Susan Isaacs (Author of Shining Through)

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Susan Isaacs

欧宝娱乐 Author

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Literature & Fiction

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April 2011

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I was born in a thatched cottage in the Cotswolds. Oh, you want the truth. Fine. I was born in Brooklyn and educated at Queens College. After leaving school, I saw one of those ads: BE A COMPUTER PROGRAMMER! Take our aptitude test. Since I had nothing else in mind, I took the test-and flunked. The guy at the employment agency looked at my resume and mumbled, 鈥淵ou wrote for your college paper? Uh, we have an opening at Seventeen magazine.鈥� That鈥檚 how I became a writer.

I liked my job, but I found doing advice to the lovelorn and articles like 鈥淗ow to Write a Letter to a Boy鈥� somewhat short of fulfilling. So, first as a volunteer, then for actual money, I wrote political speeches in my spare time. I did less of that when I met a wonderful guy, I was born in a thatched cottage in the Cotswolds. Oh, you want the truth. Fine. I was born in Brooklyn and educated at Queens College. After leaving school, I saw one of those ads: BE A COMPUTER PROGRAMMER! Take our aptitude test. Since I had nothing else in mind, I took the test-and flunked. The guy at the employment agency looked at my resume and mumbled, 鈥淵ou wrote for your college paper? Uh, we have an opening at Seventeen magazine.鈥� That鈥檚 how I became a writer.

I liked my job, but I found doing advice to the lovelorn and articles like 鈥淗ow to Write a Letter to a Boy鈥� somewhat short of fulfilling. So, first as a volunteer, then for actual money, I wrote political speeches in my spare time. I did less of that when I met a wonderful guy, Elkan Abramowitz, then a federal prosecutor in the SDNY.

We were married and a little more than a year later, we had Andrew (now a corporate lawyer). Three years later, Elizabeth (now a philosopher and writer) was born. I鈥檇 left Seventeen to be home with my kids but continued to to do speeches and the occasional magazine piece. During what free time I had, I read more mysteries than was healthy. Possibly I became deranged, but I thought, I can do this.

And that鈥檚 how Compromising Positions, a whodunit with a housewife-detectives set on Long Island came about. Talk about good luck: it was chosen the Main Selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club, auctioned for paperback, sold to the movies, translated into thirty languages, and became a bestseller. I was a little overwhelmed by the success. However, it鈥檚 hard to rise to a state of perpetual cool and go to slick downtown parties when you鈥檙e living in the suburbs with a husband, two kids, two dogs, and a mini-van, I simply wrote another book鈥� and then another and another.

About half my works are mysteries, two fall into the category of espionage, and the rest are鈥ell, regular novels. In the horn-tooting department, nearly all my novels have been New York Times bestsellers.

My kids grew up. My husband became a defense lawyer specializing in white collar matters: I call him my house counsel since I鈥檓 always consulting him on criminal procedure, the justice system, and law enforcement jargon. Anyway, after forty-five years of writing all sorts of novels鈥攕tandalones鈥擨 decided to write a mystery series. I conceived Corie Geller with a rich enough background to avoid what I鈥檇 always been leery of鈥攖hat doing a series would mean writing the same book over and over, changing only the settings.

I also produced one work of nonfiction, Brave Dames and Wimpettes: What Women are Really Doing on Page and Screen. I wrote a slew of articles, essays, and op-ed pieces as well. Newsday sent me to write about the 2000 presidential campaign, which was one of the greatest thrills of my life-going to both conventions, riding beside John McCain on the Straight Talk Express, interviewing George W. Bush. I also reviewed books for the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and Newsday. (My website has far more information about my projects than most people would want to know, but have a look.)

In the mid-1980s, I wrote the screenplay for Paramount鈥檚 Compromising Positions which starred Susan Sarandon and Raul Julia. I also wrote and co-produced Touchstone鈥檚 Hello Again which starred Shelley Long, Gabriel Byrne, and Judith Ivey. (My fourth novel, Shining Through, set during World War II became the 20th Century Fox movie starring Michael Douglas, Melanie Griffith and Liam Neeson. I would have written the script, except I wasn鈥檛 asked.)

