Ahead of the game - Suzann Ledbetter

Suzann Ledbetter possesses the wonderfully rare ability to point out the absurdity in everyday occurrences and, by doing so, elevate the ordinary into the exceptional. A sublimely entertaining writer, Suzann is a columnist for the Springfield News Leader, a contributing editor to Family Circle, and the author of 10 previous books. A chip off the old block, Suzann credits her father for her sense of humour. Naturally drawn to comedy, Suzann cherishes her ability to make people laugh. "I enjoy it and I want my readers to have fun, but I don't want people to be misled," she cautions. "I take my work and life very seriously." Suzann takes her research seriously, as well. To find out as much as possible about law enforcement, from procedures to the personalities of officers sworn to "protect and serve," she enrolled in a 30-hour Civilian Police Academy sponsored by the Springfield, Missouri, Police Department. Following her graduation, she became a civilian volunteer to "role play" bad guys in conjunction with the department's academy classes. "I've never been arrested for real in my life, but the rookies in training slapped the cuffs on me about 35 times in one day. Make no mistake about it, those kind of bracelets hurt, too. The best part, though, was pretending to be an armed burglar, wearing body armour that looked like a cross between a baseball catcher and Darth Vader, and trading 'shots' with the cops - using 9 mm. paintball guns, not live ammunition, of course. Fun while it lasted, anyway. I always wound up in handcuffs during those scenarios, as well!" As a child, Suzann thrived on Nancy Drew mysteries and wanted to be a detective when she grew up. As an adolescent she amended her career choice to journalism - a field she entered after raising a family. Always an avid reader, she doesn't point to any single author as having an undue amount of influence; instead she acknowledges "everyone who said I couldn't do it." She also recognises the role a certain measure of ignorance has had to play in her success - "it forced me to learn." A former guest on the Today Show and currently a lecturer for the Program Corporation of America, Suzann Ledbetter lives in Nixa, Missouri. You may visit her web site at www.SuzannLedbetter.com.