Interview #37: Suzanne Junered: Persistence was the key in her 11-year writing journey

Rick (00:05.744)

Hi everyone, I'm Rick Barron, your host, and welcome to my podcast, That's Life I Swear. 

My guest today is Susan Junered. She is the author of the new novel Good Night Monsters. 

So, here's a question for you. What if you were told that the dream you would be chasing would take eleven years to arrive? Would you wait?

For Suzanne, becoming a novelist wasn't an overnight success story. It was an 11-year journey filled with learning, rewriting, rejection, persistence, and the constant question, should I keep going? 

She did. 

In 2026, something remarkable happened. Suzanne's novel, Goodnight Monsters, was picked up by Simon and Schuster and finally made its way into the world.

Now Suzanne today will share what that journey taught her about writing, resilience herself, and refusing to give up on something you're passionate about even when the finish line seems impossibly far away. 

Because you see, sometimes the path to the rainbow is much longer than we expect. So please join me as I have my conversation with Suzanne Junered. Suzanne, welcome to the show.

Suzanne Junered (01:28.994)

Thank you, Rick. What a cool introduction.

Rick (01:31.37)

I had to do something special and I'll share with the audience this is the second and I want to underscore opportunity to speak with you cause I think we spoke not quite two years ago, but at that time you were just starting to hopefully get a shot at getting your first book published and you were still kind of in the in the stage of waiting. And then it was this year that your dream finally came true.

So, I have to ask yourself, I'm sorry, before I go on, this is very rude of me. Can you tell the audience a little bit about yourself and where you are today?

Suzanne Junered (02:11.614)

Sure. Let me just say, huge opportunity for me too. It's not, yeah, this is this is a two-way street and I really appreciate it. A little bit about myself. Let's see. I started out in adulthood as a with a career in nutrition. I think you and I talked about that last time, Rick. And I know I like to say I was a professional dietitian. Well, I still am. At some point in my 30s I became a professional parent, which I still am. And now I get to call myself a professional creative. And so, I'm spending a lot of my time outside of parenting, writing novels and music as well. And yeah, about to officially release my own podcast. So, a professional creative. Yeah.

Rick (02:58.076)

Good for you. That's great. I love that. So, I got to ask, you were waiting so long. Where were you when you got the call?

That your book was gonna be released.

Suzanne Junered (03:18.654)

Yeah, it wasn't a fairy tale. Nobody called me. Not like it is in the movies. I'm sure I'm sure that happens now and again. There is a story out there that, you know, some big name is calling and on the phone and we found your work and we can't wait to partner with you and get it published. That was not my fairy tale, and that's okay. 

And just like you said in the introduction, it out of persistence on my own path and deciding what to do with this novel. I knew over the years that I wanted to do something with it. I was not going to give up on it. And we had, we, me and the novel, we had some ups and downs. It was a partnership. We had ups and downs along the way. I think we've talked a little bit about publishing paths in our last interview together. 

So, I won't revisit too many of the details there, but I started pursuing publishing in 2019. I was represented by an agent eventually. Then for various reasons, I was not represented by that agent. I found another agent to represent me. So, it was kind of following the trail to where the publication would come for this particular novel. And I wouldn't take no for an answer is what happened. Nobody called me.

But I kept calling people, figuratively calling, because the process these days, a lot of it's done through the internet. You're submitting your work. There are very specific processes that come into play when you are querying is the official term, agents, when you are when the agents are out on submission with editors and publishing houses. 

So again, Simon and Schuster did not come calling. They did not say, that Suzanne over in Colorado, she's going to be the next best thing. We're going to take her on. I pursued this partnership. 

And what I had found was, it’s an indie press called She Writes Press, and they have the partnership with Simon and Schuster, and so they have this amazing vetting process for their books enough for Simon and Schuster to be like, yes, absolutely. We'll put our name behind it as well. And so, I submitted my work and I was kind of pursuing other things as well at the time. And I put it aside. I said, well, this is an interesting opportunity. And within a matter of weeks, I thought it would have taken longer. I did get response back through.

She writes press and they said, We've put you on our green light path. We would love to partner with you. And so, discovering what that looked like and signing a contract. That was April of last year [2025], the contract was official.

Rick (06:11.232)

My god. Well, you must have felt numb when you got the news.

