Susan Ryan
Filed under: Authors
Following an undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan, I enjoyed a thirty-year career in medical sales, the last twenty-five years selling heart valves. In the corporate world, with little time for writing anything other than riveting business letters, I imagined a literary life. A few years ago I retired and pursued my dream. I enrolled in Spalding University's low-residency MFA program. After four fascinating residencies abroad in Rome & Tuscany, Paris, Dublin & Galway, and Prague & Berlin, I am in the midst of my final semester, writing my creative thesis—Heart Parts, a memoir focusing on my career. My essay, "Proper Equipment", is part of this project. At Spalding, I've written creative nonfiction, but also enjoy fiction, playwriting, poetry, and writing for children, all with a dose of humor. I've written lyrics for five recorded songs and look forward to expanding my writing horizons after I graduate next summer in Athens. Other than chapbooks and pro-bono work, this is my first publication. I was a runner-up in Writer's Digest's 74th annual contest in the literary short story division.
When not writing or reading, I love playing golf, bicycling, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, kayaking, jazz, and cooking. I live beside Lake Michigan with my standard poodle muse, Ella Fitzgerald.
Photo: Doonbeg Golf Course, County Clare, Ireland
Winning Entry: Proper Equipment
Contest Won: Sports Fiction & Essay Contest 2014, First Prize
