STEVENS, Susan 1961-

PERSONAL: Born 1961. Education: Working on M.Div. Religion: Methodist.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Mail, WaterBrook Press, 2375 Telstar Dr., Ste. 160, Colorado Springs, CO 80920.

CAREER: Methodist pastor and writer. Speaker for Child Sexual Abuse Institute of Ohio.

WRITINGS:

(With Missy Horsfall) Double Honor (novel), WaterBrook Press (Colorado Springs, CO), 2002.

SIDELIGHTS: A Methodist pastor who also lectures about child sexual abuse, Susan Stevens is coauthor with Missy Horsfall of the novel Double Honor. The story revolves around Mallory Carlisle, a woman dealing with the recollection of a sexual childhood trauma at the age of seven and a family that seems to be falling apart. Mallory recalls her childhood experiences as a result of working on the illustrations for a children's book about sexual abuse and the recent rape and murder of a local school girl. To compound matters, her husband leaves her for another woman. Mallory eventually suffers a breakdown and begins seeing a counselor, as well as talking with her local pastor. As the story evolves, Mallory confronts her past and the problems in her marriage, which include her uncontrolled spending habits and the increasing debt that she has hidden from her husband. As a Publishers Weekly contributor commented, "The writing is competent, although there's an annoying amount of italicized text, and the journal entries that begin each chapter are an unnecessary distraction." The reviewer went on to note that "Mallory's journey of healing mostly rings with authenticity" and added that "the authors deal forth-rightly and sensitively with a difficult topic." In a review on the Romance Reader's Connection Web site, Tracy Farnsworth called the novel "a richly emotional story of love, betrayal and forgiveness." Bev Huston, writing on the Romantic Times Bookclub Web site, called it "a compassionate story" and added, "This is a book with a ministry casually woven through a wonderful work of fiction."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Publishers Weekly, February 25, 2002, review of Double Honor, p. 39.

ONLINE

Romance Reader's Connection Web site, http://www.theromancereadersconnection.com/ (May 9, 2002), Tracy Farnsworth, review of Double Honor.

Romantic Times Bookclub Web site, http://www.romantictimes.com/ (March 29, 2005), Bev Huston, review of Double Honor.