Suzanne Junered (06:22.358)

You know, it was it was a little bit of relief actually to it was like that you know when you have an amazing vacation, some sort of exploration, adventure, and then you come home and you and you're like, wait, I also really like being home. It's this place of comfort, this place of calm. It was the same feeling. It was I had been on this adventure trying to figure out.

What's going to happen with this story? How am I going to share it with other people? And when I signed that contract, I said, okay, it feels like I'm at home now.

Rick (06:59.57)

Alright guys. So, I'm guessing here as you were writing the book, you were also working as a nutritionist on the side. So, I guess to a certain degree it wasn't fully devoted into just writing a book cause I think you probably would have gone stir crazy just waiting and waiting it during that time period because you had something to kind of take you off your mind, so to speak.

Suzanne Junered (07:24.344)

Yeah, when I started writing in general, it was a hobby. And it took me way too many years to take myself seriously as a writer and be able to confidently say, I am a writer. I am, you know, will one day be an author with a published novel. 

And so, I put it to the side as, that's this hobby I do. This is what I like to do. Some people turn on the TV at night. I dip into my stories and create. So yes, it was not at the forefront. I will tell some people they just know innately that this is what they're meant to do. And they do. They make a career out of it. They don't have their side job. They say that this is what I'm going to do. maybe it does make them stir crazy. Maybe they're crazy before they even started it. Who knows? We all have whatever motivates us. Yeah.

Rick (08:19.634)

That's cool. I love the title though. Goodnight Monsters is such an emotional moving title. How did you arrive at that, or did you have other ideas for the title?

Suzanne Junered (08:31.886)

It’s in an old notebook I have, you know, a whole page scratched with title ideas and none of them were great. I was really trying to reach and pull something out. And where this title came from is after I had written the first draft of this novel, a mentor, it was a very different book. The first draft of any book, I guarantee, unless you are, you know, just knocking them out these days, like James Patterson or somebody who writes a book every two months.

The very the first draft usually looks quite different. And this was kind of a fever dream of a story. and I took it to a mentor of mine, and he read it and he said, I just feel like there's a bigger metaphor here that that is coming into play. And as soon as he said that I knew what it was. I knew that my character was being anxious over pregnancy. And that was not something I had initially written into the story. And so that's a big piece of Goodnight Monsters as it stands today. and it was always going to be that way. I know it was always going to be that way. But the title came almost immediately after because Goodnight Monsters is a play on the children's book, Goodnight Moon, that classic board book where this bunny woman is saying Goodnight to a young bunny and goodnight to the room and the great green room and all of this. And I referenced that book in Goodnight Monsters throughout, but it's a darker twist that this woman, this female character that I wrote is having to say goodnight to the own monsters inside of her. So, she's not saying goodnight to the moon. She's saying goodnight to whatever is lurking within. Yeah.

Rick (10:25.372)

Got it. Okay. So, you know, maybe kind of going back to what you said earlier about getting into your creative state of mood, and maybe you've already answered this, but what was the epiphany for writing this book? And how did you because I know this cannot be an easy task, how do you create your characters, their moods, their I don't know, style and how it carries through a book because that to me is an art. That's not an easy task to take on. And how do you maintain that level going from the beginning to the end of the book? Can you kind of dive into that?

Suzanne Junered (11:07.564)

Yeah, I yeah, absolutely. I mean, that's why novel writing takes a long time. It's not just sitting down and writing down the words and then you're finished from point A to point B. For me, a story always starts with a little spark of an idea. 

And so GoodNight Monsters specifically came to me as the story of a woman who wants to watch somebody die, but she knows that's weird and that that's wrong and that she wouldn't actually kill somebody. But she begins having these fantasies about doing such things. And from there, the other pieces started developing in my mind. Well, what is this story? Well, why does she want to watch somebody die? Well, how old is she? You know who is she? What does her life look like? And when I sit down to begin writing the story.

That's when all of those details that you talked about start to come in just by the act of writing. And a lot of writers will talk about being in flow and the external distractions going away and just immersing in the story. And a lot of times a writer will discover along the way some of those details that we didn't even know beforehand. 

I just was listening to someone else, who I was at a writer's conference in Nashville last month. It's called Killer Nashville. It's an awesome conference. And somebody there was saying he’s typing away, typing away, and then suddenly he had this person open the trunk. 

