1. What is your name/pen name? I write under my real name, Debbie De Louise. 2. What do you write? Genre? My first book was a paranormal romance. My current one is a mystery romance but some reviewers consider it a cozy mystery. I’ve already completed a sequel to “A Stone’s Throw” that I hope to publish soon and also just finished a standalone psychological thriller. 3. Tell us about yourself? I’m a librarian at a public library on Long Island. I have a pre-teen daughter, husband, and two cats. I was an editor on my college newspaper and the publisher of my graduate school newsletter. Besides novel writing, I have written articles for magazines and currently write for Catster, an online cat magazine. I am also a long-term member of the Cat Writer’s Association. Although my books don’t feature pets as main characters, I usually have a cat and sometimes a dog, as well, in them. 4. What prompted you to pitch your book in #Pit2Pub? I had started sending queries to publishers and received a few rejections. It also seemed a very long process, so I was curious to try another way of streamlining my submissions. 5. Tell about your #Pit2Pub experience. I composed three different pitches and tweeted them throughout the day. Five publishers and an agent favorited my tweets, and I followed the instructions they gave by sending them the material they requested. Most of them wanted the first three chapters and a synopsis before the full manuscript. 6. Which publisher did you sign with? Limitless Publishing 7. Tell us about your book. My book, A Stone’s Throw, that I mentioned earlier, was published in November 2015. Here is the blurb to the book:Widowed librarian Alicia Fairmont needs answers. After her husband is killed in a hit and run accident, Alicia travels upstate to his hometown of Cobble Cove, New York, hoping to locate his estranged family and shed light on his mysterious past. Anticipating staying only a weekend, her visit is extended when she accepts a job at the town’s library. Secrets stretch decades into the past. Assisted by handsome newspaper publisher and aspiring novelist, John McKinney, Alicia discovers a connection between her absent in-laws and a secret John’s father has kept for over sixty years. But her investigation is interrupted when she receives word her house has burned and arson is suspected, sending her rushing back to Long Island, accompanied by John. Back in Cobble Cove, cryptic clues are uncovered. When Alicia returns, she finds a strange diary, confiscated letters, and a digital audio device containing a recording made the day her husband was killed. Anonymous notes warn Alicia to leave town, but she can’t turn her back on the mystery—or her attraction to John. As the pieces begin to fall into place, evidence points to John’s involvement in her husband’s accident. The past and present threaten to collide, and Alicia confronts her fears… Has she fallen in love with her husband’s killer? 8. When was your book released? November 2015. 9. What is at the top of your bucket list? Publishing my two manuscripts, the sequel to “A Stone’s Throw” and my standalone tentatively titled, “Sea Scope.” I plan to participate in this July’s #Pit2Pub with at least one of these books. I’d also like to find an agent to represent me. My ultimate bucket list item is to eventually write full-time. 10. Parting words for other authors? Don’t give up, but avoid settling too fast. Research publishers and agents and see if they are a good fit for you before you sign a contract or even send a query. Network with other authors. Keep active on social media and publish a blog. Start a fan newsletter. Keep writing, and don’t be afraid to try new ways of contacting agents and publishers through twitter events such as #Pit2Pub as well as attending face to face conferences and workshops.
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