About Susan

Or, to put it another way, I love vintage stuff. I’ve written five books about only-in-New-England attractions, from candlepin bowling to Necco wafers, and I’m working on a sixth volume.

But before the books, there were pictures. And like many of my photographer counterparts, I started off in the black-and-white darkroom. When I decided to experiment with color, I went to Las Vegas to capture the city’s exuberant neon displays on film. One of my favorite photographs from that trip was an image that focused on a bank of five-cent slot machines against a crimson background. I titled that photograph Red Nickel, and the name stuck.

But something else happened in Vegas. I visited the Neon Museum in its early days, when it was still just a fenced-in parking lot chockful of deteriorating neon signs, broken glass, and pigeons. That trip changed my life.

Returning home, I began photographing neon signs in the Boston metropolitan area and, eventually, throughout New England. What started as a photography project to document the region’s disappearing neon landscape became my first book, New England Neon(2018).

My love for vintage neon – and the signs atop bowling alleys – led me to candlepins, a game played almost exclusively in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, and the Canadian Maritimes. I wasn’t much of a bowler, but the history and lore of the game intrigued me. My second book, New England Candlepin Bowling(2020), offers a glimpse into this quirky and challenging game.

Fast forward a couple of years and I began exploring the roadside attractions along US Route 1. This highway of history is the longest north-south road in the United States, extending from Fort Kent (ME) to Key West (FL). With a focus on Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts, I completed my third book, Along Route 1 (2023).

A convoluted path led me to my next book. When I was researching New England Neon, I found myself in Dover-Foxcroft (ME) to photograph the gorgeous neon sign on top of the Center Theatre. But Dover-Foxcroft had another claim to fame: the town hosts the annual Maine Whoopie Pie Festival. I filed the information away and focused on other projects. But I never forgot, and New England Sweets: Doughnuts, Bonbons, and Whoopie Pies (2025) was the happy result.

Book number five took me to Boston’s waterfront. Millions visit Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market each year—drawn by the food, the shops, and the rich sense of history. But behind the brick and granite walls are stories that most visitors (and even many locals) have never heard. Packed with colorful characters and forgotten chapters of Boston history, Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market (2026) is perfect for curious visitors and lifelong Bostonians who want to see the city with fresh eyes.

Still, I never stopped taking photos, and you can see some of my favorites in my portfolio.