And he didn't even know it was in the trunk yet, but something was going to be in the trunk. So that piece came first before whatever he ended up planting in the trunk and a lot of times that's it's a discovery process along the way. And then comes the editing portion, which is not only my eyes going back through it multiple, multiple times, but enlisting others, help of readers, help of other writers, help of professional editors and all sorts of people to make sure there's consistency, there's your characters are developed enough to where a reader would really attach to them.

Rick (13:29.148)

So, as you wrote the book, you know, we talked about the time span from when you had this spark of an  idea to where now you got your contract. How did you see yourself at the beginning of writing this book to where you are now? Like this was Suzanne when she first started and this is Suzanne now, she has her contract. Are they the same individuals or have they changed? In what ways?

Suzanne Junered (13:59.256)

Yeah, that there could be so many branches of discussion off this. Yes, there is a complete it’s its own thing, memoir, I suppose. when I was writing the bones of this book, it was after my second child was born. And I was suffering from some sort of undiagnosed postpartum depression or mood disorder or sleeplessness or whatever you want to call it. And so I was in this space of uncertainty and disarray within myself. And a lot of the emotions that I was experiencing during that time went into the story, which was beautifully cathartic because I had a place to express what I was feeling within this character that I had created.

And then I could turn my attention back to my life and feel a little bit lighter, a little bit happier, a little bit more in touch with my own life. I don't recommend, you know, writing alone if someone is going through a similar situation, postpartum depression or whatever. I'm not saying, just go out and write a book. It was very helpful for me. But I would encourage others to speak up to your loved ones, to your friends, to your doctors.

Therapists, all kinds of things, but it really helped me navigate those uncertain feelings, anxious feelings, anger, some anger and rage that was inside of me, and p have a place to put it. So then, years later, years later, I discovered, I think I was having some sort of postpartum depression after I had come out of that state.

And so, I was already changing, already changing and becoming someone new and having this self-awareness that I hadn't had before. and it was around the time when I decided, well, it must have taken me three years to decide that this book belonged on the shelf and to be shared with readers. 

Because of that self-doubt, that question of, well, you know, am I a good writer?

Am I a good storyteller? Played a big role there too. It was this therapeutic, cool thing that I had done that I had created. but could I then believe in it enough to share it with others? And that took me on the path of discovery within myself of could I do this? 

Could I identify as an author as a writer. It's nothing I ever studied in school. It's something I just began doing. Of course I've learned from people along the way, workshops, the act of doing local communities and groups. So, I was really trying to figure out who am I as a creative person. And now years later I could talk about all the, you know, rest of the things that I've done to understand myself more. But I'm absolutely a different woman than I ever was. Yeah.

Rick (17:17.38)

Wow. Did you ever share what you're talking about with me with some of your fellow book writers and what kind of feedback did they give to you in terms of do I think I'm really a writer, if you will, just to kind of make it kind of a simple description here?

Suzanne Junered (17:30.4)

Mm-hmm. Yeah, that's the hard thing because first of all, writers need other writers in our life, no matter what. We are so supportive of each other. Anyone who's writing is a writer. You don’t know there's no stamp of approval. There's no, you know, trademark. If you're writing, you're a writer. And it took me a while to believe that and understand it.

We all go through this like comparison. Well, I'm not I don't write like this person. Well, of course you don't, because we are our own people. And so having community is the most helpful part to lift each other up and support each other and keep going and motivate. And it's also helpful, I'll be honest, to see that other people are dealing with the same self-doubt. And I don't want them to, but normalizing all the thoughts that come away, you know, it just helps us all move along and keep going. You feel that way too sometimes? okay. Yeah. Yeah.

Rick (18:27.386)

Well, that way sometimes? Sure. No, I in in terms of story writing, I've read quite a few books. I just finished reading Theo of Golden. And I won't tell you the plot of the movie, but it's the author really knew how to carry your emotions throughout the book and then kind of leaves you in a kind of a question mark and then the ending comes almost all of a sudden and I'll leave it at that. 

But for you, when it comes to story writing, what are some of the concepts, ideas that you didn't know in the beginning but that you know now that will then carry you forward like here are things I never should have done, but I learned from those mistakes. But now as I go forward to writing my future books, I can carry those lessons forward. I mean, what would you pass on to somebody who's wanting to be a story writer, who wants to be an author one day? What could you share with them?

