July 23, 2010
Can it really have been almost two years since I've updated? Oh my! Well a lot has been going on. I am currently recovering from surgery for breast cancer. Recovering is the most important word there. I've already had chemo. 5 months of that nasty stuff! Surgery was July 1. I opted for a Bilateral just because I didn't want to have to go through all this again. Still have radiation to go. That will start in August, about the middle of the month so it will be awhile yet before life is back to normal but again, I am recovering. It's no picnic for sure but medicine has come a long way so whatever you do, don't be afraid of the screenings. They can't find anything that isn't there and you can't fight it unless you know it's there, so get out there and have that mammo and that pap. The life you save may be your own!
November 19, 2008
BIG NEWS!! I'm so excited. Well you can tell that from the all caps at the beginning. Okay, I'll try to calm down. My publisher, Outskirts Press, contacted me and they have nominated Hanover Easy for the 2008 EVVY Award! Wow! For those of you who aren't familiar with the EVVY, it's sponsored by the Independent Publisher's Association. Each year they accept nominations from print on demand and other forms of independent publishers to recognize and honor the best non-traditionally published books of the year. It's an old cliche but true none the less, that win or lose, it's an honor to be nominated. Actually it's pretty sweet. Not as sweet as winning would be, but still sweet. Winners will be announced in the spring. Keep your fingers crossed for me and Hanover Easy!
July 17, 2008
Hello all, It's been a while since I updated. I apologize for that. Life intervened as it sometimes does to all of us. However, I haven't been resting. I have a new book coming out soon, a children's book that I'm quite excited about. The exact date hasn't been determined yet but it was important to me to announce it here first.
If you follow the logical thought process of almost everyone I know, you're wondering what in the world Into the Light and Hanover Easy have in common with a children's book. The answer is absolutely nothing. It is perhaps to my ultimate detriment that I don't have a style or a consistent "voice" in my writing. Whether that's good or bad remains to be seen. All I know is I write what is important to me at a given moment.
The concept for the children's book came about one day when I was spending time with my granddaughter. She's very bright and inquisitive and was asking me endless questions about whatever held her attention for five seconds. Things like, "What kind of bird is that?" It's a blue bird. "What kind of blue bird?" A big blue bird. "What kind of big blue bird?" and on and on until she could no longer remember the string of adjectives in my last answer.
One of the most magnificent things about being a grandparent is that we have more time to contemplate what's really important in life. When I was raising my son, I was so harried with life, my job, and the massive responsibility of raising a child who would not create a scene in a restaurant, that I'm afraid I missed things with him, things like explaining big blue birds. So in my new found wisdom, it occurred to me that this child I love beyond all reasoning, was not just asking meaningless questions. She was trying to learn about the world she lives in. I know, that's neither a new concept nor an enlightened point of view. However, the progression of this thought process opened my eyes to a need I wanted to fill. Or perhaps it only made me acutely aware of my own shortcomings as a parent. In any event, I asked myself, what I would most like to teach her? What lessons could I give her that I might have missed with my son? This book is the first in a series of those life lessons. Things I want her to know that are important to me in my advancing age.
The High Forest Princess is written as a "Once upon a time" fairy tale to explain the importance of protecting our forests in a way that I hope children can relate to. It deals with the ramifications of failing to protect our natural resources and the impact those failings can have on our daily lives and on the lives of those around us. It also shows what wonderful changes can take place when one person steps forward to lead. It's meant to be read to children so they will have the opportunity to ask those probing questions so typical of the brightest among us. I hope you will share the story of The High Forest Princess with all the inquisitive minds in your life.
April 2, 2008
Well a bit of a downer today friends. It seems Amazon.com is flexing it's considerable muscle. My publisher contacted me to suggest I make notification that Hanover Easy should be ordered from Barnes & Noble. Amazon has sent out messages that it intends to do the printing itself for books it sells. Talk about a monolopy. Well it may work, who knows. However, Outskirts Press is not giving in, at least not yet and I support their decision wholeheartedly. Their printing facility does a wonderful job and I have no desire to be pushed into using another service, one that incidently, just might not be up to the standards I'm now enjoying. So if you haven't already ordered, please check with Barnes and Noble. My publisher assures me their delivery time is equal to Amazon and so far, they aren't waving a big stick.
March 28, 2008
Wow! I'm so excited. The book is officially published and is now available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble. The link is posted below. I anticipated this day, but somehow I still wasn't quite prepared. Somebody pinch me!
Link for Hanover Easy
Hello everyone, My name is Debra P. Whitehead. I'm very excited to announce that my new book, Hanover Easy will be released by Outskirts Press in the next few weeks. Unlike my previous novel, Into the Light, Hanover Easy is a modern story set in the small southern town of Hanover, Tennessee. No, there isn't a Hanover, Tennessee but the physical layout of the town will be familiar to those who live in my hometown of Hohenwald, Tennessee. However, the look of the town is where all connections to the real world end. The characters and plot are products of my imagination, and while I believe the story could happen anywhere, to my knowledge, it hasn't happened in Hohenwald.
Below is a passage from Chapter 1 and at the bottom of the page I've included a link to my Author's Page for Hanover Easy and Into the Light. Both books are available through Outskirts Press, Amazon.com and through all major online booksellers, as well as by special order from your favorite bookstore. I hope you enjoy. If you have any questions, or would like to comment, please contact me at debbie@debrapwhitehead.com
From Hanover Easy
He sure is a cranky bastard, for a dead man.
Millie stood behind the plate glass window of her office, shielded from view by tinted glass and vertical blinds. On the street, Leon Mitchell spoke to his wife over the top of the car. His voice did not carry into the building but the woman’s body language was clear. Despite the expanse of metal between them, she leaned away from his words, her eyes blank, as if she’d heard it all before and knew there was no remedy for his anger.
As he opened the car door he looked directly at the window behind which Millie stood. He could not see her or hear her gasp but she felt his awareness. He knew she watched. She forced her body to remain still, resisting the flight instinct. She refused to lower her eyes, too. She would not be intimidated, not by the likes of him. As if he also read her thoughts, his mouth curled at one corner in a crude caricature of a smile. A wave of foreboding clawed its way up her spine.
She was going to regret selling them the house.
***
Link for Hanover Easy
http://www.outskirtspress.com/webpage.php?isbn=1432717405
Link for Into the Light