Ask the Author: Debbie Ethell
Answered Questions (8)
Debbie Ethell
Hi Heather, I apologize I missed this question somehow. If you love animals, then the only place I would suggest seeing or working with them is in the wild. If this isn't a possibility, then promoting their "wildness" until you can be is the absolute best thing you can do for them.
I've worked with elephants in captivity and elephants in the wild and the two simply do not compare. Elephants in captivity are suffering. No question. I don't say this lightly and I am not an activist of any kind. The science simply does not lie.
You don't need a degree to follow your dream. There are plenty of org's that work to keep wild elephants wild who can use more boots on the ground. I appreciate your kind words about my first book and am deeply entrenched in the second in the series which will hopefully launch in early 2023 or soon after. Stay tuned and you can also visit my website (debbieethell.com) for more updates.
I've worked with elephants in captivity and elephants in the wild and the two simply do not compare. Elephants in captivity are suffering. No question. I don't say this lightly and I am not an activist of any kind. The science simply does not lie.
You don't need a degree to follow your dream. There are plenty of org's that work to keep wild elephants wild who can use more boots on the ground. I appreciate your kind words about my first book and am deeply entrenched in the second in the series which will hopefully launch in early 2023 or soon after. Stay tuned and you can also visit my website (debbieethell.com) for more updates.
Debbie Ethell
I would travel to Khaled Hosseini's Afghanistan before war masked it's beauty (in The Kite Runner) and I would very much like to have a cup of tea while watching the kites.
Debbie Ethell
Ummm ... No ;) Anyone that knows me knows that I am not able to say anything in two sentences or less.
Debbie Ethell
Here are just a few on my list: 1) Eve Abe's "My Elephants, My People" 2) Anne Fadiman's "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down" 3) Delia Owens's "Where the Crawdads Sing"
Debbie Ethell
I get inspired to write by sitting at my desk and...writing. Some days nothing comes but on those days that inspiration hits I am there, right where I am supposed to be, ready to latch on and write like my life depends on it. Another way I get inspired to write is by doing research. I am a researcher by trade and know I am not able to fully grasp any story until I've done all of the research on a particular topic that I can. Then a story seems to take shape without my having to work so hard.
Debbie Ethell
I am currently working on the second book in the Will of Heaven series as well as a fact-based book about African Elephants.
Debbie Ethell
For me the best thing about writing down a story is that the story is no longer stuck inside my head pushing, prodding, and punching its way out. Having the story down on paper gives me a reprieve in my head before the next one comes knocking.
Debbie Ethell
I jump into a hot shower. I have no idea why this works but each time I get stuck in a particularly hard section I jump in the shower and that usually works. Another trick I use it to go for a walk in nature and blast the soundtrack to "Dances with Wolves."
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