About Suzanne Lissaman

Hi! I’m Suzanne, a rom com author, who lives in leafy Warwickshire in the middle of England, with my husband, two grown-up children and a demanding but adorable cat.

What I write

I read all sorts of books, but heart-warming romantic comedies are my go-to genre when I want to escape from life’s stresses, so that’s what I love to write. My stories feature strong women doing their best to navigate life’s challenges, and the charming men who enter their lives, usually when they’re not looking for love.

Why I only started writing seriously in my 50s

I always wanted to write a novel, but while I dabbled here and there, I never had the time to do it justice until I had to work away from home for three nights a week. With my husband and kids 100 miles away, I had some evenings to myself for the first time in years. I filled the time with online creative writing courses and used the skills I learnt to produce the first draft of what would later become Love Me Till Wednesday.

My first book

When the pandemic hit, I was back at home full-time, with no time to work on my draft. (I must be the only author who didn’t write a word during lockdown!) But once life began to get back to normal, I took Jenny Colgan’s “Writing a Romantic Novel” course, and that led me to create Be More Octopus.

Why I self-published

My dad was a keen writer, but by the time he passed away, all he had to show for his efforts was a pile of manuscripts and a suitcase full of rejection letters. I didn’t want to leave a similar legacy for my kids, and I knew a very successful indie author, so I skipped the soul-destroying process of submitting to agents and publishers and hit “publish” myself.

The award that changed everything

Be More Octopus was well received and not just by people I knew, so I submitted it for the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s Debut Romantic Novel Award 2024. When I received the email to say it had been shortlisted, I got my husband to read it too because I couldn’t quite believe it. At the Awards Ceremony in a fancy London hotel a couple of months later, I heard the amazing words “and the winner is Be More Octopus“. I was absolutely shocked, and I’m sure anyone who had the dubious pleasure of listening to my completely unrehearsed acceptance speech can vouch for that. I’ll always be particularly grateful to the RNA for that win, because it encouraged me to carry on writing.

Where I am now

I’ve published seven novels and two short stories as Suzanne Lissaman, with more in the pipeline. I also have a second pen name, Freya Fenton, where I write contemporary romances with more spice sprinkled with some wry humour (because apparently I can’t write a book without including the occasional funny line). I won a second RNA Award – the prestigious Romantic Comedy Novel Award 2025 for Love Me Till Wednesday, despite stiff competition, including a New York Times bestseller, and two of my books have been finalists in the Page Turner Book Awards.

Thank you to all my family, friends and readers for your encouragement, reviews and recommendations. You’ve helped me turn my dream of writing novels into a reality, and I will always be extremely grateful.

With love and laughter,

Suzanne x