Susan D. Brandenburg is an award-winning biographer of more than 40 books that chronicle the history of many prominent First Coast personalities. She lives in Jacksonville, in the Lakewood area, in a condominium overlooking the St. Johns River.
As told to Maggie FitzRoy
Q: How and when did you begin writing biographies?
A: I was writing for the Florida Times-Union, the St. Augustine Record and Women’s Digest as a freelancer, while I was a secretary at Blue Cross. I was writing at nights and on weekends. I was asked by the Reverend Doctors Don and Anne Bloch to help them write their book, “Sail the Seven C’s of Matrimony,” a Christian marriage guide. It was really their memoir while also a marriage guide. That was my first published book.
Q: Did that quickly lead to the next?
A: Actually, it did. I have discovered that God grooms you for what you are going to do next. All of my freelance columns were based on human interest stories and were basically mini memoirs.
Q: What was your next book?
A: Josephine Wall’s “Palette of Dreams.” She was in England, so I did it long distance over the phone. Andrea Jackson was my graphic designer for that book and many more.
Q: What awards have you won?
A: In 2010, I won biography of the year from the Florida Writers Association for “Sharecropper’s Son, The Story of Doc Garland Granger.” In 2018, I won an award from the National League of American Pen Women for “Moonshine Days, The Century Old Story of Robert Lee Swindell.” He was 100 when I wrote it.
Q: What are the challenges of being a personal biographer?
A: God gives me the words. So, the main challenge I have is not to write negatively. People want to be remembered well and there is always a way to write something that doesn’t hurt anyone involved. People hire me to write their biographies. And I want them to be proud of what I write.
Q: Are your books family heirlooms?
A: Yes, they are definitely family heirlooms, and I often keep in touch with the people I write about. We become close friends. One of the hazards of writing someone’s biography is that I know everything about them, all their secrets and some of those secrets do not make it to the pages. Some have become like family.
Q: Do the books include pictures?
A: Yes. A picture is worth a thousand words, it’s the truth. The more photographs, the better. There were so many pictures in Jimmy Stockton’s biography, “Stockton Safaris,” that my graphic designer had to divide them into family and friends, hunting, fishing, ancestors and world adventures. His book is four pounds and 402 pages. It’s sold at the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club.
Q: Tell us about yourself. Where did you grow up?
A: I was an Air Force brat. I grew up all over the world. When people ask me where I grew up, I say I’m an Earthling. We lived all over the United States and in Germany and Japan. We were once even marooned on Wake Island in the South Pacific by a typhoon.
Q: How and when did you come to live in Jacksonville?
A: The first time, I came in the 1980s with my family. It has become home over the years. The last time I moved here was in 1998, to be near my son and his family.
Q: Where do you live now?
A: Five years ago, I moved from Ponte Vedra Beach to a Lakewood condo. I’m on the eighth floor. Stetson Kennedy’s grandson calls me “Susan in the Sky.”
Q: Did you write about Stetson Kennedy?
A: Many articles, but not his biography. I have become very close to his family. He died in 2011 at 94. I am the secretary on the board of the Stetson Kennedy Foundation. His legacy as a champion of human rights and the environment continues.
Q: What other organizations are you involved with?
A: READ USA, which promotes the love of reading by giving free books to students in Title I elementary schools. I am on the board of the National League of American Pen Women and on the board of The Carpenter’s Shop, a Christian afterschool and summer camp program. I also teach a class for the University of North Florida OLLI Program, called “Remember Who You Are.”
Q: What are you currently writing?
A: I’m writing the history of the Red Coats, the volunteer chairmen of The PLAYERS. I am also writing a 35 year history of The Pace Center for Girls with Vicki Burke, founder of Pace. I am also writing the 70th anniversary edition of Rodeheaver Boy’s Ranch, the oldest Christian boys ranch in the state of Florida.
Q: What do you enjoy about your life now?
A: I’m living my purpose. I’m using the words God gives me in his glory.
Q: Where can people reach you?
A: My email is susanscribe@comcast.net and my website is susanthescribe.upweb.com.
