Jaime Caldwell on Foodista

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Wednesday
Oct282009

Sweet Susie

My favorite part of being a book publicist is the incredible authors I get to work with. It's such an honor to get to know each of them and to be a part of introducing their books to the world!

One of my most favorite people in the universe is Susan B. Anderson (pictured above), author of ITTY-BITTY HATS, ITTY-BITTY NURSERY and now, ITTY-BITTY TOYS. Not only is she unbelievably creative, she's also one of the most kind, upbeat, encouraging and positive people I have ever met. I love her dearly and tell her all the time that I want to be just like her when I grow up. {She's also married to a lawyer and she has FOUR KIDS!} She's gorgeous and fun and a blast to be around. She's just the best!

Years ago when I first started working at Artisan, we had just acquired Susie's first book, ITTY-BITTY HATS. The story goes that one day, a giant box of knitted hats arrived in the office addressed to Ann, our publisher. Also in the box was a book proposal written by Susie. Now, for those of you unfamiliar with book publishing, publishers receive hundreds, if not thousands, of proposals each year from people with all kinds of zany ideas {I used to sit beside Ann's assistant and LOVED looking through the inbox of proposals!}, but a vast majority of the proposals that turn into actual books are received through agents. Agents, among other important roles, serve as a filter for publishers and as a guide for potential authors in finding a home for their books. Susie's proposal didn't come through an agent. She did it all on her own. She put everything together all on her own, along with a boat-load of hats and sent it all off into the universe on a hope and a prayer. AND IT WORKED! Everyone in the office fell in love with Susie's deisgns, including Ann. On dull days in the office we would pour through the box of baby hats as a pick me up and every time we were amazed by Susie's creativity.

Fast forward a few years and several more giant boxes of knitted goodies later and Susie is the queen of the ITTY-BITTY world! Her blog is my #1 most favorite on the internet and her books are the BEST knitting books on the market. And I don't just say that because I've worked with her. People learn to knit from her books all the time! And even if you're not so much into knitting, you'll still love her to pieces because she's just so darn cute. She writes about her beautiful family, their adventures, her ideas, her favorites things. Her blog never fails to make me smile. As for her books, I defy you to open one up and not turn into a puddle of goo over how adorable the children in her books are. I have seen grown men goo and coo over Susie's books and her designs (you know who you are, Workman peeps!).

Oh, and in addition to all of her books and her super-busy blog {she features the BEST free patterns}, she's also the curator of the Spud & Chloe blog for Blue Sky Alpacas. And she's a runner. And did I tell you she has FOUR KIDS?! She is a super-woman if ever there was one!

I have been so blessed to know Susie and could not be more proud of her. She is a fabulous wife, mother, sister, entrepreneur, designer and friend - one of those people who just knowing them makes you so happy!

ITTY-BITTY TOYS is on shelves now! I just got my copy and already it's flagged like crazy with post-its for projects I can't wait to start! Congrats on your THIRD book, Susie! I am so thrilled for you!! Everyone, ITTY-BITTY TOYS is a great gift for the holidays or to buy to make things for others for the holidays or to keep for your little ol' self since flipping through it is guaranteed to make you grin!

 

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Reader Comments (1)

Oh, Jaime. You are very generous and kind and thoughtful. Thank you for all of the wonderful compliments and I could say the same to you, and I do!

I miss you terribly. Really.

susie

October 29, 2009 | Unregistered Commentersusan b anderson

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