Susan Isaacs
Susan Isaacs
Susan Isaacsis an American novelist, essayist, and screenwriter. She was born in Brooklyn, New York to Helen Asher Isaacs a homemaker, and Morton Isaacs an electrical engineer. At Queens College, she majored in English and minored in economics. After college, she worked as a senior editor at Seventeen magazine and also as a freelance political speechwriter...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionNovelist
Date of Birth7 December 1943
CountryUnited States of America
children knew raising time
It's no coincidence that I began writing the day my daughter started school. I knew everything I knew before I began to write, but I was raising two children and didn't have the time to get to the typewriter.
candles catholic december decorating housewife jewish private sabbath turns
My first novel, 'Compromising Positions,' was a whodunit. The protagonist was a Long Island Jewish housewife who turns private investigator. But she was Jewish the way I was: lighting Sabbath candles but envying her Protestant and Catholic friends' December decorating options.
characters jane morally remaining slightly
It's not all 'Jane Eyre' out there. In her sweet, honorable, slightly passive-aggressive way, Jane was as perfect as a protagonist can get while remaining interesting; in fact, she's one of my favorites. But most characters are more morally ambiguous.
estate good passionate teacher whether work
Whether you're an obstetrician or a third-grade teacher or a real estate agent, you know when you're doing good work. You're passionate about it.
general
I have such admiration for Whoopi Goldberg as an actress and a general smart person.
life
I see myself as writing biographies, the complete story of someone's life.
felt synagogue weirdo
I was always the weirdo who wanted to have an egalitarian service in synagogue and felt I was always going against the grain.
commercial lots success terrible
I've had lots of commercial success. I've also had some terrible reviews and some wonderful reviews.
freelance political taught
It's not that I'm apolitical... In my youth, I was a freelance political speechwriter, which taught me a lot about writing fiction, I must add.
island miss
Just as you can accept Miss Marple going to tea with the vicar, there's no reason why Long Island can't have a universality to it.
lose time track
There are days where I lose track of time, of place, of everything else, because I've been transported to another universe.
great neck
There are so many different worlds in Long Island. That's why it's so fascinating. Between Great Neck and Montauk, there are 10,000 worlds.
begin character plot
There is no 'right' way to begin a novel, but for me, plot has to wait. The character comes first.
coherent life novels suddenly
As for writing novels - it's what I've done for 30 some-odd years. I can't suddenly say I'm going to take up golf. I need something in my life. As long as I can write a coherent sentence, I'll keep at it.