A little aside: Yes, Sean Connery is my cousin -- about a million times removed! (His mother's maiden name is spelled the same as my maiden name.) Yes, Duart Castle is the Clan MacLean home on the Isle of Mull in Scotland. Yes, the film "Entrapment" with Sean Connery and Katherine Zeta-Jones was filmed at Duart Castle. No, I've never met Sir Sean, nor have I visited Scotland. Yes, one day I hope to sign the family visitor book at Duart Castle as my brother has. |
(non-fiction essay) |
my family tartan Scotland |
February 2006: "Hurry, Spring!" Inspired by a week of snow, freezing rain, and sub-zero wind-chill temperatures. (Photos from my 2005 gardens, music "Karen's Theme" by Richard Carpenter) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpLiowvxD4E |
Works published elsewhere online: "Thumbs Up" -- A short story that is set in New York City and takes place six months after 9/11. (Click here to see the picture that inspired this tale.) "Lady of the Stream" -- A very short fictional piece about a great-grandfather's love of children and story-telling. "More than a Mile" -- A short story about one man walking in another man's shoes, and the memories of kindnesses received. (Loosely based on a true story, penned under my pseudonym.) "November Winds" -- A short-short story about true love rising above challenges that life has thrown this couple. "Pressure Cooker" -- A four-part tale of suspense about how a veteran police detective discovers he can still learn things, even from a rookie cop, as the two combine their skills to stop a serial killer. "This Place" -- Hamden, NY -- A non-fictional essay piece about a little slice of heaven in the lower Catskill Mountains of New York. Though reverent, the written word still falls short of conveying how special This Place is to me. If you've read the childrens' book "My Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George, the setting she uses for her story (the town of Delhi, NY) is only eight miles up the road from my slice of heaven. (photos) "Plaids and Paisleys" -- my first profound non-fiction essay. "Life is a plaid... with paisley accessories." (Published under my pseudonym.) |
And here's a link to one of my favorite love songs that I found on YouTube: "Love of My Life" (performed by Jim Brickman and Donny Osmond) |
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABRkOKaX7f4 |
(photos taken by my husband) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qj2xRQ1jqs4 |
Su Russak ~ wife, mother, writer, dreamer... |
Su Russak -- wife, mother, writer, dreamer, and usually a wallflower . . . Like my taste in household furnishings, my writing life is truly a collection of eclectic pieces. Here you will find links to some stories I have published elsewhere online (some of them under my pseudonym, Samantha Gregg, aka "Samm") blurbs, snippets, excerpts, character sketches, and even a book trailer that I managed to put up on YouTube. (This site is currently undergoing a major facelift... ) |
"When Lightning Strikes" Click Here to read Excerpts, Interviews, and Character Sketches |
Other interests I have made a few YouTube videos now. The book trailer (above) was my first project. Following is a list of links to the other ones I've made, plus a link to my favorite YouTube love song. |
Click the "Play" arrow once or twice to start the video. |
Yes, I write romance. Wait, stop, relax -- I can hear you cringing. I don't write "bodice-rippers." The stories I write are categorized as "sweet romance," taking readers down the characters' twisting, turning, romantic path to true love. I leave the steamy scenes for other authors to write in their stories. ;^) My current main work in progress (WIP) is called "When Lightning Strikes." This is the romantic tale of a 21st- century woman searching for her place in life. She never dreamed it would take a bolt of lightning and a journey back in time to find that place. It wasn't an easy trip or an easy thing for her to adjust to, but once she meets James, she knows it was well worth the journey to find her true love. (Eventually, James thinks so, too!) 19th-century James has sworn off the idea of ever finding a woman he could trust enough to love. His heart was trampled once when his fiancée ran off with his best friend, and that was more than enough for him! He felt that a change of scenery would be the best medicine to mend his broken heart, so he left England for America and lived with his favorite uncle and his family. After some time in America, James did find it amusing to observe just how far some women would go to try to catch his fancy. Little did he know just how far Tori had traveled to win his heart -- or that originally it was the farthest thing from her mind and the last thing she had intended to do. |
(photos taken by my husband) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qj2xRQ1jqs4 |
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABRkOKaX7f4 |
And here's a link to one of my favorite love songs that I found on YouTube: "Love of My Life" (performed by Jim Brickman and Donny Osmond) |
Works published elsewhere online: "Thumbs Up" -- A short story that is set in New York City and takes place six months after 9/11. (Click here to see the picture that inspired this tale.) "Lady of the Stream" -- A very short fictional piece about a great-grandfather's love of children and story-telling. "More than a Mile" -- A short story about one man walking in another man's shoes, and the memories of kindnesses received. (Loosely based on a true story, penned under my pseudonym.) "November Winds" -- A short-short story about true love rising above challenges that life has thrown this couple. "Pressure Cooker" -- A four-part tale of suspense about how a veteran police detective discovers he can still learn things, even from a rookie cop, as the two combine their skills to stop a serial killer. "This Place" -- Hamden, NY -- A non-fictional essay piece about a little slice of heaven in the lower Catskill Mountains of New York. Though reverent, the written word still falls short of conveying how special This Place is to me. If you've read the childrens' book "My Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George, the setting she uses for her story (the town of Delhi, NY) is only eight miles up the road from my slice of heaven. (photos) "Plaids and Paisleys" -- my first profound non-fiction essay. "Life is a plaid... with paisley accessories." (Published under my pseudonym.) |
February 2006: "Hurry, Spring!" Inspired by a week of snow, freezing rain, and sub-zero wind-chill temperatures. (Photos from my 2005 gardens, music "Karen's Theme" by Richard Carpenter) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpLiowvxD4E |
my family tartan Scotland |
paisley (pure whimsy) |
(non-fiction essay) |
PLAIDS AND PAISLEYS by Susan McLean Russak (originally published under my pseudonym, Samantha Gregg) Did you ever study a plaid? I mean really look at its intricacies? The various colors run in straight lines, some wider than others; some lines parallel, some intersecting; all intertwining and completing a design. Life is a plaid. As scientists tell us that every snowflake is one-of-a-kind, so is each person's plaid uniquely their own. Each color within the pattern represents a different person's life running alongside ours, sometimes parallel, sometimes intersecting in perpendicular weaves. The wider the line of color, the greater the influence, importance, or closeness we feel for that person. Every so often, a thin white line crosses our lines of color, like the way some people only occasionally cross our paths in life. The white lines may seem thin and almost invisible, yet there would be a noticeable difference in the pattern if they were not there. Life certainly does not run in straight lines all of the time. That's where paisleys fit in. All of the colorful acquaintances you have made during your life add color and diversity like the whimsical unpredictability of a paisley. I'll never again look at a plaid or paisley without smiling, thinking: Life is a plaid... with paisley accessories. ~~~~~ © Samantha Gregg, December 3, 1998 ed. 2007, SMR ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ |
A little aside: Yes, Sean Connery is my cousin -- about a million times removed! (His mother's maiden name is spelled the same as my maiden name.) Yes, Duart Castle is the Clan MacLean home on the Isle of Mull in Scotland. Yes, the film "Entrapment" with Sean Connery and Katherine Zeta-Jones was filmed at Duart Castle. No, I've never met Sir Sean, nor have I visited Scotland. Yes, one day I hope to sign the family visitor book at Duart Castle as my brother has. |
Life is like a kaleidoscope: with every turn there is change, and every change brings new beauty. ~Su |
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