This is Ink & Intrigue—the blog where romance ignites, secrets simmer, and every love story hides a twist. I’m your blog host, Sheila Kell, a romance author and lover of plot twists, slow burns, and morally questionable book boyfriends.
Today, I’m thrilled to introduce you to Susan Poole, an author whose stories remind us that every experience has at least two sides and encourage us to see the world through someone else’s eyes! If you love layered family stories that don’t shy away from hard truths, you’re in for a treat.
Susan Poole is known for exploring moral grey areas and challenging readers to question their beliefs and perceptions with every story she tells. Her latest release, Out of the Crash, weaves a tense and heartfelt portrait of trauma and how lives can fall apart and rebuild after a single moment.
In this spotlight, Susan shares details of her writing journey and gives us a behind-the-scenes look at Out of the Crash.
Whether you write love stories, devour them, or dream of doing both, you’re in the right place. Let’s get into it and give a warm welcome to Susan Poole! 💖
Susan, let’s start with Writing Process and Craft.
What drew you to writing Women’s/Book Club Fiction in particular?
It lets me delve into life’s complexities. Perhaps it’s the lawyer in me—I’m always inclined to consider the opposing viewpoint and highlight that there are rarely absolute rights or wrongs, or simple black-and-white answers. I’m captivated by the nuances of human choices and emotions, which reveal just how complicated life truly is. I also appreciate that this genre often sparks lively discussion and debate, and it remains my favorite to read.
What’s your typical writing routine like—do you write with emotion or outline first?
I usually write first thing in the morning. Getting up early every day lets me dedicate uninterrupted time to writing before the rest of my day barges in. This routine gets my creative juices flowing so I can at least reflect on my story throughout the day.
When it comes to emotion vs. outline, I’m definitely a pantser by nature, which has sometimes kicked me in the you-know-what. Adding structure to a novel after it’s written can be tough, so for my current WIP, I decided to try plotting. I worked with an Author Accelerator coach, who guided me through five outline iterations before I wrote a single scene. Now, halfway into the project, I’m finding it much easier to write scenes that align with the outline. Moving from one scene to the next feels more seamless, and I’m genuinely enjoying this new-to-me approach. I’m curious to see how it all comes together when it’s time to share the finished novel.
Let’s switch to books and themes.
Are your characters based on real people, or entirely fictional?
My characters are entirely fictional, but the inciting incident for Out of the Crash was inspired by a hit-and-run in my hometown involving a young adult and a local mom. Everyone was talking about it, and I was surprised by how quickly people jumped to conclusions about the offender, the victim, and everything in between. I couldn’t help wondering whether my son or daughter would have done the same thing by leaving the scene of an accident and trying to cover it up. I wanted to write a story that would make people stop and think before passing judgment, while also respecting the victim and her family.
Let’s jump to publishing and career.
What was your journey to publication like?
The short answer? It was a long road, full of rejection.
Early on, I believed the only way to get published was to find a literary agent and secure a deal with a Big Five publisher. After completing three manuscripts and facing hundreds of rejections, I was ready to give up. Then I discovered the Women’s Fiction Writers Association (WFWA)—a group that truly changed my life. There, I found my community, a supportive critique partner, and countless resources. At a WFWA conference, I met with several small press publishers—an option I hadn’t even considered before. I still wasn’t sure it was the right path for me until I had a true Aha moment.
A medical emergency landed me in the hospital for about a week with sepsis—it was touch and go for a while. Even though I had survived cancer years earlier, this felt different, more urgent. I spent a lot of time pondering my mortality. I also thought a lot about legacy. I couldn’t help thinking that if I hadn’t survived, my kids would remember me as the mom who tried for a decade to get published and never succeeded. That wasn’t the legacy I wanted to leave. I wanted them to remember me as someone who never gave up and proved that hard work and perseverance pay off. That realization opened my mind to small press, hybrid, and self-publishing options. Once I recovered, I followed up with the small presses who had requested pages at the conference. Within a year, I had a publishing contract—and the rest is history.
What advice would you give to aspiring authors?
Be prepared to do some marketing—of your books and of yourself. I know it’s uncomfortable for many writers—lots of us are introverts and prefer being behind a computer screen over standing at a podium talking about ourselves. But marketing is part of the publication package now more than ever. If you want to sell books, you’ll likely need to step outside your comfort zone to get them into your readers’ hands. So, simply put, don’t let marketing scare you. Dig into all the available resources and learn to embrace it.
How do you deal with criticism or negative reviews?
Staying true to my author brand means respecting both sides of every story—and that includes welcoming all kinds of reviews: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Reading is deeply subjective. I’ve been in a book club for more than 20 years, and I’ve seen how ten people can read the same book and come away with completely different opinions. That’s what makes reading and writing so fascinating, just like life itself.
Finally, we’re at personal insight and looking forward.
Which books or authors have influenced you the most?
Jodi Picoult and Celeste Ng—two masters of moral dramas that expose the flaws beneath the surface of “normal-looking” families.
What are you working on next?
My current work-in-progress, Iris Inked, is a contemporary Women’s Fiction novel about an unlikely friendship, reminiscent of Fried Green Tomatoes. The story follows an older woman who, because of medical challenges, must sell her family home, and a younger woman who aspires to be a social media influencer. Together, they launch a YouTube series exploring the stories behind the older woman’s tattoos, and soon realize they have more in common than they ever imagined.
Before we wrap up the interview, do you have a dream project you hope to write someday?
I would love to write a historical fiction novel inspired by Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, the physicist who discovered X-rays and became the first Nobel Prize in Physics recipient. My father, a distant cousin of Roentgen, took immense pride in his heritage and spent years researching Roentgen’s story. My dad passed away recently—just months before my debut novel was published. I can’t imagine a better way to honor my father’s memory than to write and dedicate a book centered around the man he admired so much.
Thank you, Susan. I enjoyed the interview.
Likewise.
Here is Susan’s BIO: 
Susan Poole is an award-winning novelist, essayist, and nonprofit leader from Cleveland. A cancer survivor and proud mother of three adult children, Susan holds a BA from Baldwin Wallace University and a law degree from the University at Buffalo School of Law. Her debut novel, Out of the Crash (The Wild Rose Press, 2025), earned the Women’s Fiction Writers Association’s Rising Star Award and honors from Kirkus, Literary Titan, Pencraft, and Firebird. Her essays appear on Grown and Flown, Scary Mommy, and in anthologies such as Neighborhood Voices and Grapple Alley. Now embracing empty-nest life with her husband and two co-dependent dogs, she looks forward to releasing her second novel, A Deadly Dose of Reality, in 2027.
I hope you loved getting to know Susan Poole and learning about her latest release, Out of the Crash. If you haven’t added her books to your TBR yet, now’s the time—trust me, you won’t want to miss them. 💖
You can connect with Susan Poole here:
🌐 Website: https://susanpooleauthor.com
📱 Socials: https://www.instagram.com/susanpooleauthor/
🛒 Grab her books: https://www.amazon.com/author/susanpoole
Thank you for joining me in spotlighting a fellow author who’s giving us all the feels. Stay tuned for more author features, book talks, and behind-the-scenes romance goodness.
Until next time—keep reading, keep swooning! 💖