The Official Website of Susan Sussman

Contemporary Women’s Fiction

—New York Times -- "The Dieter reads on one level as glib entertainment…. But beneath the whipped cream is a nicely paced story with moments that are both amusing and touching… Her understanding of the plight of the compulsive eater and dieter, and of the various weight-loss programs, rings true…."

—Susan Isaacs -- "THE DIETER is about gaining and losing: pounds, hus- bands, habits and friends. It is a delightful novel, intelli- gent, witty, and very moving."

—Publisher's Weekly -- "Sussman's clever, lighthearted novel chronicles Barbara Avers's increasing avoirdupois... Barbara is also hell bent on a serious course of dieting…an odyssey that the author captures brilliantly and with uncanny insight."

—Chicago Tribune -- "Susan Sussman has created a witty, well-tailored, smart cookie of a character…[A] clever, literate novel…. Suss- man has tapped into something more substantial than a story about women and food and love."

—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- "An excellent novel for and about women…written with both wit and grit…. and from Susan Sussman, I hope for more novels about contemporary women…"

*A Literary Guild Alternate Selection *A Doubleday Book Club Alternate Selection

TIME OFF FROM GOOD BEHAVIOR

Here, with wit, warmth and penetrating insight, is a love story for the new millennium.

Young Wives' Tales

A powerful and compelling novel about a woman's discovery of her true identity.

Mystery, female sleuths, humor

MIAMI ICED

When a young widow reports for Miami Jury Duty, she is plunged into a quirky world of murder, mayhem and an unpredictable group of Runyonesque characters.

AUDITION FOR MURDER

Publishers Weekly...."Even the bit players make notable contributions in Sussman's entertaining and witty romp, which will have readers applauding for an encore."

Library Journal....."A thoroughly satisfying mystery debut."

Kirkus Reviews..."Lively, fully-realized characters, and our heroine's vibrant, warm and funny persona…[make for] a fresh and entertaining debut."

Book list...."Hilarious…Morgan Taylor [is] funny, smart-mouthed, totally endearing character…Although this is Morgan Taylor's first outing, one strongly hopes that Sussman and Avidon will give her an encore."

"A sharp and sassy crime debut in the tradition of Janet Evanovich and Lauren Henderson." (Also available on Audio)

CRUISING FOR MURDER

Sussman and Avidon deliver an amazingly fresh and entertaining puzzle sure to have mystery fans crying "encore!" once again. (Also available on Audio)

Children's Fiction

THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS A CHANUKKAH BUSH, SANDY GOLDSTEIN

The award-winning tender story of a young Jewish girl at Christmas time. (Also available as an EMMY AWARD-winning DVD)

HANUKKAH: EIGHT LIGHTS AROUND THE WORLD

Each of the eight nights of Hanukkah is celebrated in a different part of the world.

HIPPO THUNDER

What do you do when you’re a little scared of loud thunder? Why, you count hippos!

Children's Nonfiction

BIG FRIEND-LITTLE FRIEND: A BOOK ABOUT SYMBIOSIS

Full-color photographs illustrate fourteen of the most fascinating symbiotic relationships that have developed between pairs of living creatures.

LIES (people believe) ABOUT ANIMALS

"Porcupines shoot their quills." "A tarantula's bite will kill you." This clear, concise book for fourth through sixth graders includes lie/truth statements about animals followed by intriguing, easy to understand facts. Delightful and exciting photos by Fred Leavitt. An essential book for the budding grade-school scientist.

"The book will fascinate and inform any young animal enthusiast."
—School Library Journal

Books by Susan Sussman

Audio/Video

The tender story of a young Jewish girl at Christmas time

THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS A CHANUKAH BUSH,

SANDY GOLDSTEIN

This EMMY AWARD-winning film tells the tender story of a young Jewish girl at Christmas time. Robin really, really, really wants a Christmas tree but understands her family does not celebrate Christmas. When classmate Sandy Goldstein gets a Chanukah bush, it only makes Robin's non-Jewish friends ask Robin more questions. With help from her funny, loving grandfather, Robin learns the importance of taking pride in her beliefs -- and the joy of sharing them with others.

REVIEWS
*Nominated for the National Jewish Book Award for Children.
*Recommended by the National Conference of Christians and Jews as an ecumenical story promoting brotherhood and understanding, "...warm, humorous, and respectful of various beliefs."

Booklist: "A credible treatment of a touchy topic. Every Jewish child who has felt like a stranger in his own country at Christmastime will empathize…" —

Publishers Weekly: "Sussman's small narrator Robin relates a tender story about ecumenical fellowship, depicted attractively in Robinson's drawings…. With his wisdom and love, the grandfather widens the child's understanding, as Sussman does for the reader of her endearing story."

Checklist: "Hooray for this long overdue story which pinpoints the left-out feelings of Jewish children during the Christmas season."

Holiday's Remembered: "It is difficult to be a minority anyway, especially at a time of year when the whole world seems to be celebrating something forbidden to you Chanukah Bush gives new insight into the difference between helping friends celebrate their holiday, and celebrating one of your own."

Baltimore Jewish Times:"[Chanukah Bush]…should be mandatory for all Jewish children who wonder why they can't have a Christmas tree and are in the process of dealing with being different in a Christian country. A wonderful story!"
Jewish Heritage: "Sussman solves the dilemma of being Jewish in America at Christmas." —

American Jewish Congress Monthly:"There's No Such Thing as a Chanukah Bush. Sandy Goldstein goes to the heart of what it often feels like for children to be Jewish at Christmas time."