Here鈥檚 the professional stuff. I鈥檓 a recipient of the Writers for Writers Award, the Marymount Manhattan Writing Center Award, and the John Steinbeck Award. I just retired (after over a decade) as chairman of the board of the literary organization, Poets & Writers. I also served as president of Mystery Writers of America. I belong to the National Book Critics Circle, the Creative Coalition, PEN, the Ameri ...more

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Average rating: 3.52 · 31,165 ratings · 3,456 reviews · 70 distinct works 鈥� Similar authors

	Shining Through 3.96 avg rating — 3,648 ratings — published 1988 — 50 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Takes One to Know One (Corie Geller, #1) 3.42 avg rating — 3,436 ratings — published 2019 — 16 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	After All These Years 3.67 avg rating — 2,540 ratings — published 1993 — 50 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Long Time No See (Judith Singer, #2) 3.74 avg rating — 2,492 ratings — published 2001 — 37 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Compromising Positions (Judith Singer, #1) 3.67 avg rating — 2,486 ratings — published 1978 — 45 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	As Husbands Go 2.98 avg rating — 2,984 ratings — published 2010 — 34 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Any Place I Hang My Hat 3.30 avg rating — 2,411 ratings — published 2004 — 31 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Almost Paradise 3.75 avg rating — 1,674 ratings — published 1984 — 37 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Bad, Bad Seymour Brown (Corie Geller, #2) 3.82 avg rating — 1,554 ratings — published 2023 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Lily White 3.58 avg rating — 1,497 ratings — published 1996 — 44 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Susan Isaacs's Blog

With my old pal Fran Lebowitz...

With my old pal Fran Lebowitz at the Patchogue Theater. She remains hilarious and wise.

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Published on October 12, 2023 17:00

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Series by Susan Isaacs

Judith Singer (3 books)
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Susan Isaacs (欧宝娱乐 Author)

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Corie Geller (2 books)
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Susan Isaacs (欧宝娱乐 Author)

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Susan is Currently Reading

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So Much Blue

by Percival Everett

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Jul 06, 2023 06:33AM

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Quietly Hostile: Essays

by Samantha Irby (欧宝娱乐 Author)

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Jul 06, 2023 06:31AM

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Susan Isaacs wrote a new blog post With my old pal Fran Lebowitz... With my old pal Fran Lebowitz at the Patchogue Theater. She remains hilarious and wise.
Oct 13, 2023 06:46AM · 1 like · like
Jul 07, 2023 08:10AM · like · view books
Susan Isaacs wants to read G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century by Beverly Gage	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 06, 2023 06:37AM · like · See a Problem? We鈥檇 love your help. Let us know what鈥檚 wrong with this preview of G-Man by Beverly Gage. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you鈥檙e looking for? Preview 鈥� G-Man by Beverly Gage <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Susan Isaacs wants to read Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 06, 2023 06:35AM · like
Susan Isaacs rated a book it was amazing The Uncoupling by Meg Wolitzer	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 06, 2023 06:33AM · 1 like · like · See a Problem? We鈥檇 love your help. Let us know what鈥檚 wrong with this preview of The Uncoupling by Meg Wolitzer. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you鈥檙e looking for? Preview 鈥� The Uncoupling by Meg Wolitzer <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Susan Isaacs is currently reading So Much Blue by Percival Everett	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 06, 2023 06:33AM · like · See a Problem? We鈥檇 love your help. Let us know what鈥檚 wrong with this preview of So Much Blue by Percival Everett. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you鈥檙e looking for? Preview 鈥� So Much Blue by Percival Everett <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Susan Isaacs is currently reading Quietly Hostile: Essays by Samantha Irby (欧宝娱乐 Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 06, 2023 06:31AM · like · See a Problem? We鈥檇 love your help. Let us know what鈥檚 wrong with this preview of Quietly Hostile by Samantha Irby. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you鈥檙e looking for? Preview 鈥� Quietly Hostile by Samantha Irby <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

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Quotes by Susan Isaacs (?)

“Keep in mind that the only person to write for is yourself.Tell the story you most desperately want to read.”
― Susan Issacs

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“I hate alliterative names. They suck.”
― Susan Isaacs, Compromising Positions

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“She has been excessively cheery. In a white Anglo-Saxon Protestant, that is always a sign of a fairly severe depression.”
― Susan Isaacs, After All These Years

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