Browne Popular Culture Library

Introduction

Susan Elizabeth Phillips is a contemporary American author of romance novels beginning with The Copeland Bride in 1982 and followed up to present by numerous award winning books. Her collection is comprised of 10 cubic feet of manuscript drafts, edited copies, galleys, research notes, publicity materials and some fan mail and miscellaneous correspondence mostly pertaining to manuscript editing.

Susan E. Phillips began transferring her manuscripts to the Browne Popular Culture Library, Bowling Green State University, in June 1997. The collection is open for research, but photocopying or other duplication of manuscripts must comply with applicable copyright laws. This register was compiled by Debbie Chimahusky under the supervision of Jean Geist, Popular Culture Library Associate II in November 1998 and revised and expanded by Eric Honneffer in February 2008.

Biographical Sketch

Susan Elizabeth Phillips was born in Cincinnati, Ohio to John Aller Titus and Louesa Coate Titus. She graduated in 1966 from Ohio University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Theater. She worked for six years as a high school teacher before deciding to become a writer full time. She lives in a suburb of Chicago with her husband William C. Phillips. They have two grown sons.

Ms. Phillips' writing career began when a neighbor suggested that the two of them could write a better historical romance than what was being offered to readers in the early 1980's. In their spare time, Ms. Phillips and her neighbor, Claire Lefkowitz, wrote The Copeland Bride (1983) under the pseudonym Justine Cole. By the time this novel was complete, a friend had given them the telephone number of an editor at Dell Publishing. The editor agreed to read their manuscript and a few weeks later called the women with an offer. Soon after their success, Ms. Lefkowitz moved away to pursue a career as an assistant U.S. attorney. Ms. Phillips, however, went on to write her next historical romance, Risen Glory, under her own name. Glitter Baby followed and was published in several languages. This novel would be her first contemporary romance.

Ms. Phillips' subsequent novels include such titles as Fancy Pants (1989), Hot Shot (1991), Honey Moon (1993), It Had to Be You (1994), Heaven, Texas (1995), Kiss an Angel (1996), Nobody's Baby But Mine (1997), Dream a Little Dream (1998), Lady Be Good (1999), First Lady (2000), This Heart of Mine (2001), Breathing Room (2002), Ain't She Sweet? (2004), Match Me If You Can (2005) and Natural Born Charmer (2007).

Susan Elizabeth Phillips has received many awards for her writing. The Romance Writers of America Members' Favorite Book of the Year Award was given to her in 1995 for It Had to Be You and again in 1997 for Nobody's Baby But Mine. The latter was also chosen as the 1998 RITA winner for Single Title Contemporary Romance. She received a RITA in 1999 for Dream a Little Dream and another in 2001 for First Lady. The Romantic Times Career Achievement Award in Contemporary Romance was bestowed upon her in 1989 for Fancy Pants and again in 1996 for Kiss an Angel . In 1994 It Had to Be You also received Affaire de Coeur's Romance of the Year Award, Best Contemporary Romance and Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Award, Best Contemporary Romance.

Scope and Content

The Susan Elizabeth Phillips Collection contains manuscript drafts, edited copies and galleys for most of her novels and accompanying publicity materials, some pertaining to her career and writings. Scattered pages of correspondence concerning the editing of manuscripts may assist researchers in better understanding how a manuscript is shaped into a publishable format. Fan mail for some of Ms. Phillips' novels may offer researchers insights into readers' likes and dislikes regarding an author's work and the impact "fans" may have on the future direction of an author's writing.

Series Description

Correspondence

Series:

Correspondence with editors or publishers

1982-present (scattered)
Miscellaneous correspondence describing text/format changes may accompany edited manuscripts.

Fan Mail

1983-1995 scattered
Arranged by title of novel.
The letters sent to Ms. Phillips by her many fans are mostly congratulatory in nature but also share with the author preferences for certain characters, story lines, ideas for future works and the like.

Literary Productions

Series:

Novel manuscripts
1982-present
Arranged chronologically by novel publication date
These can include manuscript drafts, edited copies, galleys, notes and story synopses.

Misc. Literary Productions 1982, ND
No arrangement.
A "diary" or script used by Susan Elizabeth Phillips during public appearances promoting The Copeland Bride and an undated abandoned synopsis for Love Seeds appear at the end of the collection.

Printed Materials

Series:

Publicity Materials 1982- present
Arranged chronologically by novel publication date.
These publicity materials can include book covers, posters (some oversized), bookmarks, fliers, articles and news clippings promoting Ms. Phillips' novels.

Miscellaneous Printed Materials 1984- present
Award certificates, publicity photos of Ms. Phillips, articles about her and some publicity for Ain't She Sweet are included at the end of the collection.

Objects

T-shirt, Fancy Pants, 1989
T-shirt, Hot Shot, 1991
Tote bag autographed by fans, 1999

Inventory