A novel life for best-selling Placentia romance writer
(Note: Slightly edited versions of this story were published in the June 17, 2004, editions of the Yorba Linda Star and the Placentia News-Times, weekly community newspapers published by the Orange County Register.)
Enoch says she’s “ended up about three miles from Valencia, my old high school, though back then the lot was squarely in the middle of a bunch of oil rigs. It looks much better now.”
“My mom set a rule that the kids aren’t allowed to move more than 10 miles from home base,” Enoch notes. “I get more home-cooked meals that way. My own specialty is frozen pizza.”
Enoch graduated from the Tiger campus in 1982 after an active four years as an honors student and editor of the award-winning school newspaper her senior year. She is the author of 12 historical romance novels and contributor to two anthologies.
Many of Enoch’s works have appeared on best-seller lists compiled by the New York Times, USA Today, Publisher’s Weekly, Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble and Waldenbooks.
Enoch’s first contemporary novel, “Flirting with Danger,” is due out in March 2005. “Everything I’ve published previously has been of the historical romance genre, but I’ve been wanting to try something different … kind of a romance/suspense/comedy/caper story,” she says.
Currently, during Placentia’s warm Spring days, Enoch is working on the sequel to “Flirting with Danger” as well as the second book in a new historical romance series, a follow-up to her next volume to hit the bookstores, in January 2005, “Sin and Sensibility.”
“I love being able to work in both genres, and so far Avon Books, my publisher, has been ultra supportive of my decision. Hopefully, I’ll be able to continue this way, doing one contemporary and one historical novel a year,” Enoch adds.
Avon is Enoch’s longtime publisher, dating back to her first two traditional Regencies, “The Black Duke’s Prize” and “Angel’s Devil” in the mid-1990s. She also wrote two Regency historicals, “Lady Rogue” and “Stolen Kisses,” before embarking on three sets of series novels.
Enoch’s first two romances to use continuing characters were “By Love Undone” and “Taming Rafe” in “The Bancroft Brothers” series. She followed that pair with “Reforming a Rake,” “Meet Me at Midnight” and “A Matter of Scandal in the “With This Ring” series.
Her latest series, “Lessons in Love,” contains her three most popular books, “The Rake,” “London’s Perfect Scoundrel” and “London’s Perfect Hero.” Enoch thinks “Hero,” released in March, might soon overtake “Scoundrel” as her best-selling title to date.
“I always hope that the sales numbers and print runs will increase with each subsequent book,” Enoch says. “If it ever starts going in the other direction, I’ll be in trouble.”
Enoch says she just learned that “Scoundrel” is a finalist in a prestigious Romance Writers of America competition. She’ll travel to Dallas in July for the conference and awards ceremony.
Enoch has worked with three other respected romance writers on two anthologies, “The Further Observations of Lady Whistledown” and the new “Lady Whistledown Strikes Back.” Her co-authors are romance doyenne Julia Quinn, Karen Hawkins and Mia Ryan.
“Both of these anthologies have gotten a lot of attention because they’re different than anything that’s been done before,” according to Enoch. “Most anthologies contain stories with similar themes, but these feature four stories that take place concurrently.”
“The various characters make appearances in all of the stories and attend the same balls and dinners and events,” Enoch says, adding, “It wouldn’t have been possible to do without the Internet and a lot of e-mails.”
While many of Enoch’s earlier efforts are now out-of-print, the volumes often enjoy spirited bidding on various auction sites, including E-bay. A single paperback copy of her first book—rarely available—has been priced at close to $200 on a site specializing in used books.
Also sometimes seen on the Internet are foreign language editions of her works. So far, Enoch has been translated into Russian, Korean, Swedish, Polish, Norwegian and German.
Some of Enoch’s foreign language covers are pictured on her fun and colorful Web site at www.suzanneenoch.com. The site was created and is maintained by Enoch’s brother-in-law, Mark Byrne, a sergeant and 27-year veteran with the Garden Grove Police Department.
The site also contains the first chapter of each Enoch book, reviews from professional critics and comments from readers. A Romantic Times Magazine reviewer compares Enoch’s witty dialogue with that in “Emma,” written by one of Enoch’s favorite authors, Jane Austen.
Enoch’s two sisters and parents are very supportive of her now full-time writing career.
Sister Cheryl Byrne, who lives in Yorba Linda, takes photographs for Enoch’s book covers and Web site. Youngest sister Nancy Enoch, who lives in Anaheim, teaches the author’s future readers at the Farm School on the University of California, Irvine, campus.
“Both of my sisters are my unofficial editors, always willing to read chapters and give their opinions,” Enoch says. “And they don’t hold back, which is exactly what I need.”
Enoch’s father Lee retired as a contract administrator at Rockwell after 35 years. Her mother Joan was a librarian at Orchard, Tynes and Travis Ranch schools.
Enoch’s mother remembers her daughter’s years at McFadden Elementary and Kraemer Junior High: “She always had a lively imagination. She, her sisters and any of the neighborhood children they could drag in put together plays, which they performed for anyone who was willing to watch.”
“As soon as Suzie was able to write and compose sentences, she started writing stories … and she continued right through high school,” Joan Enoch says. “Suzie’s first love as a young adult was writing fantasy and science fiction. She also tried her hand at writing TV and movie scripts.”
“She didn’t do anything with these stories but still has them filed away for a ‘maybe someday’ revision,” her mother says. Enoch sent her first romance manuscript unsolicited to New York literary agent Nancy Yost, who liked her work and helped her get it published.
Enoch notes, “I’ve been saying I wanted to grow up and be a writer since I was six. My parents never laughed at me, never encouraged me to go after a different career and always supported everything that I attempted.”
Enoch says her parents paid her tuition at UC Irvine, where she majored in English, and “they allowed me to live at home for longer than most offspring do, rent free, so I could save money and afford to write and to eventually move into my own place.”
"While my writing career is definitely beginning to become profitable, it’s always been a family effort. I can truly say that I couldn’t have done it without them,” Enoch adds.
The only other published writer in Enoch’s family was her great-grandfather Vivian Whitlock, a cowboy who worked ranches in New Mexico and west Texas. He wrote a weekly column for the Beaumont (Texas) Enterprise newspaper, and the University of Oklahoma published his book, “Cowboy Life on the Llano Estacado.”
Although Enoch enjoys corresponding with her fans through her Web site, she usually holds only one signing for each of her books. Fortunately for her local readers, the sessions are at Waldenbooks in the Brea Mall, where readers can greet the author and meet her entire family.
The latest addition to the family is Enoch’s nephew Jackson Byrne. He’s attended every Enoch signing since his birth and delights in a special playroom in his aunt’s new Placentia home.
posted by Jim Drummond at 12:00 PM
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