Debby Lee - Akamai Author

A warm welcome to my friend and multi-pubbed author, Debby Lee.  Debby was raised in the cozy little town of Toledo, Washington. She has been writing since she was a small child. After graduating from high school, she studied Advanced Creative Writing at her local college.

As a self professed nature lover, and avid listener to 1960's folk music Debby can't help but feel like a hippie child who wasn't born soon enough to attend Woodstock. She wishes she could run barefoot all year long but it's too cold and rainy in southwest Washington to do that.

During football season Debby can be seen riveted to the closest the television cheering on the Seattle Seahawks with near crazed devotion. She's also filled with wanderlust and dreams of visiting Denmark, Italy, and Morocco some day.

 Debby's latest release, A Harvest of Hope 

is available on amazon for only .99!         

 bit.ly/harvest_lee

Now, let's start our countdown with Debby Lee.

‘Elima – Debby chose five sentences to tell us about her book, A Harvest of Hope

Meggie Preston sat next to her husband, Luke, in the rickety jalopy, a 1918 Ford. One question pressed in her mind. Would the tired vehicle make it to the next town? She prayed the old truck had enough strength to make it to California, but Heaven only knew the answer to that one.

With each mile marker they passed, heading south on Old Highway 99, the warm Indian summer wind blew through Meggie’s hair. 

‘Ehā – Now, four sentences that describe what inspires you.

Being in the company of my author friends inspires me to dream big. They challenge me to develop intricate plots and believable characters, and lovingly correct me when my plot is off kilter. They encourage me to dig deep into my heart and pull emotion from the depths of my soul, so I can pour that emotion onto the page for a meaningful story. I love my author friends.

‘Ekolu – Three things from your bucket list.

I dream of being on the Galapagos Islands when the baby sea turtles hatch. They are such tiny creatures and the odds of survival are stacked against them, yet they forge ahead anyway, on a quest for the sea, and all that life has to offer. I’d love to help them make it to the water without being eaten by birds or other carnivorous critters.

I dream of visiting the childhood home of Hans Christian Andersen in Odense, Denmark, which is now a museum. He wasn’t a handsome man, or a charmer by today’s standards, but he had to have possessed some kind of courage to rise from an impoverished childhood to write such poignant tales. How motivating it would be to stand in the rooms where he once lived, and draw inspiration from his legacy.   

I dream of walking barefoot along the beaches of Tahiti, at night, and bask in the glow of the moon. The iridescent blue waves of the South Pacific seem to call my name as they crash against the warm, tropical sand. What a time of refreshing this breathtaking piece of earth has to offer.  

‘Elua – Debby, share your two most useful resources.

I’ve had the joy of attending conferences through two valuable organizations.

Romance Writers of America holds a national conference every year. I went to one in Orlando, Florida and one Anaheim, California. Many industry professionals attend and there are loads of helpful workshops and inspiring keynote speakers. It’s not cheap but if you can find the means to go, I believe it’s worth it.
  

Twice I’ve attended the Writing for the Soul conference through the Christian Writers Guild. This conference renewed my faith. Just being around other Christian writers stretched me, and helped me grow as a writer and a person. I loved the worship music. Like RWA, this conference provided many workshops that helped me with the craft of writing and an opportunity to meet with agents and editors. Sadly, this organization has shut down.

   

‘Ekahi - One symbol that best describes you as a writer.

I would have to say the butterfly. When I first began writing and setting up my signature line, I came across a purple butterfly. It looked cute, so I went with it. As I began to build my brand around butterflies, I began to notice how my characters went through a metamorphosis, much like a caterpillar does when it changes into a butterfly. I love to read about characters that are not afraid to stretch themselves, learn from mistakes, and grow into someone better than they were at the beginning of the book. Those are the characters I try to create and ultimately write about. 

To view all of Debby Lee's books, see her amazon author page: 
http://www.amazon.com/Debby-Lee/e/B006AY0USW/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Mahalo nui loa to Debby for joining us this weekend.  I look forward to reading Harvest of Hope.