Susan M. (Baganz) Lodwick is a mother to adult Hobbits and is a native of Wisconsin. She is an Editor with Pelican Book Group specializing in bringing great romance novels and novellas to publication. Susan writes adventurous historical and contemporary romances with a biblical world-view.
She has 32 published titles with more stories waiting to be published.
Susan speaks, teaches and encourages others to follow God in being all He has created them to be. With her seminary degree in counseling psychology, a background in the field of mental health, and years serving in church ministry, she understands the complexities and pain of life as well as its craziness. She serves behind-the-scenes in various capacities at her church. She recently married an amazing man to reach her the “happily-ever-after” she often writes about. Her favorite pastimes are lazy ones—snuggling with her husband while reading a good book, playing her guitar, or sitting with a friend chatting over a cup of spiced chai latte.
You can learn more by following her twitter feed @susanbaganz or her fan page, www.facebook.com/susanmbaganz.
COOPER is a Lhasa Apso/Shih Tzu mix who was adopted in 2022 at the age of nine. We don’t know his background but he is a sweet rescue all the way from Texas but seems well adapted to Wisconsin and happy to be the only spoiled dog in our home.
SPEAKING
Susan is available to speak on a variety of topics. She teaches theology and leadership and can adapt some of that teaching to a broader audience of women (or mixed groups if your church leadership allows that) as well as custom design messages for your need. She also speaks at writer’s conferences. To contact me about speaking, please email me at silygoos@gmail.com. I would love to come and encourage your group! I live in Eden, Wisconsin.
You can listen to me on Patti Shene’s Step into the Light blog radio!
What God Taught Me When I Thought I was Having Fun – My journey as a writer has great application to life in general and a way to encourage other women to pursue their God-given dreams – regardless of their season in life. Wait till you hear what God did when I thought I was just enjoying myself! God longs for us to delight in Him as we serve Him and it’s exciting to find that sometimes the things we really enjoy, are ways He can use us best for His glory!
Hang In There! Life is hard at times, isn’t it? I have found that challenge after challenge God has thrown my way has given me the opportunity to do one of two things – run from the challenge or run to Him and allow Him to let me grow as a result of the trials I’ve faced. In theology, this is called “sanctification.” It is a painful process but one that God uses to create beautiful things! Let me come and encourage your women to stand firm in Christ, hang in there and soar to new heights as God does His work!
Lessons from Rahab – What does a prostitute from Scripture have to teach us? So many things! Let’s look through the mirror of Scripture and learn some fresh lessons from this intriguing character!
Out of the Box – Taken from a leadership training – the applications are for everyone. This was actually a series of talks including one on humility as well as one on the significance of pearls.
Panel Discussions – I have a variety of friends at various stages and roles within the writing field and we love to do a panel discussion on writing and our journeys. Often I moderate as well as participate in these. If your library, writing/critique group or school is interested in real life writers (freelance, editing, novelists, etc) – then give me a call and I’ll see if we can arrange something where we can come and share our journey!
Social Media for Scardy Cats – so many authors (and even regular folks) are afraid of facebook and twitter especially, but it doesn’t have to be as invasive or a violation of your privacy as you might think. I love to encourage you on how to safely navigate those waters so you will dip your foot in!
Panster vs Plotter – a topic I’ve spoken on with my friend Lisa Lickel (who is a plotter) about the range of writing styles and how they are all okay. Write according to who YOU are but learn all you can about both sides to deepen your understanding of the craft.
The Heartbeat of Inspirational Romance – this is a talk given at writer’s conferences that explores just what constitutes an inspirational romance and how far can a writer realistically go with the romance between a man and a woman.
Writing Your Past into Your Fiction – This is a new talk given at writer’s conferences that considers how we can and do use our past experiences, pains, unresolved emotional issues, in our writing, to provide healing and hope as well as be a cathartic outlet for the author.
