Protector S.o.s.

Susan Kearney used to set fire to herself four times a day. Now she does something really hot — she writes romantic suspense for Silhouette Intrigue.

While she hasn't performed her signature fire dive from a 10-metre platform in years, she started diving at age 10. By age 12, she'd won the New Jersey State Championship, and by college, she was a three-time All-American Diver.

While attending the University of Michigan, she earned a business degree that led to her diverse careers as, variously, a partner in a barter business, a real estate appraiser, a mover and renovator of houses, and owner of three hair salons. Finally, in 1995, she sold her first book and became a full-time writer. She's currently plotting her way through her 14th novel.

Of all her careers, her favourite is wife and mother. She married her teenage sweetheart and lives with her husband, two children, and Boston terrier in sunny Florida. She now beats the heat not by diving into cold water, but with her new hobby — figure skating. Susan also enjoys writing science fiction, screenwriting, boating, and travelling to foreign countries.