Suzanne Hayes Books In Order

Publication Order of I'll Be Seeing You Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Suzanne Hayes is the pseudonym for Suzanne Palmieri, the fantasy fiction author best known for writing “The Witch of Little Italy” and “The Witch of Belladonna Bay.” As Suzanne Hayes, she has written historical fiction including the novels “I’ll Be Seeing You” and “Empire Girls” in collaboration with Loretta Nyhan. The two authors have never met in person though they have written two complete novels in collaboration. Hayes loves to describe herself as a teacher and author from Connecticut, where she lives with her husband and children. Hayes has said that she has always been an avid reader of historical fiction, which perhaps explains why she loves to write novels that draw from different eras. She was also influenced by the classics from the likes of Fitzgerald and Hemingway. Given her love for history, some of her fantasy as Palmieri often includes historical elements.

When Suzanne Hayes first met Loretta, they were both trying to get their writing careers going and none had accomplished much. Hayes was connecting with other writers and blogging online when she saw news that an author named Loretta was launching her blog. She clicked over and found someone writing about the Beatles and organic. They started commenting on each other’s blog posts and it was not long before a fast friendship had developed between the two. However, it took about a year before they were talking on the phone. It was during this time that Hayes suggested that they self-publish collaboratively since they had not had any luck with the traditional publishing route. They started corresponding via email and letters. As brand new authors, they needed all the support and talked to each other almost daily even as they exchanged information on character and plot. Given their shared experience, it only seemed natural to write about two women leaning on each other in the mid of a stressful situation. While they both like historical fiction Hayes believes they just stumbled into it. They first collaborated in 2013 to write Susan Hayes debut novel “I’ll Be Seeing You” set in the 1940s. It was a novel about two women that bond while their husbands are away fighting World War II. Their second novel Empire Girls is set in 1920s New York City and features two sisters fighting to reclaim what they believe is rightfully theirs.

Susan has asserted that the two novels while having the same theme of women empowerment are very different. While “I’ll be Seeing You” was a fun project about World War II wives, their second novel was more serious. Unlike in the first novel where Rita and Glory borrow a lot from the personalities of their authors, Ivy and Rose Adams could not be any more different even if they are just as spirited. In writing the novels Susan Hayes says that her penchant for coming up with ideas and making quick corrections came in very handy. She left the work of correcting the typos to Loretta who is a genius with timing and editing. Loretta is also responsible for the snappy amazing dialogue. Loretta describes Suzy Hayes as the ultimate romantic who has a great understanding of the mood that they are trying to create. She is also a stickler for facts and dates and as such is in charge of historical detail in the novels. Together, Hayes and Loretta work to write novels that take the reader into the past without it reading like a history lesson. Part of the charm of their novels is that the characters run the narrative rather than certain moments in history running off with the story.

Suzanne Hayes’s first novel “I’ll Be Seeing You” is a novel full of charm and style. It is a deeply moving narrative full of grace and unforgettable characters, and an enduring celebration of the strength, friendship and team spirit of women. The novel is set in 1943, where Rita Vincenzo got some correspondence from Glory Whitehall. Whitehall is an impulsive, effervescent twenty-something-year-old mother who loves her freedom and youth. Glory could not be any more different as she is a generous, old soul with a love for gardening and the wife to a professor. Rita lives in Iowa and is always struggling to pay her bills whole Glory is New Englander, a high society girl. The two women have nothing in common except for the fact that their husbands are fighting World War II. Rita and Glory embark on a remarkable series of correspondence by an unlikely twist of fate and soon become fast friends. Their friendship is driven by the uncertainty of waiting for news from the war and the loneliness both of them have to endure. The letters are the only thing that gives them the hope and courage to continue living and dealing with what life throws at them. They are connected by the written word across the country as they find their lives enriched by the unwavering support of the other.

“Empire Girls” the second novel by Suzanne Hayes is set in 1920s New York, where two sisters are faced with a very unique problem for the times. Rose and Ivy Adams are sisters but they are very different in temperament. Ivy is the brazen spirited one while Rose is the more responsible girl. The sudden death of their father means that they had to reconcile their inheritance. But when they get to his lawyer, they learn that he had left them ruined by bequeathing their house to their brother that they had never met or even knew existed. They only have a photograph to guide them and hence they head to New York City to try to find their brother and hopefully convince him to give up what his father had left to him. But when they get to New York, they find the city full of all manner of temptations. The girls are drawn like moths into the glamour and glitz of Manhattan’s underbelly where they now have to learn how to trust each other again and overcome their differences. The novel is full of unforgettable characters that harks back to the roaring twenties while telling an intriguing story of the resilience of two women.