Book Spotlight: A Whisper in the Trees by Susan Dalessandro

A little bit about Susan Dalessandro…

I work in Psychometrics, utilizing my education in Applied Mathematics to calibrate and score tests and to analyze data. I’ve always enjoyed math, but I also have a creative side that I didn’t quite explore until I started writing down the stories I created in my head on my morning runs. I’ve been writing for almost twenty years now.

I’m a lifelong lover of books and storytelling and hold an M.A. in Applied Math, a subject which finds its way into many of my stories.

I live in Bucks County, PA in the U.S. with my husband, two sons and two dogs. My story ideas come to me as I run in the early mornings with my dogs. Running is the perfect environment for me to think and create.

My debut novel, Complex Solutions, a YA coming of age thriller, released March 16, 2021. Strong Enough, a YA novel, part of the Play Like A Girl series, came out on August 8, 2023. My latest novel, A Whisper In The Trees, a YA romance with paranormal elements, released on June 30, 2025 with The Wild Rose Press.

A Whisper In The Trees Blurb

For Gabby Patterson, a dedicated, but sometimes obsessive, cross-country runner, junior year is her time to shine. She has to start thinking about tomorrow: the future college recruiters and scholarship offers. But today means beating her impossibly skinny rivals any way she can.
Then eerie encounters in the woods and a cute secretive guy with the same quirky musical tastes interfere in Gabby’s plans. Sweet CJ is connected to the forest mystery… and to what’s happening to Gabby. But hard truths aren’t that easy to run from…

Purchase link: https://books2read.com/u/bQwQy0

This is a spotlight on “A Whisper in the Trees” by Susan Dalessandro

Inspiration to write A Whisper In The Trees…

My inspiration for A Whisper in the Trees came from my obvious love of running (and the critical issues that plague many runners, especially teen girls), a borough-town that’s a short drive from my house and is known as one of the best small towns in the U.S. (I knew I wanted to set my book there, with it’s Victorian homes, indie shops, and leafy streets) and like my inspiration for writing all my YA books, the roller-coaster emotional journey of being a teen.

One of Susan’s favourite paragraphs from A Whisper in the Trees…

I hug myself tightly and glance around. Nothing but leaves blowing in the dusty, hot breeze. Hot, not cold. It doesn’t change the fact I’m frozen inside like the last time. And I didn’t pass out at practice today. I was totally fine for our mile repeats. In fact, I killed them.

The chill leaves as quickly as it arrived, and I exhale, a dense vapor billowing from my mouth. I take off along the path and the song resonates in my head. Only this time the lyrics are sharper. Stronger.

My stomach clenches and I try to push the song out of my head, but it refuses to be silenced.

It taunts me.

Susan’s other works…

My debut novel, Complex Solutions, a coming of age thriller, was released in March 2021 with Rhetoric Askew Publishing. When the publisher closed at the end of 2023, I re-released the book as a self-published novel.

I released Strong Enough, part of the Play Like A Girl series with other authors in August 2023.