Suzanne Junered (19:39.202)

Yeah, that's great. I am depending on the genre that you're writing into, whether it's general fiction, I write in the psychological horror thriller department, there are romance books, there's fantasy and sci-fi, they all have their little pockets and some rules, I should say. There are certain things that readers are expecting. And I'll give an example of romance because Thriller, I don't think it is as specific, but I could be misquoting this though.

So sorry to all the romance authors and readers, but there is like a very specific thing that needs to happen right at 7% of the book. And if that doesn't happen right around that time, readers are like, What is this book? This is not what I was expecting. And so, there are certain rules that come into play. I think it's helpful.

To learn some of those, to study. There's a lot of craft books out there. that some of the great authors have written craft books in my genre. There's Stephen King's On Writing, is a fabulous book for writers. Yeah, it's wonderful and it gives you a little glimpse into his life and process as well as tips. Harlan Coben just came out with a new book.

Rick (20:51.952)

I have that book. Yeah.

Suzanne Junered (21:07.086)

Plot, plot, plot, something, plot, something with the word plot in it. I haven't read it yet. There’s a book called Save the Cat that talks about plotting and just the very specific steps along the way. And so I think there's a lot of great resources out there, and rules can be broken. And so I know that for myself, if I'm writing into a formula of 7% this needs to happen, and then at 22% this needs to happen.

That's not going to be the book that really is inside of me. So, I first have to write out my book without considering any of the rules. And then if they're if I'm taking too long to get to one of the twists, or if I'm taking too long to make us connect with the character, that's where editing comes in. And that's where professional editors come in, or excellent beta readers, what we call, come in and say, yeah, I wasn't really connecting with the character yet. And so then that's where you fine tune and you're like, okay, what would make her more relatable? What would make what can I take out to speed up this twist so we can get there sooner, whatever it is.

Rick (22:23.95)

Right. Over the time though that you've been waiting for this day to get your book published, I'm sure you came across a lot of people who gave you some insight advice. What are some of the pieces of information that people passed on to you to help provide you some guidance and maybe just pick one or two that really God, I'm glad I spoke with this person because now this gives me a new purpose, a new direction, that I never would have thought of.

Suzanne Junered (22:56.728)

Yeah. One, I would say meet other writers because having conversations about your book, even if somebody else is not reading your book, can be really helpful. Sometimes you're just in conversation with a friend who understands what you're talking about. And maybe you give yourself the answer because you're working through it. Going to author writer events if it's in your budget.

It can be super helpful. A lot of the com-in-person conferences these days now have replay options where you could purchase for $80 or something the craft sessions and all the panels and you can listen at home. I think they started doing that around the pandemic times. And if you can't be in there in person, there's an excellent option to learn from these people.

And also, there's again, there's no right or wrong way. I really truly think there's no right or wrong way. And so, you might be listening in and think, okay, that's an interesting idea, but it doesn't really resonate with how I like to write, then let it go. That was the the best advice I got about parenting. When I became a parent, a friend said, hey, listen to the advice. Everyone's going to want to give you advice. Take a listen to what they say.

And then take only what works for you. And I really appreciated him saying that because a lot of new parents, a lot of writers, a lot of, you know, what young professionals think, okay, somebody's telling me this is the way, then it must be the right way. And that's not necessarily true. So, it's the same in the writing community. There is no one right way.

Rick (24:46.534)

Well, that's good. I mean with your book now coming out, I'm sure you've been giving a lot of feedback from people. But what has been the most meaningful feedback you have received thus far regarding your book that you weren't expecting?

Suzanne Junered (25:05.703)

Goodness. The fact that people are reading it is meaningful enough to me. I mean, there were some excellent early reviews. I love it when people say, gosh, I really didn't like this character, and that's why I loved the book so much. I love when people say, Wow, this book really unsettled me. 

I really appreciate the trade reviews that have come in, the professional reviews. An old mentor of mine said, he said, it's your job to write the book. And then all the smart people will be the ones talking about your book. And so just the fact that all the smart people who read are talking about my book is feels like a really big deal to me. And they'll pick out questions and they'll pick out little pieces that were really meaningful to me that I didn't know other people would pay attention to. And so, it's really just the fact that the smart people are reading my book. Yeah.

Rick (26:18.972)

Well, I mean this is kind of a good segue because in the feedback that you've been getting, I like to share with the audience, if I may, a feedback you got from someone and you responded in this fashion and you shared regarding a book review and you stated, and I quote, and this was on your Instagram account, that sometimes a book review gives you something you didn't know you needed. 

