MEET SUSAN FLORENCE

Susan Florence has been connecting people for over 45 years with her timeless verse and
original art. An internationally acclaimed author and artist, Susan’s work has inspired readers worldwide as greeting cards, hundreds of gift products, and thirty giftbooks, which she has written and illustrated for publishers in the U.S., UK, South America, and Europe.

Susan and her husband, Jim, started one of the first alternative greeting card companies in CA. in 1970. People Productions created a successful trademark look and a following. In 1985, Susan and Jim sold their business to C.R. Gibson, of Norwalk CT. Susan continued her greeting cards, notes and stationery lines, and with Gibson, her trademark look became product lines of photo albums, ceramic mugs, paper tableware, Christmas, Kitchen, and Baby collections. In 1987 Susan began her bestselling series of gift books, which sold 1½ million units, and licensed work as stitchery kits, magnets, textile products and calendars.

With the 1998 sale of C.R. Gibson to Thomas Nelson Inc., a strictly Christian book publishing company, Susan’s successful gift product collections were terminated and the rights reverted to her.

Moved by personal, meaningful letters from people inspired by her gift books, Susan decided to create another gift book series. She began studying art again and found her passion in loose watercolors painted “plein aire” outside in nature. Her new watercolor look and writings came together in a gift book collection, called Journeys, published in 2002 by Helen Exley Giftbooks, a UK Company. This line of thoughtful, spiritually nourishing books was translated into many languages and has sold over 500,000 copies.

Exley thought they could handle distribution in the US, but in 2008, had to close their U.S. warehouses. The world rights, with the exception of one title, have now reverted to Susan.

Many of Susan’s original gift books, created with C.R. Gibson, continued to sell in South America and Mexico by V and R Editoras of Argentina. Translated into Spanish and Portuguese, Susan’s nature inspired watercolors illustrate two gift books, (I’m So Sorry) Lo Siento Mucho, words offered to console in a time of loss, and (I’ll Give You A Moment) Te Regalo Un Momento, an invitation for women to become one with the wise woman, who lives inside each of us. The rights have now reverted to Susan as the company changed ownership in 2020.

Susan has written three longer giftbooks with Bristol Park Books, a New York Publisher. Friendship is a Special Place, To Wish You Well in a Time of Healing, and The Heart of Christmas.

Susan graduated from San Jose State University with a BA in Art and minored in Creative Writing. Her gift products have always been fueled by her words. She studies poetry at the annual San Miguel Poetry Week and attends writing retreats, workshops,
and poetry readings. Her poetry has won prizes and has been published in literary journals and anthologies. A Stunning Absence, her chapbook of poems for all who grieve, was published in 2014 by Finishing Line Press. Her poem “Legacy,” a finalist in the Red Wheelbarrow Poetry Competition, was nominated for the 2020 prestigious Pushcart Prize. A second chapbook, Leftover Prayers, was published in 2022 by The Orchard Street Press.

Susan has self-published two of her best-selling gift-sized books: Babies Take Us On A Special Journey and her best seller from the Journeys series, When You Lose Someone You Love, a journey through the heart of grief.

She has finished a full length, creative non-fiction book for women as yet untitled, and explains, “I want to share my experience of the women’s journey taken as we turn away from what the world wants of us and venture into the rich, deep wilderness of our own feminine nature.”

Currently Susan lives with her husband Jim in Ojai. They have two grown children, Emily and Brent, a daughter-in-law Natalie, and granddaughter Emery.