Fallen Angel Reviews would like to welcome multi-published author Susan DiPlacido.

What is a typical day like for you?

My typical days are pretty boring, unfortunately. I work a full time job, so I get up and drag myself to that. When I get home, I either unwind or hit the gym for a while and then come home and try to do some writing. If I don't have anything I'm working on, I'll read or watch some tv, and that's about it. Summers are better, because I love warm weather so I spend plenty of time outside, but in the winter, like now, I don't do much.

When did you decide to take "pen in hand" and write with the intent to publish?

Oh, well, that's tough to say. When I started writing my first book, I'm not sure I seriously thought I'd ever get published. And I didn't even consider trying it until I had completed the book. Even once it was finished, I waited a while before searching out agents/publishers. So it wasn't really until I started on my second book that I started trying to get the first one pubbed.

You find yourself stranded on a desert island, what things could you not survive without?

I'm not sure I could survive on a desert island even with a plethora of amenities! A food supply and water, I don't think I could procure those on my own, so I guess a nice deli would be top on the list! And preferably a deli situated inside a Hilton hotel.

What makes a book a great book to you?

It's great when I get completely wrapped up in it. The characters and the plot draw me in and keep me fully entertained, and in some way enlighten me. I most enjoy things have a good dose of humor in them, too.

If you could go anywhere, be anyone, do anything for 24 hours, what would it be?

I'd go to Vegas, because that's where I love to go. Right now, I'd be thankful to do nothing other than thaw out in the sun there for a day!

Do you have any indulgent behaviors one might find surprising? What's your favorite comfort food?

Comfort food? Probably homemade spaghetti. Indulgent behaviors? I struggle with all of them. Drinking, gambling, eating, sex, all of it.

I've been seeing a number of discussions on the Yahoo groups about Happily-Ever-After. Do you feel that HEA is necessary to a romance novel?

Not necessarily, no. But I think the ending should always reflect the entire story. If it's a nihilistic story/characters, or if there's something truly tragic about the ending that resonates, I don't see what an HEA should be forced. But a poorly done or gratuitous unhappy ending just for the sake of it can really wreck an otherwise good novel if it throws off course. So as long as the writer was leading you on the correct path the whole time, there's nothing wrong with it.

What are some of your hobbies besides writing?

I love to swim. And I love to gamble and cook, and of course read plenty.

Your story, I, Candy, won the Spirit award at the 2005 Moondance Film Festival. Can you tell us about this story and the award?

I really like "I, Candy", because even though it's loaded down with superficial dilemmas, I think it scratches a little bit deeper. Moondance is a terrific festival and I'm very proud and pleased to have been a small part of it. It's a rapidly growing and very fun event that's held every spring in Colorado and it does an awful lot for writers and filmmakers to help give them a boost in the business, plus they have wonderful values.

You have three books out now, 24/7, Tratorria, and Mutual Holdings. Can you give us a synopsis?

24/7 is my first novel, and it's pulpy and sexy read about a smart female card counter who gets knocked off her game when she falls for a casino dealer. But when his dark past surfaces, she gets tangled up in a whole new game.

Trattoria is very much a romantic comedy, but with a bit of spicy flair. It's about a family of siblings who run a restaurant, and a couple of them hire one of the new waiters to date their sister, but trouble pops up when he falls for the other sister.

Mutual Holdings is my newest, and it's an erotic romance, but I tried to keep it romantic comedy in tone. It's about an accountant who gets swept up by a business mogul, but she really longs for someone else.

Do you have anything else in the works at this time?

I do! I've just finished the first draft of another book, and I'm really excited about this one. It's a bit different, because it's less of a romance and more of a caper/crime fiction book. But I wanted to try and stretch a little bit, and this is the story that felt "right" to me to write for the time being. So I'll be looking it over and tweaking it and getting a tighter, second draft done and then sending that out to potential publishers and hope to get lucky.

Would you like to add anything?

Thanks so much for having me!

Interviewed by: Serena