham is a zoo photographer stepping into the unpredictable wilderness of Grand Teton National Park, she’s eager to prove herself among seasoned wildlife photographers. But let’s just say the welcome isn’t warm.

They call her “Zoo Girl.” It’s not a compliment. At first, Kate brushes it off, confident her years of photographing animals in enclosures will translate seamlessly to the wild. It doesn’t take long for reality to hit. Animals in the zoo follow rhythms shaped by human schedules—feeding time, nap time, predictability. But in the wild? Nothing syncs. Bears don’t stroll into frame on cue, and a single cell phone chirp can send a herd of elk vanishing into the woods.

The learning curve is steep, but Kate is no quitter.

Enter Grant Cooper, a park ranger with an uncanny understanding of grizzly bears—the very creature Kate is desperate to photograph. She quickly realizes his tracking skills might be her best shot at getting the image that could define her career. But as they navigate the unpredictable terrain of the Tetons, Kate discovers something even more surprising than the elusive bear: sometimes, the real adventure is letting someone in. Because love, like the wilderness, is untamed, unpredictable, and worth the risk.

Here are some excerpts from the two Q & As when Suzanne visited my blog.

Excerpt from The Moonlight School Q & A:

The Moonlight School is another departure from your Amish novels. What was your inspiration for writing it? What’s your personal connection to Kentucky, Cora Wilson Stewart, and/or the time period? 

Suzanne: The idea behind The Moonlight School dropped into my lap. I listen to a classical music station as I write. One morning, the radio announcer casually mentioned that on this day in history, the Moonlight Schools began. There was just something about that phrase that made me stop and research it. I took the idea to my editor and it wasn’t long before I had a contract. 

The Moonlight School was published last year and will always be one of my favorite novels. And it’s all based on an incredible true story!  

I didn’t have any personal connection to Kentucky or to Cora Wilson Stewart, or to that time period—other than curiosity. After The Moonlight School was published, a relative of Cora connected with me and sent me copies of some private family letters, handwritten by Cora. Her tone in the letters was similar to the Cora in my mind. So pleased! 

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Excerpt from The Sweet Life Q & A:

What was your inspiration for writing The Sweet Life? What’s your personal connection to ice cream and Cape Cod?  

Suzanne: First, thank you for hosting me on Standout Stories! It’s a pleasure to connect to new readers. Okay, now for answering Q’s. Ice cream is a big deal in our house. My husband, Steve, attended Penn State’s Ice Cream School. 

Did any of you know there was such a thing? It’s been going on since 1892. All the greats have attended: Baskin & Robbins, Ben & Jerry, Jeni Britton Bauer of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream, on and on.

My editor has been to my home on several occasions and has sampled my husband’s ice cream. She’s the one who said she wanted a novel about ice cream. We settled on Cape Cod—partly, it’s an iconic summer spot and partly, my dad grew up there so I’m familiar with the Cape—and voila! The Sweet Life was off and running. 

How did you decide on a mother-daughter duo point of view for a contemporary romance? Did you consider including someone else’s perspective, too? 

Suzanne: I had this phrase in mind: “Dawn was on her honeymoon…with her mother.” I’m not even sure how I landed on that phrase, but it set up the story. Interestingly, it was the phrase that hooked a TV/film company to purchase its options! (Stay tuned!)

REPLY IN THE COMMENTS BELOW FOR A CHANCE TO WIN A PAPERBACK OF YOUR CHOICE!

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Suzanne Woods Fisher Bio

Suzanne Woods Fisher is a Christy finalist, a Carol Award winner, a two-time ECPA Book of the Year finalist, and the Publishers Weekly, ECPA, CBA, bestselling author of more than thirty books. Her genres include contemporary and historical romances, Amish romance, and women’s fiction. She and her husband live in a small town in California, where everyone knows everyone else, knows what they are doing and why. Most friends act a little nervous around Suzanne because they usually wind up in one of her novels. She has four grown children and enough grandchildren to keep her young. Visit Suzanne at www.suzannewoodsfisher.com

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Join me next time for a visit with author Olivia Rae.

Meanwhile, have you read any of Suzanne’s books? Do you have a favorite? Answer in the comments below.

COMMENT BELOW ON SUZANNE’S BOOKS FOR A CHANCE TO WIN A PAPERBACK OF YOUR CHOICE!

Ever reading,

Laura

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