A reader recently shared that they wished Goodnight Monsters included an author's note acknowledging the care, research, and personal experience behind some of the book's most fragile emotional territory. And you said they were right. And you went on to say, with this novel I hope to normalize the struggle that exists between motherhood from the loss of autonomy to the anxieties and from postpartum depression to the extreme cases of psychosis.

I wish for you to know that the love and joy of motherhood can exist alongside suffering. Very powerful statement there. Can you expand on that? Because I think that’s beautiful.

Suzanne Junered (27:32.706)

Definitely. Yeah, thank you for bringing that in. That was feedback is important. and sometimes with feedback we can or cannot change things. But this gave me an opportunity to add something to future editions of the book. And to talk about normalizing the state of motherhood is really my main intention for putting this book in the world. I think it's entertaining. I think people who like, you know.

Dark thriller, dark story content can be entertained from it, but there really is deeper meaning within about becoming a mother, about the expectations of women in the world, the expectations of women as mothers. And I hope to open conversations just like that within and I know as of late, there's a lot in the news around postpartum mood disorders, postpartum psychosis. And I think it's important that we talk about it because a lot of them, I don't know if I want to call it darkness, heaviness, maybe heaviness, thoughts, feelings that can come in around this beautifully joyful time. It seems wrong to women that we might not be.

The happiest person in the world when we become mothers. It seems shameful. It seems like I'm not doing it right, and so what I would hope to do is normalize the burden that's placed on us, some of those dark, uncertain, anxious feelings, whatever it is that we're having. And it is truly, it's a little baffling how that can exist next to the pure love and joy and excitement that you have for this child that you've brought into the world. Yeah. Yeah.

Rick (29:31.036)

Yeah. Absolutely. I mean gosh, I remember when I was in high school, we all had to take a course in biology, but also watching the birth of a child. You know, I'm just sixteen years old and I'm watching this. It was a black and white movie and I was squirming like all get out. 

I thought, please hurry up and get this over with you know, it I guess for me, Suzanne to see that where a woman is bearing a child, that to me, when I saw that moment, just told me that the strength of a woman is never to be questioned because I was just overwhelmed with how that takes place. So, I think from what you just expressed and seeing what it takes not only just to bear a child.

But the moment of how you have to not have to, but you want to bring them up, teach you know, all the various facets of life, have them learn their mistakes, is not an easy task to take on, but it's a beautiful one at the same time. So

Suzanne Junered (30:47.362)

Yeah. Yeah. I appreciate you saying that. And I think the strength of women exists. I mean, that is just a fact, but both physically and emotionally and mentally, we are capable. We are capable of anything. And we are also taught that strength sometimes is hiding parts of ourselves.

And I don't think that that's true. I think strength can be speaking up when you need help, speaking up when you're not feeling right. And that doesn't mean that you're not a strong person otherwise. That doesn't mean you're not a good mother. That doesn't mean that it doesn't mean anything. It just means that we’re human. And so, yes, women so capable and means that we're being human. And so sometimes women need help as well. Yeah.

Rick (31:47.249)

Yeah. Well I mean that's like my wife. She's petite. But you never want to get on her bad side. I've been there once and once was enough. No, well I'll tell you the story. I was watching a football game and I and I didn't know where my wife was at the moment and I could hear this pounding in the garage.

And I thought, what is that? So, I go walking in. And at the time we had these old cupboards that came with the house, and they were just falling apart. And we said, like, yeah, we need to take these down one day. And my wife got her dad's hammer and started pounding away. 

And I said, what are you doing? I said, I'm just taking these down. And without thinking, and you know, being a stupid man, I grabbed the hammer out of her hand and I will never forget the look on her face. It was a look of disappointment, a look of you don't think I can do this. 

And I apologize. I gave her the hammer back and you know, I had to do a lot of penance after that for a while, but I realized, you know, I will never do that to her again because she is so capable of doing anything.

And she has proved it over the years since, you know, we've been married. And, you know, she truly astounds me as to what she can accomplish. And I learned from her. And that's why I got into podcasting. She encouraged me to do it. So, I have to thank her for that. Kind of getting off topic here. Now Well go ahead, I'm sorry.

