Please help me welcome today’s guest, Susan Coryell…
Please tell us a little about yourself, where are you from? Where do you live now? Family? Pets?
I am a native of Virginia where I grew up in Herndon, a little dairy-farming town at the time. Many Northern Virginia communities were more urban than where I lived—so much so that when other schools played against us in a home game, they would “moo” rather than “boo” a referee’s call they disagreed with. When I left for college, the town census was at 2,000 population. When I returned 4 years later, with the building of Dulles Airport, the population had begun a steady climb until today it is more than 24,000. After teaching for 30 years (two in Hawaii and 28 in Fairfax County Public Schools, Virginia), I retired, along with my husband, to Smith Mt. Lake in south central Virginia. Now we live in Clemson, South Carolina, near our daughter, her husband and out two teenaged granddaughters. We have a black cat named Walter who walked onto our patio and decided to live with us.
Where did you get the idea for Eaglebait? Why did you choose this genre. Was there anything unusual, any anecdote about this book, the characters, title, process, etc. you’d like to share? What is the most difficult thing about writing a book? What was the most difficult thing about this one in particular?
Wardy Spinks, the 14-year-old protagonist, attends Evanstown High, home of the Eagles. Any foe or opponent is considered “Eaglebait,” a taunt for the opposing school, loudly proclaimed by their cheerleaders during pep rallies. Wardy Spinks becomes the joke of the school, thus he is “Eaglebait.” I wrote EAGLEBAIT while I was teaching middle school where bullying flourished. I wondered how some of the victims never appeared to recover while others managed to move on with their lives – thus the theme of building self-esteem emerged for the novel. Placed in “gifted-talented” classes because of his superior intelligence, Wardy is bullied relentlessly at Evanstown High because of his non-athletic, pudgy, bespectacled appearance and lack of social skills. Though he’s failing most of his classes, he’s secretly building a laser in his basement. Calling himself a professor of nuclear physics, he writes to research labs asking for assistance with a fuel formula for the laser. I consulted the smartest guy I knew at the time as to ingredients for such a fuel. When I asked him if this would actually work, he hesitated, then said, “Probably not…maybe…let’s change a few of the measurements just in case. We don’t want kids to replicate it and blow up their kitchens!” For The Wild Rose Press’s new YA line, I revised and updated Eaglebait with cyberbullying and technology. For me, the writing, revision and even the editing of my books is challenging but creative fun. The hard part is marketing and promoting the work once it’s published. Eaglebait is no exception.
What do you want readers to come away with after they read Eaglebait?
I would hope my young adult readers would find ways for nullifying school bullies in their own lives or among their schoolmates and that they would work to build their own self-esteem as Wardy does in the novel. For adult readers – parents, teachers, counselors and all who work with youth, I would want them to note the steps built into the plot for dealing with bullying and to apply that knowledge to situations they encounter with teens and ‘tweens.
What is your favorite quote?
From Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar: “The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones.”
Have you written any other books that are not published?
I have seven published books, but I’ve written a dozen books in all. My very first book, DOUBLEHEADER, is about twin teenaged baseball players, a pitcher and a catcher, who telepathize their signals during games so that the opponents can’t anticipate the type of incoming pitch. There’s also a mystery involved. I proved to myself that I could write a full-length novel, but it was not quite ready for prime time. Currently, I am writing a children’s picture book and looking for an agent or publisher.
What is the toughest criticism given to you as an author? What has been the best compliment?
A national review venue made the comment, on one of my children’s picture books, that it seemed unfinished. The reviewer wanted “more,” but my other reviewers and I consider the book satisfactorily completed. The best compliment came from my sister when she finished reading Eaglebait. “As I read,” she said, “I completely forgot that my sister had written the book.”
Are your characters based off real people or did they all come entirely from your imagination?
In Eaglebait, as with five other books I’ve published, all the characters are fictional. Of course, I pick up characteristics from actual people and build on them at times. I modeled the teacher/mentor in Eaglebait after a college professor – the most dynamic instructor I ever encountered in all my educational experience. One book, A Murder of Principle, is based on a stinker of a principal I endured for a few years while teaching high school, although that character is highly fictionalized.
