Q&A With Author Debbianne DeRose
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Do you have a writing routine or do you write when inspiration strikes?
Inspiration definitely needs to strike! I’ve learned from experience that there’s not much point in writing while uninspired. You can’t force it. If I do, I have to essentially rewrite it all later on. You see, the best writing comes via download from my “Higher Self,” if you will. And in order to be connected to that stream of creativity, I have to be in a good mood and open to the downloads coming through. If I’m pissed off or sad or preoccupied, no dice.
Do you enjoy the editing process?
Yes and no. It’s the bulk of my work, really, because the downloads come willy-nilly. I record them all faithfully, but the result is a huge non-linear mess. The lioness’s share of my work is to organize those inspired snippets in some inspired fashion, and smooth over the rough spots so as to create something useful and entertaining for the reader. At times I grow weary of the process, but that just means it’s time to step away and take a long break, then return fresh again.
Do you ever show your writing-in-process to friends and family, or do you prefer to wait until it has been polished and perfected?
I wait until it’s well near finished. Not out of ego or shyness, but it’s just more practical that way. The thing is, my books morph radically from start to finish, so if someone were to peruse an interim version, they would probably get all sorts of misguided and incomplete information. I mean, I might share a snippet or passage once I think it’s pretty solid if I think a certain person will dig it. But usually, no, I keep the lid on it until it’s nearly ready for publication.
How do you develop cover ideas?
My cover images arrive via download too. Honestly, I can hardly take much credit for this work as a human ego-based being! My Higher Self is dictating it to me. I’m a dictation-taker and smoother-outer, or perhaps translator, of downloads. In the early years, I described the downloaded cover concept to an artist who then took a crack at reproducing it. But more and more, I’m getting directly involved in the creation of the art because it’s really fun for me!
What was your favourite subject in school? Were you always a strong writer?
Oddly enough, I was a math nerd. But I’ve always been a strong writer. It’s a Cancer-Ascendant thing, if you’re into that sort of woo-woo. From gold stars on my silly third grade poems… to writing technical product specs in corporate America… to blogging and writing fun empowering books. A professor once paid me the highest compliment: that I had a knack for converting the obscure into layman’s terms. Above all, I consider myself an artist, and wordsmithery is one of my top modes of creative expression.
Author Bio
Debbianne DeRose specializes in humorous and thought-provoking explorations of all things “woo-woo” for your empowerment and entertainment. Her well-loved books include the memoir What I Did On My Midlife Crisis Vacation; the single gal’s primer How I Met the Man of My Dreams: a Guide to MANifesting® Yours; Manifesting for Simpletons; and her masterpiece, YOU are a Spiritual Bad-Ass.
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How do you develop cover ideas?
