Kate Ryder writes romantic suspense in which her characters often face challenging situations laced with moral dilemma. An avid reader and writer since childhood, Kate always dreamed of being a novelist. However, on leaving school...
Bestselling Author
the art of words
Bestselling Author
the art of words
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“There’s plenty of sharp, suspenseful action to savor here in this impressively poignant, hauntingly realistic, and searingly moving tale. Schafer intensively explores themes of racism, violence, war, and human welfare. Vivid, boldly written, life-affirming historical fiction drawn from the horrors of the Rwandan genocide crisis.” —Kirkus Reviews
Now a #1 Amazon Bestseller!
In response to the worldwide epidemic of genocides and to mark the thirtieth anniversary of the Rwandan Genocide, Suanne Schafer has issued a second edition of Hunting the Devil, revised and with a new Author’s Note. The electronic edition was free from April 7 through July 15, 2024, the hundred days the 1994 genocide lasted.
Part medical procedural, part global political thriller, part vigilante novel, and part fractured romance, Hunting the Devil moves from the dusty washboard roads of Rwanda to an inner-city hospital in America to the Natural History Museum of Belgium to the halls of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha, Tanzania as it deftly traces one woman’s journey toward justice.
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“The depth of emotion of a modernist novel and the epic scope of a historical saga.” —Alicia Rasley, author of The Year She Fell
Passion & Paint (formerly A Different Kind of Fire) depicts one woman’s battle to balance husband, family, career, and ambition. Torn between her childhood sweetheart, her forbidden passion for another woman, the nobleman she had to marry, and becoming a renowned painter, Ruby’s choices mold her in ways she could never have foreseen…
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“The depth of emotion of a modernist novel and the epic scope of a historical saga.” —Alicia Rasley, author of The Year She Fell
Ruby Schmidt has the talent, the drive, even the guts to enroll in art school, leaving behind her childhood home and the beau she always expected to marry. Her life at the Academy seems heavenly at first, but she soon learns that societal norms in the East are as restrictive as those back home in West Texas. Rebelling against the insipid imagery woman are expected to produce, Ruby embraces bohemian life. Her burgeoning sexuality drives her into a life-long love affair with another woman and into the arms of an Italian baron. With the Panic of 1893, the nation spirals into a depression, and Ruby’s career takes a similar downward trajectory. After thinking she could have it all, Ruby, now pregnant and broke, returns to Texas rather than join the queues at the neighborhood soup kitchen. She discovers her life back home is as challenging as that in Philadelphia.
Passion & Paint (formerly A Different Kind of Fire) depicts one woman’s battle to balance husband, family, career, and ambition. Torn between her childhood sweetheart, her forbidden passion for another woman, the nobleman she had to marry, and becoming a renowned painter, Ruby’s choices mold her in ways she could never have foreseen…
Suanne Schafer, born in West Texas at the height of the Cold War, finds it ironic that grade school drills for tornadoes and nuclear war were the same: hide beneath your desk and kiss your rear-end goodbye. Now a retired family-practice physician whose only child has fledged the nest, her pioneer ancestors and world travels fuel her imagination.
ABOUT SUANNE SCHAFER
Suanne Schafer, born in West Texas at the height of the Cold War, finds it ironic that grade school drills for tornadoes and nuclear war were the same: hide beneath your desk and kiss your rear-end goodbye. Now a retired family-practice physician whose only child has fledged the nest, her pioneer ancestors and world travels fuel her imagination.
Kate Ryder writes romantic suspense in which her characters often face challenging situations laced with moral dilemma. An avid reader and writer since childhood, Kate always dreamed of being a novelist. However, on leaving school...
Click to Enter Just a quick update to let you know I'm doing a brand-new giveaway for 2019! One lucky winner will receive the following prize package: $20 Amazon gift cardA Freehand brand paint setOne signed copy of A DIFFERENT KIND OF FIREOne handmade, beaded velvet...
SS: Today, I have with me Anne Armistead, author of Dangerous Conjurings, which was released by Soul Mate Publishing on April 18, 2018. When she’s not wearing her story-telling hat as Anne Armistead, historical romance author, she’s Sandra Havriluk—English teacher,...
An interesting premise with a page-turning plot with multiple twists, superb world-building, an compelling protagonist who often acts in her own best interest because she’s a bit of a smart aleck, and a love interest who is as emotionally tormented as the protagonist all make this a good read.
This is called a large cake for a reason. Use your biggest bowl—this recipe barely fits in my Kitchen-Aide bowl. The cake is so good an ex-boyfriend, before we decided to not get hitched, wanted it for his groom's cake. Mom's Large Banana Nut Cake 3 cups sugar 1 cup...
These delicious cookies are the chocolate equivalent of those Mexican wedding cookies that are rolled in powdered sugar. The cookies themselves aren't terribly sweet, which compensates for the powdered sugar. For Christmas, just bake a double batch—you won't regret...
I have been baking the pound cake below sixty years. The recipe originally came from an elderly next-door neighbor in Midland, Texas. Her husband was in the posse that killed Bonnie and Clyde on May 23, 1935. It's so simple I don't even look at the recipe any...
Now thru Midnight/ET 12.22.18 Who's up for books, chocolate and coffee? The question should likely be, who ISN'T up for books, chocolate and coffee? Nobody here, I'm sure. 😉 I've decided to do an Icelandic-themed giveaway (jólabókaflóð), where the gift is...
Unlike last week's boozy fruitcake, this is a "white" fruitcake that can be made at the last minute. It is my grandmother's recipe. My handwritten cookbook shows I also made this one as a newly-wed living in Italy in December 1979, but I remember making it as a child...
With the holidays approaching, I thought I'd share some of my family's Christmas recipes. The first is from my mother. My hand-written recipe book shows I made it as a newly-wed in Italy in December 1979 and have made it most years since then. It's a boozy but...
Baci di Dama or Ladies’ Kisses Cookies (Italian Hazelnut Cookies) In my book A Different Kind of Fire, Francesco d'Este uses baci di dama in his attempts to seduce Ruby Schmidt. These rich, delicate cookies are joined in a kiss by a thin layer of chocolate. They first...
With Thanksgiving heralding the arrival of the December holidays, I'll remind readers that books make excellent holiday gifts. 🙂 Today I'm interviewing Meghan Scott Molin. Her book, a mystery named The Frame-up (Book 1 of the Golden Arrow Mysteries), will be released...
A Different Kind of Fire is now available in multiple formats: audiobook, ebook (Kindle only, thus far) and paperback. These are available through Amazon, Audible, Barnes & Noble, and Waldorf Publishing.
I grew up in West Texas and frequently visited my grandparents. Mema, my maternal grandmother, was a great cook, and summertime brought out her penchant for fresh vegetables. We'd frequently have what became known as a "Mema meal"—black-eyed peas with snaps, tart...
These cookies aren't mentioned in A Different Kind of Fire, but they should have been. I can certainly imagine my heroine, Ruby, making something like this for her children. After all, what could be more Texan than a recipe from a former First Lady of Texas and First...
I can’t believe it’s finally here! A Different Kind of Fire - my debut novel - is available to the world TODAY, and this is my beautiful book trailer. I hope you enjoy it! AVAILABLE @: Amazon | Audible | Barnes & Noble | Waldorf Publishing Ruby Schmidt has the...