Kearney, Susan 1953(?)- (Tori Carrington, Ivy Landon)

PERSONAL:

Born c. 1953, in New York, NY; married; children: two. Education: University of Michigan, B.A., 1976. Hobbies and other interests: Martial arts, boating, figure skating, travel, reading.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Tampa, FL.

CAREER:

Author. Has been the owner of a women's fitness center, three hair salons, and a barter company, and worked as a real estate broker, house renovator, sailor, and professional diver.

MEMBER:

Kimball Diver Club.

AWARDS, HONORS:

New Jersey State Championship, for diving; three-time All-American Diver.

WRITINGS:

(Under pseudonym Ivy Landon; with Alice Gaines, Bonnie Hamre, Jeanie Legendre, and Alexandria Kendall) Secrets, Volume 1, Red Sage Publishing, 1995.

Tara's Child, Silhouette Books (New York, NY), 1995.

A Baby to Love, Silhouette Books (New York, NY), 1996.

Lullaby Deception, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1997.

Sweet Deception, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1997.

Deceiving Daddy, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1998.

Priority Male, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1998.

Conquer the Mist, Leisure Books (New York, NY), 1998.

A Night without End, Silhouette Books (New York, NY), 2001.

Cradle Will Rock, Silhouette Books (New York, NY), 2001.

Little Boys Blue, Silhouette Books (New York, NY), 2001.

Lullaby and Goodnight, Silhouette Books (New York, NY), 2001.

Lovers in Hiding, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2001. (With Charlotte Douglas) The Battle of Betazed ("Star Trek: The Next Generation" series), Pocket Books (New York, NY), 2002.

The Hidden Years, Silhouette Books (New York, NY), 2002.

Hidden Hearts, Silhouette Books (New York, NY), 2002.

Double the Thrill, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2002.

Royal Ransom, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2002.

Royal Target, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2002.

Enslaved, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2002.

(With Joanna Wayne) Under Wraps, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2003.

Bordering on Obsession, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2003.

Daddy to the Rescue, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2003.

Royal Pursuit, Silhouette Books (New York, NY), 2003.

Saving the Girl Next Door, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2003.

Defending the Heiress, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2003.

(With Julie Kenner and Julie Elizabeth Leto) Essence of Midnight, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2004.

Protector S.O.S, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2004.

(Under pseudonym Tori Carrington) A Burning Obsession, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2004.

Out for Justice, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2004.

(With Kate Hoffmann) Five Times Trouble, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2004.

Hijacked Honeymoon, Harlequin Books (New York, NY), 2004.

Uncontrollable, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2005.

On the Edge, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2005.

The Challenge, Tor Books (New York, NY), 2005.

The Dare, Tor Romance (New York, NY), 2005.

Beyond the Edge, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2005.

(With Jacquie D'Alessandro and Julie Kenner) The Hope Chest (includes Tomorrow's Promise by Kearney), Harlequin (New York, NY), 2005.

The Ultimatum, Tor Books/Tom Doherty (New York, NY), 2006.

The Quest, Tor Books (New York, NY), 2006.

(With Rebecca York and Jeanie London) Midnight Magic: A Collection of Novellas (includes Ulterior Motives by Kearney), Tor Romance (New York, NY), 2006.

(With Rebecca York, Diane Whiteside, and Lucy Monroe) Unleashed (includes Beyond Limits by Kearney), Berkley (New York, NY), 2006.

Kiss Me Deadly, Tor Books (New York, NY), 2007.

Island Heat, Tor Paranormal Romance (New York, NY), 2007.

SIDELIGHTS:

Best known for her paranormal and science fiction romance novels, Susan Kearney did not begin her writing career until she was in her forties. Before that, she enjoyed an interesting string of jobs. She earned a business degree from the University of Michigan and had success running a number of companies, including hair salons and a barter company, among other ventures. She was also a champion diver, winning three All-American Diver titles. As she related in a ParaNormal Romance online interview: "I never thought about writing until I was 40 years old. I had no background in writing at all. But I read all the time. And when I read a futuristic romance, I thought, ‘I can do this.’ It began as a hobby but I loved writing and sold my first book 2 years later to Zebra—but the line folded and the book never came out. Luckily, 5 months later I sold to Harlequin Intrigue."

For Tor Books, Kearney writes paranormal and science fiction romance; for Harlequin, she pens suspense and sensuous romances. Unafraid of creating imaginatively erotic scenes, the author told a Road to Romance interviewer: "I tend to write edgy. I know some readers will hate my books and that others will love them. I simply hope that I have a large enough audience to make my publisher happy so I can continue to write them." Although she has penned many contemporary tales offering romance and adventure, she has particularly distinguished herself in sci-fi and paranormal tales, both of which she enjoys. "To me science fiction deals with the question ‘What If?’ (and then you change something scientific—like make space travel possible)," she explained to Martina Bexte in BookLoons. "Paranormal is the question ‘What if?’—without the science—which explores extraordinary powers of the individual."

One of Kearney's most critically well-received series begins with The Challenge. This was actually the first book she wrote, but it did not get published until 2005. It is a science fiction work about a woman named Tessa who travels three centuries into the future and meets a domineering alien who awakens her hidden psychic powers by making love to her. The story was not what publishers wanted in the 1990s. "I was a little ahead of my time," the author stated in the Road to Romance interview, "plus I had to learn the craft of writing in order to sell this unusual story. The sex is edgy, not exactly pc." The Challenge was followed by The Dare, The Ultimatum, and The Quest. Critics have commented on the interesting character of Dora, a computer with emotions who befriends the heroine Tessa in the first book and fulfills her dream by becoming human and experiencing physical love in the second. "Dora makes quite an adjustment from secondary character to lead female protagonist," remarked Harriet Klausner in a review published on the Blether Web site. Kathy Boswell in Best Reviews wrote of The Ultimatum: "Every book, I think Susan Kearney can't write a better or more intriguing story and every book she proves me wrong."

