Julia Mendoza is driven by the success of her business. Since her husband Carlos passed away at such a young age, her business By Design is her number one priority. In her late twenties she works too hard and doesn’t take time out for fun. Annoyance with a pesky ex-friend has her begging one of the local surfer’s with a cheeky smile in the grocery store to pretend he’s her boyfriend. Suddenly, life takes a sudden detour from her business plan; much to the delight of her boisterous Latin American family. Christophe Augustine is groomed to take over his father’s successful chain of luxurious hotels. With a wealthy French-American background, Chris has been given privileges that not many have. He works hard, plays harder but seeks approval and recognition above all else. Family is a top priority for him as he fights for custody of his young brother. His parent’s divorce has not diminished his faith in romance. When a gorgeous Latino woman changes one boring morning into an interesting game of role play, though reluctant to help at first, he soon realises she’s not like the string of other women he’s known. A romantic first date ending dramatically doesn’t stop Chris from wanting to know Julia more. And for Julia, she’s all for a bit of fun but when things get too serious she’s running the other way. Too alike, in some ways and complete opposites, in other ways, Julia and Chris fumble through fun moments, annoying confrontations, passionate times and heartbreaking revelations. Love has no boundaries when soul-mates meet but when one is ready to love and the other one isn’t….
Born on the 30th of October, 1980 in Sydney Australia to parents Paul and Zarife Battah, Suzan grew up in Brisbane. At the age of 23, she moved to the big city of Sydney, Australia. She knew from a young age she was destined to be a writer.
Her love of romance novels came from reading her first adult romance at the age of 14 - Once a Princess by Johanna Lindsey. Her love of romance grew from that first book and she would save up pocket money to buy Johanna Lindsey's books. Jude Deveraux and Nora Roberts became a big part of her teenage romance reading years. But it was reading Stephanie Laurens and the Cynster Series with the novel A Secret Love that inspired Suzan to pursue her writing career professionally along with her fan base family.
Suzan branched out in local bookstores, reading different genres including science fiction and fantasy as well as John Marsden's Tomorrow series. A Librarian caught her once reading the ending of book before she had borrowed it.
In 1997 at the tender age of 16, Suzan submitted a fantasy/romance manuscript to Penguin Australia and received back a one of the best rejection letters from the Editor of the Books for Children and Young Adults, Sandy Webster. Her encouragement in the letter and advice has stayed with Suzan always: "I'm sorry that we can't give you a more positive response. However, I wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed reading your chapters, which have such a fabulous energy... I trust that you will continue to develop your writing, and to read widely. It is important, at this stage, that you continue to enjoy writing rather than worrying too much about the opinions of publishing houses... I hope you keep it up, and I wish you the best of luck."
In 1998, Suzan completed a professional Romance Writers Course with the Australian College of Journalism. Writing amazing novels that entertain and spark the imagination is what she is passionate about in life. Sharing her storytelling with readers all over the world is one of her ultimate goals. Suzan one day hopes to hit the New York Times Bestseller list at the number 1 spot and is excited about achieving such a dream.
Mad About the Boy is her first completed novel. She has several works in progress.
Suzan loves to dance, go to the gym, reading urban fanatasy and contemporary romance.
