Author: Debbie De Louise

Welcome to author Debbie De Louise who joins us with a purr!

How long on average does it take you to write a book?

If I write every day, it usually takes two to three months to complete writing a full-length book, but that doesn’t account for the edit time, submission time, etc. I published 2 full-length books in 2020 and have a full-length one coming out this year so far.

How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?

I have one unpublished first book of a new cozy series that I’ve been querying to agents. I also have a half-finished gothic-type mystery that I hope to complete soon. In addition, I have a large number of manuscripts in various stages in notebooks from years ago that need to be put on the computer and also dozens of ideas for new books and sequels to those I’ve published.

Do you write under a pseudonym? If not, have you ever considered it?

No. I like using my own name, although I write different types of books. I’m not opposed to doing it in the future, though.

What comes first for you, the plot or characters?

The plot idea comes first and then I add the characters to fit it.

How do you select the names of your charactersHow long on average does it take you to write a book?

I don’t have a specific method. Like the title of my books, the character names come to me randomly.

As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal?

A cat, no doubt, because I feature them in almost all my writing, some in minor roles and some in more important ones.

What was the best money you ever spent as a writer?

I feel I get my money’s worth with the Sisters-in-Crime online classes. The best one was the plotting course by Simon Wood. He’s a great instructor and also offers his classes through his website as well as through SINC.

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

Reading, walking, jogging, playing with my 3 cats. I also hope to get back to traveling when it’s safer to do so.

What is your favorite childhood book(s)?

As a child I adored the Wizard of Oz and the other Oz books by L. Frank Baum. I also loved a time-travel book about Knights of the Round Table, but I’ve never been able to recall its title.

What are you working on now?

I’ve just completed a time-travel novel, Time’s Relative, that was recently released on Amazon. It’s available as a paperback and eBook and is also part of the Kindle Unlimited program. Readers can find it here. I also recently held a newsletter subscriber contest to help choose the plot of my next Cobble Cove cozy mystery which will be #6 in the series. In addition, I’ve been writing and submitting short stories for the Red Penguin Collection that publishes anthologies of various genres, and have already had several of my stories featured in them. 

Debbie De Louise is an award-winning author and a reference librarian at a public library on Long Island. She is a member of Sisters-in-Crime, International Thriller Writers, the Long Island Authors Group, and the Cat Writers’ Association.

Her novels include the five books and four stories of the Cobble Cove cozy mystery series, a comedy novella, When Jack Trumps Ace, a paranormal romance, Cloudy Rainbow, and the standalone mysteries; Reason to Die, Sea Scope, and Memory Makers. Debbie has also written a non-fiction cat book, Pet Posts: The Cat Chats. Her latest book, Time’s Relative, is a time-travel novel. She lives on Long Island with her husband, daughter, and three cats. Debbie’s stories and poetry also appear in the Red Penguin Collection anthologies, What Lies Beyond, ‘Tis the Season, Stand Out: The Best of the Red Penguin Collection, Volume 1, and A Heart Full of Love. Her poems are also featured in the Nassau County Voices In Verse 2020 anthology and the 2020 Bards Annual.