Good morning, everyone!  I hope you’ll help me in welcoming our second guest knitter of the month, Susan Lyons, to Must Love Yarn.

Award-winning author Susan Lyons, who also writes as Susan Fox, is the award-winning author of sexy contemporary romance that’s passionate, heartwarming and fun. She is published by Kensington Aphrodisia, Kensington Brava, Berkley Heat, Harlequin Spice Briefs, The Wild Rose Press, and Freya’s Bower. Susan is a Pacific Northwester with homes in Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia. She has degrees in law and psychology, and has had a variety of careers, including perennial student, computer consultant, and legal editor. Fiction writer is by far her favorite, giving her an outlet to demonstrate her belief in the power of love, friendship, and a sense of humor.

Susan is here today to chat with us about Color, Creativity, TV, & her mom…so I’ll let her get started:

For me, it’s love of color, texture, and pattern, it’s creativity and challenge (and sometimes frustration!), it’s respect for and enjoyment of hand-made over store-bought, it’s relaxation and an excuse to watch TV, and it’s also about my mom.

Mom taught me to knit when I was 10 or 11. On those giant wooden needles, with mohair yarn. Actually, she and one of her friends taught me and the friend’s daughter. Arlene got pink mohair (she was the girlie girl) and I got blue (a definite tomboy!). Of course it was simple stockinette stitch, and it was immediate gratification. The inches built and built, and I was hooked.

The only thing I didn’t, and still don’t, like about knitting is that I can’t do it while I’m reading. (Yes, I could listen to books on tape, but, to be honest, the spoken word puts me to sleep. What can I say? It’s a character flaw.) The other thing I have to confess is that I’m addicted to wool. It’s almost impossible to pass a wool shop without going in, and then I’m very likely to buy. I have two projects on the go right now, and wool for a couple of others in the closet, waiting. And that’s me exercising great self-restraint!

Once I got into knitting, I quickly looked for variety and challenge. I knitted a fair isle sweater with several colors and a complex pattern. An Icelandic lopi sweater for myself and a cape for my mom. A “chocolate chip” sweater for a boyfriend—so named because the nubbly wool had dark brown bumps. Several Irish Aran sweaters with those intricate cable patterns. And sometimes I make up my own patterns—with mixed success. It’s all great fun. The photo shows a few sweaters and vests I’ve knitted.

I did try crochet—and actually did an entire afghan made up of granny squares that were mostly crocheted during university classes (don’t tell my profs!) – but for whatever reason, I’m a knitter at heart, not a crocheter. Maybe it’s because my mom taught me, all those years ago.

And that’s still one of the very nicest things about knitting. Mom passed away twelve years ago, but when I knit, I still feel her with me. She never saw me make my first book sale, but she was a wholehearted supporter of my writing. How amazing is that? She didn’t say, “You should practice law and make a steady income,” she said, “If writing is what you want to do, then you should go for it.” And yes, she did know that I write sexy books, and she supported that, too. She read my very first manuscript and said, “Well, it’s certainly sexy.” A long pause, then, “But that’s good. Sex sells.” That was long before the current trend toward ever-spicier romances. I guess she was prescient. I do know, she’d be proud.

Yes, she was a great mom. She taught me to knit—we even knitted each other sweaters – and she supported my dream to be a writer. And now, she’s in my mind and heart when I do both.

What a sweet story, Susan, thank you so much for sharing it with us!

Susan has also generously offered to give away an autographed copy of her first Brava release, Love, Unexpectedly (written under her new Susan Fox personal), which will be released in April.  The only catch is that she might not have copies right away, so you’ll have to hang tight & wait until she can get one in the mail to the lucky winner.

If that’s okay with you—& I’m guessing it will be *g*—there are no other restrictions.  She’s willing to ship anywhere in the world, so this is a great chance for both our U.S. & oversees visitors to get in on the action.

So get chatting, people!

P.S. Not to steal Susan’s thunder, but we’re interviewing debut paranormal author Addison Fox in The Dungeon today, & I know she’d love it if you dropped by to say hello.