The Heart of the Writer – The life of an author is generally an isolated one by the nature of the job. So how does one keep their faith vibrant and how do we build in accountability to prevent us from falling into sin? Essential issues to grapple with if we want God to use our writing for His glory.
Spectacular Starts and Fabulous Finishes – using examples from real novels (and some non-fiction books) I show different tools you can use to make your book beginning as well as chapter starts and scene endings keep the reader (and potential editors and agents) reading.
Skittles and Editing – I go over tools I use to make my own manuscript shine before ever sending it to an editor. They are things you can do as well along with using critique partners to make your novel shine. I feature and talk about the benefits of AutoCrit in the process but provide you with tools so you can do without it as well.
The Fiction Writer’s Toolbox – a four-session exploration of the basics of writing where I share all my mistakes and the things that I’ve learned on my journey. Part I: Before You Write, Part II: As You Write, Part III: After You Write and Part IV: Getting Published. Sessions run about 90 minutes each and have been taught at Write to Publish as well as Continuing Education classes at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh – Fond du Lac and Fox Valley Campuses.
To contact me about speaking, please email me at silygoos@gmail.com or call me at (920)539-9311.
I would love to come and encourage your group! I live in Eden, Wisconsin.
7 Comments
Dear Susan,
Hi! I’m a fellow author in the book anthology, I Choose You.
Just wondering if you’ve heard any news/info regarding our royalties for the book, published in late 2012.
I’ve received “promises” of payment over a year ago and thus far…nothing.
If you have any info to assuage my curiosity-bordering-on-madness, lol, please advise when you have a moment.
Loved your story.
Thanks and best always,
Mary Cantell
I sent you an email, Mary. Thanks for visiting my blog and best wishes to you on your writing!
Hi Susan, I’m a fellow author and blogger here on WordPress.com. I’m attempting to finish my first novel, which is partly autobiographical set in fiction form, but have no idea how to write a coherent story.
1. I know that research will be important, as it is historical fiction set in the ’70’s and ’80’s, including world and local news and the songs of the time. My goal is to let the reader take a trip through time by immersing them in the culture of each year or time period.
2. The fleshing out of each character (most are loosely based on the people I’ve known in my life), and making them memorable.
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3. The novel structure and organization.
4. And finally, where to publish.
I have wrestled with the idea of this book since my teen years and have attempted to write is for the last 12. I delayed it for some time because I had a son to raise and homeschool and a husband who needed attention and support, but now that my son is 20 and my husband is about to retire, I’m in a perfect position to finally finish the book. I also suffer from clinical depression and have periods where I can do nothing more than exist, and those are the days that I don’t write at all, which ruins the momentum.
I would appreciate any suggestions you might have.
BTW, I love you blog and facebook page. You are inspiring.
I answered your other comment!
As I live in St. Robert, Missouri, I have no writers group to bounce my ideas off of, now how to find any who live locally, not in St. Louis or Springfield (which are both 2 hours away from where I live). Any suggestions?
Hi, That’s a lot to try to give a response to in a blog! IF there are not writer’s groups close to you I would check out http://www.acfw.com. I’m a member of this organization and they provide many tools for writers. You might find an ACFW group to connect with as well. Some books I often recommend for general writing are “On Writing” by Stephen King as well as “The Art of War for Writers” by James Scott Bell. I also often recommend “THe Emotion Thesaurus” To help with “showing” not telling what your characters are growing through. ACFW is a great way to connect with writers and they have a critique loop you can sign up for where you critique as well as have others critique your work. No better way to learn than by doing the work. I hope that helps! IF you can make it to a conference at some point: WRITE TO PUBLISH is held mid-June in Wheaton Illinois and one of the best to attend. Well worth the investment in time and money to be there. You’ll make writer friends who can help you on the journey as well as have a vareity of great workshops to help you grow. Don’t feel bad if you make mistakes along the way. We all do. (even me – LOTS of mistakes!) Blessings to you!
Thanks so much for your advice. I’ll check out your suggestions. God bless!