About Susan VanHecke

about me, susan vanhecke

The Babbling Brook.
Third grade, eight lines. First prize in a school district-wide poetry contest.

My little ode to a runoff creek that ran through our northern California subdivision was published in a paperback compilation of schoolkids' poems, plus posted under glass in the central library, blue ribbon included, for all to see.

I was hooked.

Writing was fun to do, like stringing beads or doing a puzzle, each word carefully chosen and placed just so. And now it could earn me the admiration of my peers, the approval of teachers and parents, and a niche to call my own. As the eternal new kid – Dad's climb up the corporate ladder kept us moving every couple of years – I was always struggling to fit in. Writing helped me find my place.

In the sixth grade, I made my first submission to a publishing house. What did I know? It was the first chapter of a great lost-on-a-desert-island epic, heavily influenced by Scott O'Dell's Island of the Blue Dolphins and Noel Streatfield's Ballet Shoes. Needless to say, the form rejection letter arrived a few weeks later.

I focused on other things throughout high school and college. I studied film and TV production at New York University. But I eventually returned to writing as a music industry publicist in New York City. Penning press releases and bios led to writing newspaper and magazine articles, and, ultimately, I became an author.

I'm fascinated by the stories of people's lives, so I specialize in biography, memoir, and history for adults and young people. I often write with a co-author, helping people to tell their own stories.

With a mother who’s a piano teacher and a brother who’s a professional guitarist, it’s no surprise that I'm a huge music fan. I’ve written and co-written several books about music and musicians.

I also have a special interest in the Underground Railroad and the era of American slavery. My ancestors were abolitionists who housed and assisted runaway slaves in western New York. I discovered this fact while researching my family tree; it has inspired one of my current children's book projects, the historical novel for middle-grade readers, The Girl In The Box.

In addition to writing books, I'm also the children's market columnist at Authorlink.com, one of the largest and longest-running online publishing communities. With my column, I hope to help other writers achieve their dreams of becoming authors too.