GRANT, Susan

PERSONAL: Married; children: two. Education: U.S. Air Force Academy, graduated, 1982; trained as a jet pilot at Laughlin Air Force Base.

ADDRESSES: Home—P.O. Box 841, Rocklin, CA 95677. Agent—Ethan Ellenberg, 548 Broadway, #5E, New York, NY 10012. E-mail—susan@susangrant. com.

CAREER: Lauglin Air Force Base, Del Rio, TX, flight instructor; Mather Air Force Base, Sacramento, CA, flight instructor; currently pilot for United Airlines.

AWARDS, HONORS: Sapphire Award for best science-fiction romance novel, 2002, for Contact; PEARL award for best futuristic, 2003; Award of Excellence, Reviewers International Organization, 2004, for The Star Princess.

WRITINGS:

The Star King, Love Spell (New York, NY), 2000.

Once a Pirate, Dorchester (New York, NY), 2000.

The Star Prince, Love Spell (New York, NY), 2001.

Contact, Love Spell (New York, NY), 2002.

The Star Princess, Love Spell (New York, NY), 2003.

The Legend of Banzai Maguire, Dorchester (New York, NY), 2004.

The Scarlet Empress, Love Spell (New York, NY), 2004.

Contributor to anthologies, including The Only One, Leisure Books (New York, NY), 2003, and A Mother's Way.

SIDELIGHTS: Susan Grant was one of the first women to graduate from the U.S. Air Force Academy, and she subsequently became one of the first women to pilot commercial jumbo jets. As a child, she had always enjoyed artistic pursuits, but when she set her mind on becoming a pilot, she gave up writing and other creative pursuits in order to focus on her goal. In 1997 Grant decided to begin writing again, and by 1999 she had finished and sold two books. Her background in aviation figures prominently in her writing, which features strong, action-oriented women—frequently pilots—who act in fast-paced adventures. Once a Pirate, for example, is a time-travel romance in which pilot Garly Gallahan must parachute from her plane when it malfunctions. When rescued, she finds herself in the 1800s and in the possession of Andrew Spencer, a pirate who has mistaken Garly for a woman he intended to kidnap. Romance ensues, complicating Garly's quest to return to her own era. "Grant's descriptions of life on the high seas give a taste of the buccaneer's life, good and bad,"commented a Publishers Weekly reviewer, adding that the heroine's adjustment to the world of the past is "evocatively portrayed."

Another of Grant's fictional alter egos is Jordan Cady, an airline pilot whose adventures are told in Contact. Jordan is acting as copilot on a flight to Hawaii when her plane is captured and her captain suffers a fatal heart attack. Jordan initially believes that the jet has been commandeered by terrorists, but she soon realizes that they are in the grip of an alien spacecraft. She also learns that Earth has been destroyed by a collision with a comet. Romantically drawn to her alien translator, Kao, Jordan is also pulled into a space war. The story culminates in "an explosive finish," commented a Publishers Weekly writer, who added that the romantic elements are "emotionally charged."

Grant began a series of novels set in the near future with The Star King, a book featuring characters who appear again in The Star Princess, The Star Prince, and other books. Jas Hamilton is a fighter pilot turned artist who lives a quiet life with her twin daughters. Feeling an urge for adventure, she takes passage on a starship owned by Rom B'kah, scion of a prominent galactic ruling family. In time, Jas ends up married to Rom B'kah. The twins, Ian and Ilana, are the featured characters in The Star Prince and The Star Princess. In the latter, filmmaker Ilana falls in love with Vash Prince Che Vedla, a courtly alien who is pressured to submit to an arranged marriage for the good of his people, despite his feelings for Ilana. A reviewer for Publishers Weekly praised the scenes in which Ilana introduces Che to common human delights, such as corn nuts, and the critic added that the author writes effective love scenes, as well. "Readers who like their romances sprinkled with sci-fi elements will embrace this book,"added the reviewer, "as will those who prefer exotic protagonists and offbeat settings." The Star Prince was also reviewed favorably by Kristin Ramsdell in Library Journal, who pointed out the "witty dialog, well-developed characters, and insightful explorations of cultural and class difference and political intricacies . . . in this funny, sexy story."

Grant contributed the first and last books in a series written by several authors, chronicling the adventures of Bree "Banzai" Maguire, a military pilot who is flying a routine mission in the year 2006 when she is captured and frozen alive. Almost two hundred years later, she is rescued by treasure-hunting Ty Armstrong, who soon becomes her romantic counterpart. Bree then becomes the possession of the powerful prince of Asia, Kyber, who offers her a luxurious life, but one with no freedom. Reviewing The Legend of Banzai Maguire in Publishers Weekly, a critic commented that if Grant's descriptions of fighter jets are not enough to hold readers' interest, "her fierce, funny, tough-as-nails heroine will." The Scarlet Empress, Grant's other contribution to the series finds Bree and her wingman, Cam Tucker, involved both in freedom fighting and amorous adventures. A Publishers Weekly reviewer stated that "Grant's writing remains vivid whether describing astounding futuristic advances, depicting a vicious gun volley or drawing a poignant love scene."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, September 15, 2001, review of The Star King, p. 210; November 15, 2004, Lynne Welch, review of The Scarlet Empress, p. 568.

Library Journal, August, 2003, Kristin Ramsdell, review of The Star Princess, p. 66.

Publishers Weekly, January 3, 2000, review of Once aPirate, p. 62; September 30, 2002, review of Contact, p. 56; July 7, 2003, Brianna Yamashita, "Susan Grant Charting Her Own Course," p. 37, review of The Star Princess, p. 58; March 8, 2004, review of The Legend of Banzai Maguire, p. 56; November 22, 2004, review of The Scarlet Empress, p. 44.

ONLINE

Susan Grant Web site,http://www.susangrant.com (December 14, 2004).*