Featured Interview With Deborah Blake Dempsey
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I am a New Yorker by birth, a Floridian by the number of years raised there, and a New Englander by choice. I love good books, belly laughs, fabulous shoes, and travel. I have a twisted sense of humor and I truly believes laughter and books are the elixirs of life. Currently, I live in New Hampshire with my husband Joe. The Hoppernots is my first novel.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I always loved to write. I wrote my first story called “The Lebonski Chronicles” when I was thirteen. The story was written as a Mad Libs (where you fill in the blank with verbs, nouns, adjectives, pronoun, etc.) and was based on my love and utter devotion to the band Duran Duran. While my heart beat hard for Simon LeBon, my best friend’s heart sang for Roger Taylor. This was my first try at “real” writing and, given what it was, I think it was pretty darn good. I still have that story, and no, it will never be shared.
When I was in college, I won a short story contest. I was surprised and shocked I won, because: 1) I didn’t know my professor was holding a contest until he announced it before calling out my name, and 2) I took maybe 45 minutes to write it, but learning my quickly dashed off short story was a winner was the lighted match that turned my interest to writing.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I have eclectic reading taste from Children’s Books (Middle Grade and Young Adult) to Adult Fiction (Thrillers, Romance, Mysteries) to Non-Fiction (Self-Help, New Age, Biographies). I don’t restrict my reading to genre. I love discovering new ideas and story lines that can enrich my own experience.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
Have you ever wanted to he a hero? Well try being one when your a frog and want to save your world. I fell in love with frogs many, many years ago and found myself wondering about their life (and the lives of all animals in the wild). The next thing I know, three little frogs decided to tell me their story. Here’s a brief look:
Around Lake Fibian, Max, Cristobel, and Spyder are notorious. Stories of their pranks and troublemaking ways have followed them all of their lives. When they hear the tales about a creature called the Hoppernot, they believe the Elders are making up stories to keep young frogs (okay, mostly them) in line.
But when frightened Elders announce a Hoppernot sighting, the trio think they know exactly what to do. With a nose for adventure—and because the Elders are all talk and no hop—they sneak off to find out if the legendary creatures are real and discover Hoppernots not only exist, but they are destroying their home and putting lives at risk.
The adventure begins when Max, Cristobel, and Spyder issue a call to action to drive the dangerous creatures away from their beloved home. Along the way, they discover a secret weapon, an unlikely alliance, and they must find a way to make the Elders forget their troublemaking past and trust them enough to follow them into a battle of survival and fight for the lake they call home or risk losing it . . . and their lives.
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