Suzanne Junered (33:33.09)

No, I love that. Mm-hmm. There's yeah, I was just gonna say that there has been this need, I think, for women to prove ourselves. Unfortunately, just the way that society has lessened our physical capabilities and you know, all I c I could go off on a different topic and I want. and then and then my creative side too was thinking, well, thank goodness she didn't bash you over the head with that hammer because

If you were in one of my books, you may not have made it.

Rick (34:05.458)

My god, that's funny. Now I know when I first spoke with you, I think you still have your website and I went to go look at it afterwards and I saw you had this book on a page and you had a few other books. and I won't dive too deeply because of I want to respect your privacy. Now at the same time your book where you got the contract for your book that's coming out If I heard correctly you also have another book coming out in twenty twenty seven. Was that one of the books I saw on your website? Cause I think you had like four, yeah.

Suzanne Junered (34:43.81)

Most likely. okay, you mean from previously. Yes. yeah, by the way, I'm the least private person, so I might overshare. Watch out. I yes, I have another book coming out in 2027 through my same publisher, she writes press, who works alongside Simon and Schuster. And that will be September twenty eighth.

Where I actually just turned in that official manuscript a few days ago, was working hard on that. At this point, I can't make any changes unless it's just er erroneous for proofreading and things like that. so that's exciting. And I do have other books. I have one that I'm writing currently, was probably on there at some point, just you know, musing about that. And I have another one in the wings too.

It's ready to go and I'm figuring out what to do with it right now. That one, triggering subject. I mean, all my books, if they're in the psychological horror genre, they have triggering subjects. So just truth be told, there. but this book is around rape and revenge. 

And so, I think it's timely also given, you know, the last several years of our history and news that are coming out around famous people and wealthy people and college students and all kinds of things that are happening on a daily basis that we don't see. And I think it could spark some conversations as well. So, I'm trying to figure out what to do with that one. I think it can it can live in the world as well and open conversations just like this one around postpartum depression and whatnot.

Rick (36:30.192)

So, with the news that your book was going to be published or is published now, but then at the same time you were told you’re going to do your second book, did you expect that? I mean a double whammy.

Suzanne Junered (36:46.218)

Yeah. You know what? I at that point in time, I did expect it. I'm just gonna be, you know, bel self self belief at this point has come high enough that I'm like, you know what? Of course they're gonna want my second book. Like, yeah, they are. That's right. So different woman from, you know, the the dreary days when I began writing Goodnight Monsters. Absolutely different woman.

Rick (36:55.334)

Well, good for you, the girl's got attitude, I love it.

I mean that must have been tough, I mean I'm sure you had moments where you felt like gosh it's just one rejection after another. And I think how you shared with me that you were going through so many edits with these experts, so to speak, that were you ever afraid that they were going to go off to where well now you're taking the character apart now. Were you ever fearful of that? And if so, did you

Suzanne Junered (37:43.51)

Yeah, that's a great question. So, when working with editors or other readers who give feedback, it is always the author's discretion to change or to not change. And so ultimately the book that arrives on the shelf is the author's book. 

And there's two things happening here. One, if you get feedback that you really don't resonate with within the story, don't take it. The second is feedback can hurt no matter what. You know your book in thinking this is the perfect manuscript. It's the next greatest American novel or whatever they call whatever you know title you're trying to go for. And then somebody comes back and says it needs improvement.

And it stings, it hurts. So sometimes, sometimes taking some time away and really thinking about that and like what was that about? Why did that hurt so badly? It has nothing to do with the work. I can see in this book that it does need improvement. This character is not perfect, how she's written. I do need to, you know, intensify this scene or whatever the feedback was, usually.

After a couple days of being hurt, dagger in the heart, you can see, okay, that was making this book better. And so, every edit that I have completed has made the book better, I truly think. And there have been a few things along the way where editors said, well, what you know, what do you think about this or what about this? And I was like, Yeah, no, that doesn’t resonate. So yeah.

Rick (39:30.22)

Excellent. Now, eleven years and you've shared a lot about who you were at the beginning and where you are today. Now there are a lot of people out there who are other Suzanne's waiting to make their mark. And if you were talking to a group of them today, what would be and I'm sure there's so much you could say, but what would be a one tangible concept to walk away with to say if you're going to take this route, do this.

Suzanne Junered (40:08.61)

Hmm, trust yourself came up immediately for me. Trust yourself and what you're going for, your goals, what you're creating, and all those little sidesteps along the way are taking you where you need to be. Yeah.

