An Interview with Deb Stover

This is a new segment to my blog. I'll be posting interviews with various Women's Fiction authors who are members of RWA-WF chapter, discussing their new releases. This should be a great way for everyone to discover new books as well as new authors.

Here's a little about Deb and her new book, The Gift:

1. Tell me about THE GIFT.


Certain members of the Dearborn Family are born with some variance of an empathic gift. Beth's "gift" manifests in a particularly frightening manner, by enabling her to experience the final moments of those who've died violently. As an adult, she chooses a career as a homicide detective, and--obviously--is very successful. However, the experience of being "murdered" repeatedly takes a terrible toll and she turns to alcohol for
solace. When she hits bottom and seeks treatment for her addiction, she is convinced the only way she can stay sober is to somehow suppress her
gift-turned-curse by avoiding places where the spirit of someone who died violently might contact her. She leaves her position and takes one as a
nomadic insurance investigator.

Her new career keeps her safe and sober for three years. Convinced her gift
has faded from lack of use, she finally accepts an assignment involving
possible life insurance fraud, which leads her to a small town in eastern
Tennessee.

Ty Malone's wife, Lorilee, disappeared over seven years ago. Though the
town and his father-in-law remain convinced she ran away to pursue a career
as a painter in Europe, he has always maintained that the only thing that
could keep his wife away from her children is death. It's time to learn the
truth, so he petitions the court to have her declared legally dead. The
life insurance claim brings investigator Beth Dearborn into his life.

THE GIFT is part mystery, part ghost story, part suspense, part romance,
part thriller. The novel also touches on the issue of women and alcoholism
on various levels. Beth is a recovering alcoholic, and the reader will also
meet a character who is a practicing one.

Both Beth and Ty will be forced to face their greatest fears to learn the
truth, and to find happiness.

2. What pulled you into the story and made you think 'I have to write
this'?

A protagonist always pulls me into a new story. In this case, I "met" Ty's
wife, Lorilee, first. She introduced herself to my muse, and I wrote a
scene that appears very late in the book (it would be a spoiler if I told
you about it) as a prologue initially. Then I saved it and used it later.
From that scene, the entire story evolved. She is the catalyst who brings
about all the events.

3. When did you first begin writing?

I think I was about eight. My first publication was a letter to the editor
of the WICHITA EAGLE at age eleven. I majored in Journalism, then worked
for a newspaper. I wrote my first romance manuscript in 1984. It was a
monster of almost 200,000 words. I still need to burn it.... I dabbled for
a few more years, then joined RWA and got serious in 1991. I sold my first
book in December 1993. SHADES OF ROSE was published by Kensington in 19

4. Please name the five movies and the five books you want with you if
stranded on a desert island.

I hate this question. The thought of being stranded with only five books is
pure torture. I can live without movies, but not books. Can I trade five
movies for five extra books? No...? Okay, I'll try.
Books:
1. THE PROMISE OF JENNY JONES by Maggie Osborne
2. GONE WITH THE WIND by Margaret Mitchell
3. Gallaghers of Ardmore Trilogy by Nora Roberts (have them all in 1 book
club hardcover edition--is that cheating?)
4. Three Sisters Island Trilogy by Nora Roberts (same as #3)
5. Boatbuilding: a complete handbook of wooden boat construction
By Howard Irving Chapelle [ :-) ]

Movies:
1. PRACTICAL MAGIC
2. INDEPENDENCE DAY
3. ROOTS
4. LONESOME DOVE
5. CASTAWAY (I couldn't find a movie about how to build a boat)

10. What is next for you?

I am currently at work on the sequel to THE GIFT--working title is THE
SECRET. When you read THE GIFT, you will meet Beth's cousin, Sam Dearborn.
His "gift" manifests in a different way. He jokingly refers to himself as a
"psychic errand boy."

Happy reading!

~Deb
http://www.debstover.com/

My thanks to Deb for sharing with us today. Watch for next week's new release, Therese Walsh's, The Last Will of Moira Leahy

Welcome!

Because this is my first blog on this site, I'll give a bit of a rundown on how I came to be here -- and how I ended up with this fabulous career as an author.

Unlike many writers, I didn't major in English Literature (I was a science major) and I didn't begin penning stories as soon as I learned to write. My path was much more convoluted and, yes, I'll admit it, serendipitious. Born with a love for words, and raised as an avid reader, it seems that the idea of becoming a writer really should have crossed my mind without prompting. Alas, it did not.

It wasn't until my younger sister, she of the avid imagination, came to me one day with a stack of track-feed (yes, it was that long ago) computer paper and admitted to "closet writing" that my adventure as a novelist began. Working with her on that manuscript I discovered that although I loved reading, I knew less than nothing about novel construction and even less than that about the publishing industry.

And here comes the most serendipitous even of all. I wrote a letter (real snail mail, mind you) to the author of one of my favorite books Outlander. Imagine my shock when I received an actual telephone call from Diana Gabaldon herself! She was amazing and kind. She pointed me in the direction of the two organizations that ended up changing my life: CompuServe's (again, it was a while ago) Writer's Forum and Romance Writers of America. Those two connections opened up a whole new world for me.

Now I have eight published novels (six women's fiction and two romantic suspense), the ninth, another romantic thriller, SLEEP NO MORE, is slated for January 2010. I've been honored with my very own RITA, as well as other awards that are so very precious to me. I might have gotten here without fate intervening, but it certainly gave me a big boost.

So, the lesson learned: persistence and patience, hard work and committment will someday deliver your dreams to your door. And sometimes it gets a little help along the way.