ℚ♫ The Super Ladies - Susan Petrone

Today we have the pleasure of meeting up with author Susan Petrone to talk about The Super Ladies (14 August 2018, Fiction Studio Books, 320 pages), a Women's Fiction Novel.

"Book clubs of America, uncork the wine and settle in for a great discussion. THE SUPER LADIES is big fun!" – Mary Doria Russell, author of The Sparrow, A Thread of Grace, and Epitaph. "This was a fun read, especially because I am a mom who would dearly love to have superpowers!  Imagine waking up and discovering abilities you never previously had AND that you two best friends also had superpowers. Watch our world!  Great premise, great characters." -Netgalley reviewer

|| Synopsis || Teaser: KCR Preview || Author Q&A || About the Author || Giveaway & Tour Stops ||

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A very warm welcome to Susan Petrone; thank you for joining us on BooksChatter!

Here at BooksChatter we love music, so Susan Petrone has shared with us her music playlist for The Super Ladies - enjoy!

What was the inspiration for The Super Ladies ?

"I was lying awake one night in late summer. It was hot and muggy—too hot for sleep. I remember thinking “I wonder if this is what a hot flash feels like?” When you can’t sleep, your mind starts turning around all sorts of ideas. That night I laid awake and wondered what it would be like if three women developed superpowers when they went through menopause."

How much of yourself is reflected in this book, and how?

"I think every writer puts a little something of herself/himself into a character or two. Of the three protagonists, I’m probably the most like Katherine. Like me, her character is a runner, she is sometimes pedantic, and she’s a problem-solver. More specifically, like me, she has a certain refusal to accept that a problem can’t be solved. I suppose you could say we both seek the truth, even though we can occasionally be a bit bull-headed in our methods."

The first thing that draws me to a book is its cover. Can you tell us about your cover for The Super Ladies - why you chose that concept and who the artist is.

"The publisher originally gave me a draft cover that featured a photo of a woman (shown from the neck down) wearing a business suit with a superhero cape. It was cute but made the book seem too lightweight, it just didn’t fit. THE SUPER LADIES is a fun read, but it also makes some observations on what it means to be a female navigating the 21st century—physical vulnerability, sexism. I suggested a suburban street filtered to look like a comic book drawing because it seemed reflective of the setting while hinting at the superhero theme. I really love the cover we ended up with."

Why should we read The Super Ladies and what sets it apart from the rest? What makes your book unique?

"You should read THE SUPER LADIES because it takes a convention with which you may be familiar and turns it around in a way you haven’t seen before."

Can you tell us something quirky about The Super Ladies , its story and characters?

"Margie is loosely based on a very dear friend who shall remain nameless. The book is set in South Euclid, Ohio, which is a suburb of Cleveland. It’s also where I live. While I fiddled a bit with geography here or there, I tried to use as many recognizable locations as possible. And Abra’s house is based on the house of a friend who lives on the same street named in the book."

Who would you recommend The Super Ladies to and what should readers be aware of (any warnings or disclaimers)?

"When I tell people THE SUPER LADIES is about three friends who develop superpowers when they go through menopause, pretty much every woman over age 40 says “I need to read this.” That being said, I think the book has wider appeal than that. Everyone—male or female--has had a moment when they felt invisible or overlooked. And everyone has felt powerless at one time or another, so the book hits on some universal feelings as well."

If you could / wished to turn The Super Ladies into a movie, who would be your dream team?

"If THE SUPER LADIES were a movie? Wow, my dream casting would be Jeanine Garofolo or Melissa McCarthy as Margie, because they both have a droll, somewhat smart-alecky persona that would fit the character perfectly; Sandra Bullock or Amanda Peet as Katherine, because I could see either of them pulling off the somewhat pedantic, very physical character; Cate Blanchett as Abra. She has a wonderful, slightly mysterious quality that would go well with a woman who can turn invisible."

What do you like to write and read about? Do you stick to a particular genre or do you like to explore different ones?

"I don’t write genre fiction, but now that I have a couple of novels under my belt (and another on the way) some patterns are starting to emerge. Call it a bit of magical realism if you wish, but I have a tendency to write about women who can do extraordinary things. "

What is in store next?

"I’m very close to completing my next book, which is titled The Heebie-Jeebie Girl. It’s about a seven-year-old girl who can do magic, including picking the daily lottery number (I guess we’re back to that women—or girls—who can do extraordinary things theme). She and her great-uncle make their way through 1977 Youngstown looking for the guys who robbed her grandmother. The city of Youngstown is one of the narrators."

And as a final quirky thing, to get to know you a little bit better... do you have a pet or something that is special to you that you could share with us?

"I have two dogs, Juno and Wally, and an adolescent cat named Six. The kitty is a recent addition, so I don’t have a good photo of me with her. I have a well-documented dislike of getting my picture taken. (I lived in Europe for a couple of years, and one Easter my entire family sent me a photo of everyone hiding their faces in their hands and called it ‘Ode to Susan.’) When it came time to get a good author photo for Throw Like a Woman (2015), I hired a photographer to come out to our house. We have some woods in the backyard and it’s a great setting for photos. I looked uncomfortable in all of the pictures until we added my dogs. Then I relaxed. The attached is one of the few photos of myself that I really like. It’s with my dog Juno, who is truly the dog of my heart."

That is a fantastic picture - good on you, Juno, for posing! You deserve lots of cheek and belly rubs!

Thank you for sharing this pic with us, Susan.

At once a delightful and surprising adventure and a thoughtful examination of a woman's changing role through life's passages, THE SUPER LADIES is larger-than-life fiction at its very best.

The Super Ladies
Available NOW!

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