Logo: A picture of the book's cover which states the title Wyoming Hope and the author's name Susan E. Richmond. The picture shows two horses in a grazing meadow with mountains on the horizon.
Biography for Susan E. Richmond
Growing up in the early 70's was fun, especially since I lived in Silver Spring, Md, which is close to Washington D.C. One of my favorite things to do was visit the National Zoo and watch the Giant Pandas. Fourth of July was never boring with huge firework shows. One of the best and funniest memories is when my dad and a good friend went to get Maryland Blue Crabs so we could steam them ourselves. I went along, as did the daughter of the family friend. Needless to say it was a long trip back to the house listening to the crabs try to crawl their way out of the crates they were in. Once we got them back to the apartment where we lived and we had crabs climbing on the porch railings. We never tried that again.
Catching fireflies was a nightly ritual, as was running each time we heard the Good Humor ice cream truck in the distance. The hardest part was deciding what kind of ice cream to get. It all looked delicious. Where have those days gone?
Just before my 9th birthday we moved to Ligonier, PA, a small historic town southeast of Pittsburgh. I played the flute in both concert and marching band, sang in the chorus, played the part of Miss Fern in The Bad Seed(junior class play), and had a variety of roles in the senior class musical Hello Dolly! I was also the girls track manager, as running and I don't get along. I prefer dancing and bike riding.
After graduating high school I went to Penn State University where I earned my degree in Labor and Industry Relations and a minor in Business Management. While at Penn State I was on the concert committee, where I saw James Taylor, Bob Dylan, Love and Rockets, Living Color, E.U. with Sinbad (from Different World fame), and Robert Palmer.
The summer between my junior and senior year in college I interned at the The Discovery Channel in Maryland in their human resources department. The best summer of my life. Hopped on the metro and went site-seeing all over DC and Northern Va. As far as the metro would take me. It awed me as much then as when I was a child.
After college,I took a job with Wal-Mart as an assistant manager and moved to Gettysburg, PA. I had heard many tales about ghosts, but thought nothing of it. Until one evening I was deep into the battlefield, walking up a fire tower, when suddenly I had to stop. It was as if a force were keeping me from taking another step. I hurried to take a few pictures (as I wanted sunset pictures), then I ran to my car, locked the door, and hurried home.
A week later the pictures were developed and there was an image in the picture that was not seen to the naked eye the day the picture was taken. I have not been back to the battlefield since, and the pictures have been thrown out as I found it creepy to have them in my house.
Wal-Mart transferred me to Mars, PA, and then Meadville, PA, where I met my husband. Soon after we married I found myself creating characters and scenes, all based on a dream I had. That was the start of Wyoming Hope and my writing career. I then took two courses through the Institute of Children's Literature, the second course being the advanced course where I wrote the version of Wyoming Hope that is now available.
Writing gives me the opportunity to travel to places, usually in my head, and meet new people. Some of the characters are fun, some are nasty (the fun ones to write), and some are like ordinary people that we all know. But it's fun to watch them come alive as I write the storylines. And no matter how much I try to decide exactly what will happen in each chapter, the characters find some of way of changing it, and usually for the better.
When I'm not writing, I am busy working at a local elementary school and trying to keep up with my daughter.
One of our favorite things to do together is read. Some of my favorites are SkippyJonJones, Bridge to Terabithia, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
I also love music, all kinds--jazz, rock, dance, country. A few of my all-time favorite songs are Let's Stay Together by Al Green, though many of you may know Justin Guarnini's version from the first American Idol show, This I Promise You by NSYNC, and The Song Remembers When by Trisha Yearwood. Another artist I enjoy is Bradley Cole, and my favorite song is I Believe. I could go on and on, but we all have our own tastes and opinions as to what we like music wise.
I also enjoy the outdoors, family gatherings, and peaceful, quiet times (which are few and far between as anyone with children will understand). But most of all I enjoy the time I spend with family and friends.
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