My name is Susan. I'm a writer, editor, and business owner strategically located in the suburbs of Washington, DC.

The short story about me: I come from a long line of prairie people who settled Kansas, but I (mis)spent most of my youth in Reston, Virginia. I have a B.S. (how appropriate) in journalism from Kansas University (go Jayhawks!) and an M.S. in Urban and Environmental Policy from Tufts. I spent my twenties in Boston, a city I still love and miss. I'm now back in Reston, where I've replaced smoky nights in bars pining for bad boy musicians with sunny days hanging at the pool with my family.

My novel, Confessions of a Frog Kisser, is more a less a collection of dating stories woven into a story. Much is based on truth, although I like to think I had better judgement than Sam!

Life is funny, and you never know where things will take you. I wrote the book to understand my lack of a love life. As a result of marketing my book, I met a fabulous man on MySpace. He surpasses my dreams, so I married him. My life is very different now than it was in 2005 when I wrote the book.

My career has been varied: magazine editor, freelance writer, management consultant, waitress, real estate agent, maid, laundry girl, and beer wench...not necessarily in that order. These days I own several wonderful businesses.

Rejuvenations Massage Therapy is my husband's baby, and I get to help him. It's the largest independently-owned massage therapy center in Northern Virginia. I love this business. His staff help people destress and feel great. It's fun being a part of it.

Two Sisters Creative is the biz with my sis. It's a full service graphic design and communications agency. Our mission is to do good work for good people and have a good time doing it. Incidentally, Two Sisters is not just an accurate description of the relationship between to the two owners. It is a type of rose, known to be rugged and adaptable to any climate. That's us...rugged and adaptable.

You may think I've got enough going on, but no...there is more. This last business is just pure fun: I decided there was some potential with a line of Frog Kisser products to go along with the book. Frog Kissers: Unique Gifts for Fun Chicks offers a range of tee-shirts, mugs, journals and other fun gifts.

My favorite places:
I've become a complete web junkie. Here are some great places to spend time.

Purple Mountain Coffee...I'm an addict. I admit it. I love this coffee. I rarely get to drink it since they're only in Colorado. But, they'll send it to you if you want. I highly recommend the Tapadero Blend.

Greenberry's Coffee & Tea Company...Like I said, I'm an addict. This is my local coffee shop. Unfortunately, I can't go there in my pajamas because it is the coffee shop of choice for many small business owners in Reston. They not only make excellent coffee, the people who work there are fantastic.

Salon...because it's important to have something good to read while drinking that wonderful coffee.

The Kilometer Zero Project...I learn so many cool things from reading chick lit. One of my favorite writers, Sparkle Hayter, features a cool artist cooperative in her book BOOGIE QUEEN BANDITS. It's based on The Kilometer Zero Project, which I promptly checked out. Very, very cool stuff they are doing. When I grow up, I want to go live in an artist commune in Paris.

BlueFly...making it possible to have a hip, urban wardrobe when you are trapped in the land of box stores.

Overstock.com...I always go here first for sheets, towels, patio furniture, and anything else I can think of. The prices are great and they're really good about returns.

More to come....