Susan Taylor Block was born in Wilmington, North Carolina September 1, 1951. The daughter of Betty Hill and Joseph Wright Taylor, Jr., she has roots that go back deep into the history of hard working folks of 18th century N.C. With family ties in Chatham, Onslow, and Nash Counties, as well as Bath and "Little Washington," she has a keen interest in other places but has focused her research and writing on southeastern North Carolina.

After a childhood spent in a Mayberry-like pocket of Wilmington, Susan attended John T. Hoggard High School and UNCW before graduating from the University of North Carolina in 1973. A few years later, she began writing poetry, particularly light verse, and, over time, published some of her work in publications such as Saturday Evening Post, Ladies' Home Journal, Christian Century, and The Wall Street Journal.

By the 1980s, the subject of most of Susan's writings turned to the history of Wilmington. An ancient (1739/40) city by American standards, it sits between the Atlantic Ocean and the Cape Fear River on a jut of land that has been bullied by hurricanes, approached by pirates, molested by Revolutionary and Civil War antagonists, and called home by a disproportionately large group of interesting characters.

In 1997, Susan began work on a series of photographic histories of the Lower Cape Fear. Selecting pictures from a collection of 10,000 images at Cape Fear Museum, she set about creating a trilogy: Along the Cape Fear, Cape Fear Lost, and Cape Fear Beaches. The first is a miscellany, the second is a book about vanished architecture, and the third tackles area beaches.

Another photo anthology followed: Wilmington Through the Lens of Louis T. Moore. Mr. Moore was a dedicated local historian who captured images of white and black people, area beaches, Prohibition events, delightful festivals, and local landmarks. His sweeping panoramic shots of the 1920s and 1930s and Ms. Block's illuminating text serves as the basis for a walk back in time to a simpler era.

Subsequently, Susan Taylor Block published Airlie: The Garden of Wilmington: Belles and Blooms: Cape Fear Garden Club and the N. C. Azalea Festival; and Temple of our Fathers: St. James Church (1729-2004.)

In 2005, she and her husband, Frederick L. Block, published Tales of a Shirtmaker: A Jewish Upbringing in North Carolina.