Ask the Author: Deborah Cullins Smith
Answered Questions (7)
Deborah Cullins Smith
Oh my goodness! So many books... I became engrossed in Steven James' two series on Agent Patrick Bowers. I read the first 3 books in record time. I'm currently on book 4 of the second series, The Bishop. I love his non-stop action and intricate plots.
I also fell in love with Rachel Marks' Darkness trilogy. I've read Darkness Brutal (AMAZING!!!) and have Darkness Fair and Darkness Savage on my shelf to be read. I STILL have not read Tosca Lee's A Single Light, but I have it! And ditto for Lindsay Franklin's Story Raider. (haven't purchased Story Hunter yet, but it's on my Amazon list!) I can't keep up with everything I really WANT to read. I also read A.C. Williams' Nameless this summer and enjoyed every word! Need to pick up the next in that series too.
When I'm having a bad pain time (sadly frequent), I seek refuge in the familiar. So in between all the new books, I return to Francine Rivers' Mark of the Lion trilogy, Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, Penelope Wilcock's The Hawk and the Dove trilogy, Jeffery Deaver's Twisted or Maeve Binchey's Copper Beech. I know -- it's an eclectic selection! Sometimes I'll still pick up a Kathy Reichs mystery or a Tess Gerritson thriller or even a Stephen King collection of short stories. But my all time favorite book EVER is Madeleine L'Engle's The Other Side of the Sun. I end up returning to that one at least twice a year.
I also fell in love with Rachel Marks' Darkness trilogy. I've read Darkness Brutal (AMAZING!!!) and have Darkness Fair and Darkness Savage on my shelf to be read. I STILL have not read Tosca Lee's A Single Light, but I have it! And ditto for Lindsay Franklin's Story Raider. (haven't purchased Story Hunter yet, but it's on my Amazon list!) I can't keep up with everything I really WANT to read. I also read A.C. Williams' Nameless this summer and enjoyed every word! Need to pick up the next in that series too.
When I'm having a bad pain time (sadly frequent), I seek refuge in the familiar. So in between all the new books, I return to Francine Rivers' Mark of the Lion trilogy, Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, Penelope Wilcock's The Hawk and the Dove trilogy, Jeffery Deaver's Twisted or Maeve Binchey's Copper Beech. I know -- it's an eclectic selection! Sometimes I'll still pick up a Kathy Reichs mystery or a Tess Gerritson thriller or even a Stephen King collection of short stories. But my all time favorite book EVER is Madeleine L'Engle's The Other Side of the Sun. I end up returning to that one at least twice a year.
Deborah Cullins Smith
I get to sit at my computer and weave words into a tapestry! I can work in my nightgown, if I'm so inclined, or my jeans and t-shirts. No fancy work clothes. And I can work whenever I want -- whether it's two in the afternoon or two in the morning.
But most of all, it gives me an outlet for creativity unlike any other. I can pour myself into my own world with a set of headphones clapped on my head and music blasting in my ears. I suppose that's an escape from my own simple little life -- but I love it!
But most of all, it gives me an outlet for creativity unlike any other. I can pour myself into my own world with a set of headphones clapped on my head and music blasting in my ears. I suppose that's an escape from my own simple little life -- but I love it!
Deborah Cullins Smith
Most of my work has come from writing prompts I got in The Herscher Project. But inspiration might come from a movie or another book -- not plagiaristic of course! Maybe it's a phrase or a character from history. In one story, (unpublished) I had been watching Braveheart with Mel Gibson. After the battle of Falkirk, women walked the fields to look for their kin. That captured my imagination, so I wrote about a young Scottish woman who finds her beloved on that field. But the other women around her are scandalized because her love was an English soldier. She is ostracized for loving someone from "the other side". For "The Matron", my inspiration came from the movie Bram Stoker's Dracula. I'll let you decide just how that inspiration came about! Sometimes it's about pulling off a twist -- you think the villain is "this" person, but it really turns out to be someone else entirely!
Deborah Cullins Smith
My current novel is about a modern woman who wishes she could live in a simpler time -- a time of chivalry, knights and damsels, no phones, no technology. But a "Fairy Godmother" (really a disguised demon!) grants her wish, and when she awakens the next morning, she finds herself in a castle in the year 1189! Her husband is a knight, and he is shortly to leave for the 3rd Crusade with King Richard I (yes, the Lionheart!).
I'm a little bit stalled on that one at the moment, and have been writing shorter fiction for two upcoming anthologies. More on those later! But we will be looking toward releasing in the spring.
I'm a little bit stalled on that one at the moment, and have been writing shorter fiction for two upcoming anthologies. More on those later! But we will be looking toward releasing in the spring.
Deborah Cullins Smith
Don't give up your dreams. Not for anyone. Not good at the craft? Go to a few writers' conferences. I highly recommend Realm Makers for those who want to write sci-fi or fantasy with a Christian worldview. Still need help? Get hooked in to a local writers group -- or an online group -- and get specific feedback on your work. Above all -- READ! Watch carefully at word usage and sentences that pop off the page. Start a notebook on phrases or words that evoke emotion. Make lists of descriptions that catch your eye. All of these exercises feed into your own sense of painting with words.
Deborah Cullins Smith
Usually, I'll go back to my notebooks. I keep them on upcoming projects along with any historical notes I might need, as well as characters and "what if"s. If that fails to trip my switch, I'll latch onto a writing prompt. I belong to a group called The Herscher Project. We have about 20 years of prompts from past writing projects -- more than enough inspiration to draw from. And if I'm needing a visual cue, I have a couple of binders of character cards from games. With all the monsters, heroes, and villains, I can usually find something in there.
Deborah Cullins Smith
I'd like to visit The Shire! I have an enormous love of all things Hobbit. It would be wonderful to live such a simple life for a nice long stretch of time. I wonder if it would be boring... but after 2020, I could use some "boring", couldn't you?
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more