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Spending DAYS With Bill & Susan Hayes

Soap Opera Weekly: Had you ever considered writing a book before?
Susan Seaforth Hayes: We had been approached to write one 25 years ago.
Bill Hayes: We have had many people down through the years say, “Hey, you guys ought to write a book.” Then, this friend took us out to dinner and spent the whole time — he wouldn’t talk about anything else — saying, “Here’s why you need to write the book. Your relationship inspires people. Your love story is meaningful.”


Weekly: Will the book appeal to people outside the daytime realm?
Susan Seaforth Hayes: The book will appeal to married couples and to people who saw us fall in love on DAYS and have stopped watching daytime. A great deal of it is about our lives outside DAYS. There’s a long chapter on YOUR SHOW OF SHOWS, where Bill worked with Sid Caesar. I think our lives have an appeal to a larger audience. This book will appeal to anyone who is interested in theatrical biographies. We touch so many bases, talk about so many people and had wide-ranging careers before DAYS. There’s some dish in it that has nothing to do with DAYS.
Bill Hayes: It also has a lot to do with relationships and various kinds of love. It has to do with marriage, step relationships and family. Susan says something to me every day that, when young kids get married, I pass along to them. Every day, she says, “What can I do for you, today?” Not, “What can you do for me?” If I can do something for you, we’re both pleased. That’s a big point about marriage.
Hayes: So is simple courtesy and never censoring yourself from saying, “I love you,” or something positive to the other person.


Weekly: Obviously, it was a massive undertaking. How long did it take to complete?
Susan Seaforth Hayes: We started writing in May, and the finished manuscript’s due date was Sept. 15.


Weekly: Any desire to pen another?
Susan Seaforth Hayes: Yes. The next would probably be a work of fiction.
Bill Hayes: We could probably write Act II of our own lives, too, but storybook fiction is also very intriguing.

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