Wednesday, September 21, 2011

It's All In the Blood!



Debra Jayne East was born the oldest of six girls in
Martinsville, Virginia. For as long as she could remember, she
loved to keep journals, write poetry and short stories. She
researched her family tree and suddenly she knew why. Her
distant relative, Violet Florence Martin was an Irish author, born in 1862, who co-wrote a series of novels with Cousin Edith Somerville under the pen name of Martin Ross in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Learning about her heritage encouraged her to follow her dreams. After she encountered a near-death experience during a routine surgery she realized her time had come to follow her heart and realize her calling to write. Her first novel, Radiance:Love after Death was released by XOXO Publishing in June of this year.

Debra lives in North Carolina close to the Blue Ridge Parkway and enjoys photography, volunteering and spending time with her family. Currently, she is nearly finished with a second book in her Radiance series and also working on a science fiction novel.

Ms. East loves to set her stories in the rural areas surrounding her home. The idea came to her for her first book when after a long depression from her broken marriage, she found a crooked heart-shaped stone in the grass near by. It reminded her that even though hearts get broken and scarred from pain that they are still capable of love. Finding the stone renewed her will to go on, and she realized it had a message for anyone recovering from heart break. She passes that message on in Marena Jacobs, her gutsy endearing heroine in Radiance:Love after Death. She hopes her readers will take to heart the wonderful message of a crooked heart-shaped stone that saved a life and wrote a book.

1 comment:

  1. I truly applaud your courage and conviction in following your "magic!" It is also a great vision of who you are in your supporting the works of other authors - and posting some articles intended to protect the newbies out there. Kudos! Wishing you MUCH success!

    Anna Weber
    Literary Strategist

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