What, Why, How: Author Susan Sage

An author shares what she writes, why she writes, and how!

Aug 12, 2024

What:

My third novel, Dancing in the Ring, was published in 2023 by Black Rose Writing. While it’s Historical Fiction, it can also be described as Historical Biography or Historical Romance. It’s the story of Detroit in the 1920s through the 1930s, as much as it is the love story and tumultuous marriage of Catherine McIntosh and Robert Sage—my great aunt and uncle.

Why:

My father's uncle was something of a legend during those years, while his aunt’s story never really got told. Both attorneys had larger than-life-personalities. Catherine was one of the first women to obtain a law degree in Detroit back in the early 1920s. Robert was a boxer who later became a judge. I never met them, but grew up hearing about their tragic love story. While my father encouraged me to write about them, I never thought I would. Then a few years ago, I had several dreams about various Sage family members. It was like my dad’s side—including him—were egging me on from beyond the grave. The dreams stopped once I’d written the book.

How:

I pored over family photos, newspaper clippings, and my father’s written account, and relied on the internet and books to fill in some of the holes about Detroit in the 1920s and 30s. I felt it important to provide historical context to the story about the lively couple.

While the city was festering with crime, largely due to Prohibition, Detroit truly was the ‘Paris of the West’ during the ’20s. My great aunt and uncle cared deeply about making the city a safer place and were strong supporters of social justice. Detroit was struck particular hard by the Great Depression during the ’30s. Catherine and Robert’s lives went into a downward spiral. While I was researching, I became fascinated by other Detroiters, or people with Detroit links, and wove them into the novel. Some of the connections were real ones, including Grace-Costavas Murphy—the first Black woman to practice law in Michigan, and Frank Murphy, a former Detroit mayor, as well as references to the Purple Gang. Others were well-known, but their relationships to the couple were imagined. These include Henry Houdini, Anna Sage (the Woman in Red), and Captain Bob-Lo.

While I enjoyed writing Dancing in the Ring, my next one is cut from the cloth of Magic Realism. Silver Lady: Travels Down the River Road will be published in December. The setting is upbeat Dystopian, if there is such a thing. It revolves around Cassie, an older woman who is a captain on a luxury houseboat. She takes several others on a wild ride down a mighty river. My earlier novels, are best described as both literary fiction and women’s fiction. Being a multi-genre author reflects my tastes in reading fiction.

Bio:

Susan Sage is a fiction writer and poet. She was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and received an English degree from Wayne State University. After moving to the Flint area, she became a certified teacher in Language Arts, and also completed graduate coursework at the University of Michigan-Flint. An educator for twenty-three years, Susan wore many hats: an adult education teacher, educational coordinator, as well as an academic interventionist at both the elementary and secondary levels. During her years at Carman-Ainsworth High School, she served as both sponsor of the creative writing club, as well as editor of its annual magazine. She has also been active in a group of local writers, Instructors as Writers.

Her work has appeared in Five on the Fifth, Arlington Literary Journal (Issue #84), Illuminations, Twisted Vines Literary Journal, The Birds We Piled Loosely, Referential Magazine, Storyacious, E.T.A. Literary Journal, Digital Papercut, Black Denim Lit, The Green Hills Literary Lantern, The Rockhurst Review, Passages North, Metis, Qua, Diceybrown, The Mochila Review, Beyond Doggerel, The Wire, and Corridors. She has published three novels: Insominy (2010), A Mentor and her Muse A (2018), and Dancing in the Ring (2023). Dancing in the Ring was a finalist in the 2023 American Writing Awards. It also received a 5-Star Readers’ Favorite Award. Her latest novel, Silver Lady: Travels along the River Road, will be released in December 2024 by Black Rose Writing.

Susan currently lives in Flushing, Michigan, with her husband, Tom, and two cats.