This week’s guest is Deborah King (Glory Bishop, Red Adept Publishing, June 2019). A prompt in a writing class set the stage for what became Deborah’s trilogy of The Bishop Women, two books that follow the named character and eventually a prequel which narrates the tale of her mother. Hear Deborah describe her creative process, including the voices that “speak” to her, her experience querying a 130,000 word debut novel, and how writing a chapter a week for Vella brought its own unique share of challenges. Finally we discuss the efficacy of Facebook ads and how a rebooted cover design would up boosting sales of her debut.  

Though Deborah L. King has been a writer and storyteller her whole life, publishing her first short story at seven years old, she took 32 years to complete her first novel. She is the author of three award-winning women’s fiction books. Most recently, her series The Bishop Women won Best Series at the 2024 Page Turner Awards. Deborah loves the work of Octavia Butler, Peter David, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and the illustrations of Dan DeCarlo. She loves storms, champagne, Old Time Radio, and 70s Blues and Soul; and refuses to believe the 1980s is historical. Thanks to an interesting childhood, she’s afraid of escalators, bill collectors, and sometimes fresh produce.

To learn more about Deborah, click here.