Rick (40:28.782)

Mm-hmm. That's good. That's good. So, I usually close the conversation with what I call speed round questions and I know I've sent them to you.

Suzanne Junered (40:38.166)

Okay. I know I did not look at them because I was like, I'll answer in a speed round. Okay. I read speed round and I was like, nope, I won't do it. So, it might not be a speed round. My brain might not keep up.

Rick (40:41.734)

Well that's even better. That's even better.  No, it just kind of adds a little spontaneity to the conversation. So, I'll give you the first one. okay. I think you'll do well. What was your best life concert you ever attended and why?

Suzanne Junered (40:58.37)

Okay. I'm gonna trust myself. Okay.

Concert, music concert. okay. okay, in college, this is okay, it was this one. In college, I went to an outdoor venue in Nashville for the band Fish, P H Fish. And I was not familiar with their music ahead of time, but my college boyfriend was, and so a group of us went over to this concert and I think that's why I enjoyed it so much. First, it's a jam band and so they just play one song for twenty minutes and just keep playing with the music and just everyone was dancing in the grass with our shoes off. And there was no expectation for me because I didn't know their music.

Rick (41:53.522)

That’s cool. I love that. Okay. What do you wish you had more time to do?

Suzanne Junered (42:02.102)

Everything besides sleeping. I have enough time to sleep. my goodness. more time with my children, more time creating, more time in nature. Yeah.

Rick (42:11.474)

That's beautiful. No, I love that. Okay. What was your first paying job?

Suzanne Junered (42:20.724)

That was good. So, I grew up in Tennessee, and anyone who's in the southern region of the United States knows Rock City is a tourist attraction in on Lookout Mountain. Actually, is it in Georgia? Lookout Mountain, Georgia, North Georgia. And there are red barns painted all around the southeast with black roofs that say see Rock City on top of them. So, if you ever see one of those. Rock City was where I had my first job. I worked in the gift shop and I worked in the little like sandwich shop. And it a tourist attraction where people would walk through these rock gardens. And at the halfway point of this tourist attraction, on a clear day, you can supposedly see seven different states because you're on the cliff side looking out into the onto the land. Yeah. Yeah, it was fun.

Rick (43:13.488)

Whoa. That's beautiful. God. Well this one should be good for you. If your sons wrote a book about you, what would the title be? And why?

Suzanne Junered (43:28.556)

My goodness. The word love came in. What would the title be like?

Weird Love. We have weird love. How about weird love? We are my two boys and I, we are so connected. They are eleven and thirteen right now. There's so much love in our home and we weird things together. We are silly, we are playful, they remind me to be a kid. And so, I think it's weird love. Yeah. Yeah.

Rick (44:07.27)

That's great. No, I love that because I think it expresses the environment the three of you enjoy. I think that's great. Okay, last question. What would you attempt to do if you knew you couldn't fail? I mean if it's yours to grab, you can make it happen. Nothing's going to stop you.

Suzanne Junered (44:14.253)

Mm-hmm. Do I have enough money?

Rick (44:31.778)

Use your imagination.

Suzanne Junered (44:35.712)

Okay. Okay. I would bring my books to life on screen. And so, whether that's through movies or limited series are so popular these days, I would attempt to create that if I knew I wouldn't fail. It's not my MO. There is other, you know, visual artists that can do such things, but that is a dream. I just spoke it aloud, so whoever's listening.

Rick (45:05.702)

Well, you know, maybe that dream may come about. You never know. People will see a book and say, This could be a movie. So, don't sell yourself short. No, this has been a great conversation and again a really, you know, high five on getting your book published and you got another one in the in the wings and your eleven year journey. I mean, I think when you look back on it now that it does feel like it's been eleven years?

Suzanne Junered (45:18.048)

Right. It feels like it was yesterday and also like it was a different lifetime ago. yeah, yeah.

Rick (45:41.956)

Sure. Yeah. Yeah. God. Well, I just want to say again, thank you so much, you know, for taking the time out of your busy schedule to speak with me. You know, maybe two years from now we'll talk about your next book. And to my audience, I hope you enjoyed this episode. To me this was a very special episode because I think Suzanne's book is something I hope you will go out and purchase. I've already started reading it and it's everything feedback is saying it is, so please do so. And to that end, we thank you and we'll talk to you soon. Take care.

Suzanne Junered (45:55.158)

I would love to. I appreciate you, Rick.