What do your friends and family think of your writing?
I come from a tribe of writers in my family, so, they understand the ups and downs of the process. My friends are uber-supportive, attending my launches, buying my books and spreading news about each publication. I am very fortunate to have such a helpful community.
How much of the book is realistic?
Eaglebait is realistic in every way. Some of the overt bullying events actually occurred in different school settings. The cyberbullying via Facebook, texts, instant messaging, etc. is a reality, both malicious and anonymous, that many students face today. An editor questioned me when I wrote the first edition, saying, “We just can’t believe such bullying goes on in schools.” In the Washington Post I found a current article, complete with a photo of a big kid with wild hair and tattoos on his arms, who was quoted: “I hit ‘em because it makes me feel good.” I sent the whole page to my editor and I never heard any more about their questioning the reality of school bullies.
How did your interest in writing originate?
Because I grew up in a family of writers, I assumed everyone was a writer, too. I was forever penning poems and stories about everything from honeybees to teenage angst I detected in older siblings. In third grade, I decided to write letters to my girlfriends in class. My mother helped me address and stamp the envelopes. One by one, my friends called me: “Susan! I got your letter! What fun!” After the fifth call, I said to my mother, “What is wrong with these people? I wrote to them – they’re supposed to write back to me!” My mother smiled. “They’re not all writers, like you, Susan.” What a shock! Somehow, I knew from the start that I was a writer and that writers have to write. Not until I was an adult with three children, however, did I set my mind to composing a full-length novel. DOUBLEHEADER was the result of that effort. Eaglebait followed.
Thank you for being here today, Susan. Even though I’ve known you for years, I feel I know you a little better now. 🙂 Please tell us about your book…
Blurb:
Wardy Spinks has been a loser for as long as he can remember. Freshman year in high school, Wardy becomes the victim of malicious bullying. Eventually his life begins to change. A charismatic science teacher becomes his mentor. Then, quiet Meg seems friendly. And Big Vi takes on a life of her own. Wardy discovers his attitude makes a difference in how he’s treated. If Wardy doesn’t feel like a loser, maybe he won’t be one.
Excerpt:
Home. Wardy Spinks was home, but it was nothing to be proud of. Dishonorable discharge. Sacked. Another failure. Martin-Barrett Academy was what his mother referred to as “the last resort.” Some resort. Uniforms, demerits, drills, formation, light out. What happens next when you’re only fourteen years old and you’ve just been expelled from the last resort? Wardy shut his eyes and tried to block out the scene forming in his mind. He’d been over it so many times. It was too recent—too painful and real. Besides, it was permanently programmed into his brain, the beginning of the end of his career as a cadet. Involuntarily, his thoughts slid back to that night less than a week ago.
Buy link(s):
About the Author:
Susan has been writing and publishing since EAGLEBAIT was first published in 1990 by Harcourt. The YA novel won the International Reading Association’s “YA Choice” and the New York Public Library’s “Books for the Teen Age.” Now updated, EAGLEBAIT was republished by The Wild Rose Press, June, 2024. Susan has written a cozy mystery/Southern Gothic trilogy, including: A RED, RED ROSE (Amazon Encore); BENEATH THE STONES; and NOBODY KNOWS, published by The Wild Rose Press. A MURDER OF PRINCIPLE, a cozy mystery, was published by The Wild Rose Press in 2018. SPOOKY YOGA, a children’s picture book, KDP, 2022, and KIKI’S DREAM, published by Golden Bridges Press round out her current repertoire.
A 30-year English teacher of grades 7 – 12, Susan loves to present book talks and writing workshops at schools, libraries and community functions for writers and readers of all ages. She has conducted panel discussions, writers’ conferences and anti-bully youth groups. Her professional associations include SCBWI, South Carolina Writers Association, Authors Guild, and OLLI Writers at Clemson University. She has a Ba degree from Carson Newman University and a graduate degree, MAIS, from George Mason University.
Susan is married to her high school sweetheart. They live in Clemson, South Carolina. She enjoys traveling to Hawaii, walking, water aerobics, yoga and anything to do with grandchildren.
Susan is available for Zooms and interviews as well as in-person book talks and other programs locally.
Author Alicia Dean 