Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve been a writer and storyteller my whole life. I published my first short story when I was seven years old. When I’m not writing, I enjoy cartoons, cooking, photography, and Star Trek. Born and raised in Chicago, I’ve managed to achieve all of my childhood dreams and still live in the area with my husband and two youngest children. According to my daughter, I’ve “literally aced my life!”
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is Mary Not Broken. It’s being published as I write it on Kindle Vella. Mary Not Broken is the prequel to my first book, Glory Bishop. It chronicles the story of Glory’s mother, Mary from her teenaged years through adulthood.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Yes, LOL. I will listen to a song on repeat for as long as it takes to finish writing a chapter. I once listened to the same song non-stop for 3 days… I mean non-stop… I didn’t sleep and barely ate or drank… just wrote and wrote and wrote…
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Too many to name them all, but here’s a few: Wild Seed by Octavia Butler; Peaches by Dindga McCannon; Alice Walker, Maya Angelou, C.S. Lewis, Mark Twain, Madelyn L’Engel, Peter David, Margaret Atwood, Amy Tan, Judy Blume, Donald Goines… OMG I could go on and on…
What are you working on now?
Right now I’m working on Mary Not Broken. It’s being published in episodes on Kindle Vella. I’m literally writing and publishing at the same time.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Of course the answer is Awesome Gang, but I also use Facebook ads (I don’t know how much it helps) and other sites.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
What’s a new author? IF you’ve been telling stories your whole life (lies do count as stories), then you’re not new. You might be a novice at putting pen to paper (fingers to keyboard) but the stories have been there a long time. Put your butt in the chair and start writing them down. Don’t worry about quality – that comes with practice…just write the stories.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
From my mother… How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. More from my mother… Do it scared. And still more from my mother… Dazzle ’em with brilliance or baffle ’em with BS.
What are you reading now?
Piece of Cake by Cupcake Brown. It’s… … interesting.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I HAVE NO IDEA! Mary’s story is growing much bigger than I planned, so I don’t know when it’ll be finished so I’m gonna concentrate on that for a while.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
That’s a hard question because I don’t know whether to pick books I love, or books I hope to love… things I’ve never read like most of the classics and anything labelled “Must Read”. The Red Tent, A Tale of Two Cities, Star Trek-The Return, Pride and Prejudice…I guess?
Author Websites and Profiles
Deborah King Website
Deborah King Amazon Profile
Deborah King’s Social Media Links
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