Other futuristic works by Kearney include such novels as Island Heat, in which an alien visits Earth to take its salt resources for the oppressed people on his planet. The heroine wishes to help him, but her friend has had a premonition that the alien will destroy Earth in the process of collecting the salt. "The action in this story is fast and furious, and the sex is hotter than the volcano. Despite a slightly abrupt ending, this is a good book," remarked Sheila Griffin on the Affaire de Coeur Web site. In On the Edge, Kearney explores paranormal powers. The heroine has clairvoyant abilities that come to the fore when her sister is kidnapped. "I was on the edge of my seat through this entire book. I could not read it fast enough. It was gripping and emotional," reported Boswell of this book in another Best Reviews assessment.

Kearney has also penned many straightforward thrillers, offering readers heroes such as Navy SEALS in Enslaved and a heroic father who comes to the rescue of his child and ex-wife stranded by an airplane crash in the Rocky Mountains in Daddy to the Rescue. "Action/suspense comes naturally to me," Kearney related in a Writerspace interview with Degan Outridge. "I like to put my characters in danger and see how they get themselves through it and I prefer this kind of story—because it's easier for me to write. In a straight romance, the focus is almost exclusively on the relationship and this kind of book doesn't come as easily."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

MBR Bookwatch, April 1, 2005, review of The Hope Chest.

Publishers Weekly, December 12, 2005, review of The Ultimatum, p. 44.

ONLINE

Affaire de Coeur,http://www.affairedecoeur.com/ (July 20, 2007), Sheila Griffin, review of Island Heat.

Alternative Worlds,http://www.alternative-worlds.com/ (March 25, 2006), Harriet Klausner, review of Midnight Magic: A Collection of Novellas; (December 14, 2006), Harriet Klausner, review of Island Heat.

Best Reviews,http://thebestreviews.com/ (January 23, 2002), Bonnie Rock, reviews of Hidden Hearts, The Hidden Years, and Lovers in Hiding; (January 29, 2002), Bonnie Rock, review of Enslaved; (August 18, 2002), Kathy Boswell, review of Double the Thrill; (April 7, 2003), Kathy Boswell, review of Daddy to the Rescue; (June 24, 2003), Harriet Klausner, review of Bordering on Obsession; (September 29, 2004), DeborahAnne MacGillivray, review of Royal Pursuit; (December 17, 2004), Kathy Boswell, review of The Challenge; (January 2, 2005), Harriet Klausner, review of The Challenge; (March 14, 2005), Harriet Klausner, review of The Hope Chest; (June 24, 2005), Harriet Klausner, review of The Dare, Kathy Boswell, review of The Dare; (October 25, 2005), Harriet Klausner, review of Beyond the Edge; (February 10, 2006), Kathy Boswell, review of The Ultimatum; (April 22, 2006), Harriet Klausner, review of Midnight Magic; (April 25, 2006), Kathy Boswell, review of Midnight Magic; (May 16, 2006), Kathy Boswell, review of The Quest; (June 16, 2006), Harriet Klausner, review of The Quest; (November 28, 2006), Harriet Klausner, review of Unleashed; (January 30, 2007), Kathy Boswell, review of Island Heat; (April 24, 2007), Harriet Klausner, review of On the Edge; (July 3, 2007), Kathy Boswell, review of On the Edge; (July 20, 2007), brief biography of Susan Kearney.

Blether,http://reviews.blether.com/ (July 20, 2007), Harriet Klausner, reviews of The Dare, The Hope Chest, and Bordering on Obsession.

BookLoons,http://www.bookloons.com/ (September 1, 2005), Martina Bexte, "Imagining Alternate Worlds," interview with Susan Kearney and others; (July 20, 2007), Rashmi Srinivas, review of The Challenge; Martina Bexte, reviews of Kiss Me Deadly, Midnight Magic, The Quest, The Ultimatum, and Island Heat.

Curled Up with a Good Book,http://www.curledup.com/ (July 20, 2007), Helen Hancox, reviews of Island Heat and Midnight Magic; Deanna Goodson, review of The Ultimatum.

Eternal Night,http://www.eternalnight.co.uk/ (July 1, 2005), review of The Challenge; (September 1, 2005), review of The Dare.

Intrigue Authors Web site,http://www.intrigueauthors.com/ (July 20, 2007), brief biography of Susan Kearney.

ParaNormal Romance,http://paranormalromance.org/ (August 1,2006), Dee Gentle, "Aliens among Us," interview with Susan Kearney.

Road to Romance,http://www.roadtoromance.ca/ (April 1, 2005), Tracey West, "Susan Kearney—Spotlight Interview with Tracey West."

Romance Divas,http://www.romancedivas.com/ (July 20, 2007), Stacey Brutger, review of Midnight Magic; C.C. Ellis, review of Island Heat.

Romantic Times,http://www.romantictimes.com/ (July 20, 2007), Beth MacGregor, review of Conquer the Mists; Susan Mitchell, review of On the Edge; Jill M. Smith, reviews of The Dare, The Quest, The Ultimatum, and The Challenge.

Sci-Fi Online,http://sci-fi-online.50megs.com/ (July 20, 2007), Anthony Clark, review of The Battle of Betazed.

Susan Kearney Home Page,http://www.susankearney.com (July 20, 2007).

Susan Kearney MySpace Profile,http://www.myspace.com/authorsusankearney (July 20, 2007).

Writerspace,http://www.writerspace.com/ (February 1, 2002), Bonnie Rock, interview with Susan Kearney; (April 1, 2003), Degan Outridge, "Writerspace Interview with Susan Kearney."