National Conference of Christians and Jews: "Robin wants a Christmas tree, even though she's Jewish. Grandfather helps her to understand that Jews can share other people's festivals without celebrating them at home. Warm, humorous, and respectful of various beliefs."

Buy It Now:

https://www.amazon.ca/Theres-Thing-Chanukah-Sandy-Goldstein-ebook/dp/B009NR5KOC/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Kindle:https://www.amazon.com/Theres-Thing-Chanukah-Sandy-Goldstein-ebook/dp/B009NR5KOC
DVD: https://www.amazon.com/Theres-Thing-Chanukah-Sandy-Goldstein/dp/B000BGH2MM

Books: https://www.amazon.ca/Theres-Such-Thing-Chanukah-Bush/dp/0807578622/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Albert Whitman & Co. (Paperback) ISBN: 0-8075-7863-0
Albert Whitman & Co. (Library Binding) ISBN: 0-8075-7862-2 9 (LC83-1291)
(Also available for sight and hearing impaired from SISU Entertainment)

DVD: https://www.amazon.com/Theres-Thing-Chanukah-Sandy-Goldstein/dp/B000BGH2MM

"The murderer's walk from cell to electric chair lacks the raw terror of an auditioning actor's walk across an empty stage." Morgan Taylor should know. A Chicago actress experiencing a dry spell between jobs, she desperately needs to land this important role...or her equity insurance will run out. But the elderly actress she was paired with to read that morning doesn't show. And Morgan, forced to read with a monotone stagehand, is sure she's blown the audition. Sick to her stomach, she runs to the small bathroom in the basement of the theater....where she finds the body of the actress with whom she was to read. Morgan's family is desperate for her to settle down and marry. Morgan is not speaking to her sister who is going to marry Morgan's old boyfriend. Morgan's best friend is the prime suspect in the dead actresses murder. And the detective assigned to the case doesn't seem the least put off by Morgan's artistic temperament. And so begins Morgan's surrealistic journey into the world of murder and Chicago theater at its funniest and finest.

AUDITION FOR MURDER

AUDITION FOR MURDER

"The murderer's walk from cell to electric chair lacks the raw terror of an auditioning actor's walk across an empty stage." Morgan Taylor should know. A Chicago actress experiencing a dry spell between jobs, she desperately needs to land this important role...or her equity insurance will run out. But the elderly actress she was paired with to read that morning doesn't show. And Morgan, forced to read with a monotone stagehand, is sure she's blown the audition. Sick to her stomach, she runs to the small bathroom in the basement of the theater....where she finds the body of the actress with whom she was to read.

Morgan's family is desperate for her to settle down and marry. Morgan is not speaking to her sister who is going to marry Morgan's old boyfriend. Morgan's best friend is the prime suspect in the dead actresses murder. And the detective assigned to the case doesn't seem the least put off by Morgan's artistic temperament.

And so begins Morgan's surrealistic journey into the world of murder and Chicago theater at its funniest and finest.

REVIEWS

Publishers Weekly -- "Even the bit players make notable contributions in Sussman's entertaining and witty romp, which will have readers applauding for an encore."

Library Journal -- "A thoroughly satisfying mystery debut."

Kirkus Reviews -- "Lively, fully-realized characters, and our heroine's vibrant, warm and funny persona…[make for] a fresh and entertaining debut."

Book list - "Hilarious…Morgan Taylor [is] funny, smart-mouthed, totally endearing character…Although this is Morgan Taylor's first outing, one strongly hopes that Sussman and Avidon will give her an encore."

BUY IT NOW:
https://www.audible.com/pd/Audition-for-Murder-Audiobook/B002V0JZKS

CRUISING FOR MURDER
AUDIBLE: https://www.audible.com/pd/Cruising-For-Murder-Audiobook/B002V0PQQU

CRUISING FOR MURDER

Murder on the high seas is not the 'gig' actress Morgan Taylor signed up for. She was stoically suffering through one of Chicago's coldest winters when her old theater friend called begging Morgan to fill in for a cast member aboard a cruise ship. Morgan weighs her choices: Let's see -- blinding blizzards and bitter cold, or palm trees and sun-drenched sand? Hmmmmm. Morgan hops the next plane to the Port of Miami.

Onboard ship, Morgan learns the girl she's replacing died 'suddenly'. "Murdered," whisper some. And between rehearsals, wardrobe fittings and performances, Morgan feels her own safety threatened. Not everyone, it seems, is happy she joined the cast. Then another performer goes missing and this time there is no question the girl was murdered.

"Sussman and Avidon deliver an amazingly fresh and entertaining puzzle sure to have mystery fans crying "Encore!" once again." Publisher's Weekly

"Wisecracking Chicago actress Morgan Taylor grabs center stage and never lets go..." Library Journal

"...light and finely rendered..." Contra Costa Times

...characters are strong and interesting, and the atmosphere of the ship provides an added dimension. I enjoyed the strong Chicago setting of this series' debut [AUDITION FOR MURDER] but am happy to see that this book is a class act even when it's on the road.

BUY NOW: AUDIBLE -- https://www.audible.com/pd/Cruising-For-Murder-Audiobook/B002V0PQQU