Author Interview ~ Debra Clopton

Debra Clopton made her Love Inspired debut with her Sept 2005 release THE TROUBLE WITH LACY BROWN. It was a 2004 Golden Heart finalist for Best Inspirational and is a nominee for the RT Reviewers Choice award in the Inspirational Series. She lives with her two sons in Madisonville Texas and is now working on her fourth book for the Love Inspired line












Plug time. What book or project is coming out or has come out that you’d like to tell us about?

In April 2006 the second book in my Love Inspired Mule Hollow Series hits the shelves, AND BABY MAKES FIVE follows the wacky trail left by THE TROUBLE WITH LACY BROWN Sept 2005.

AND BABY MAKES FIVE is special to me in that it is a funny story about two stubborn humans, one determined donkey, a depressed dog and the wacky cast of matchmaking characters from Mule Hollow—all coming together as they discover God will use anything to fulfill His perfect will. You can catch the blurb at debraclopton.com Come on by and take a peek.


Tell us about your journey to publication. How long had you been writing before you got the call you had a contract, how you heard and what went through your head.

I wrote diligently for ten years then I took 3 years off to be a full time mom and wife. I sold 7 months after I started writing again. The call came when the book was a Golden Heart Finalist and Krista Stroever of Steeple Hill called.

It was cool, my oldest son took the call while I was out. He was a Senior in High School and I’d been writing since he was in preschool. So he was really excited to tell me that an editor from New York had called and wanted me to call her back. Both of my boys had watched me wait for that call almost all of their lives. Even though I’d paused my career to be with them more they continually asked me when I was going to start back to writing again. I don’t know if it was because they wanted me to succeed or if they were ready for me to get out of their hair. LOL. But we were all thrilled that it finally happened.


Do you still experience self-doubts regarding your work?

Yes, always, especially when I read other writers work or their interviews. It’s very intimidating. But I strive to never allow myself to pay attention to self doubt or intimidation. Self doubt is the robber of dreams. I refuse to be afraid of failure. I think that has allowed me to be free to try to achieve whatever I want…if I don’t try something how do I know God didn’t have that particular thing in His plan for me. I’ve always wanted my tenacity at seeking my dreams to be an inspiration to my sons. I want them to know they can do whatever they want if they worked hard enough and if it’s in God’s plan for their lives.

What’s the best advice you’ve heard on writing/publication?

Learn your craft. Learn what it is that makes you different then exploit that difference. Hang on to your special voice at all cost. If you have to find the right place for that voice to fit then start looking. Which leads to you next question…

What’s the worst piece of writing advice you’ve heard?

It has to be perfect before you send it in. (That is a very subjective sentence. Yes it needs to be as perfect as you can get it, but sometimes would be writers edit their work so much they listen to too much advice. In doing this they edit out the thing that makes their work stand out, the very thing that could get them a contract. Hang on to your special voice at all cost. It took 13 years, but it worked for me. Maybe it could have happened sooner, I don’t think so. God’s timing is perfect.)

What’s something you wish you’d known earlier that might have saved you some time/frustration in the publishing business?
I can’t think of anything. I believe every step I had to take toward publication was a step I needed to take. I truly believe that God’s timing was perfect. The time it took for me to get published is exactly the reason that now I have the disciple to produce.

Do you have a scripture or quote that has been speaking to you lately?

I believe every beginning writer needs a plan of action and this verse should be at the top of that plan. Now that I’m published I need it all the more to keep me focused.

Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me. Psalm 119: 133

I don’t want anything in my life that God didn’t order specifically for me.

Is there a particularly difficult set back that you’ve gone through in your writing career you're willing to share?

I lost my husband seven months before I sold. He was my best friend and I loved him dearly. Losing Wayne was and is the hardest thing I’ve ever been through, but I learned that God’s grace is sufficient.

That He is with me always and that He has a plan for my life that is different than the one I’d envisioned. I’m now striving to walk that path. I thought about quitting my writing, but instead realized that God had placed the talent in my path for a reason. So I started again, and sold. Now I write to give joy to those who might be going through a hard time. I write to give hope to those who have none. I’ve learned that God can bring beauty from ashes if we let Him.


What are a few of your favorite books? (Not written by you.)

My all time favorite book is AMETHYST HEART by Dr. Penelope Stokes. I’ve read it many times and it always inspires me.
I love anything by Shirlee McCcoy she writes suspense with beauty. I just finished EVEN IN THE DARKNESS, I think she’s a writer to watch.
THE TESTAMENT by John Grisham. I loved THE FIRM and THE PELICAN BRIEF. I think he’s a master at giving sufficient descriptions in few words. In The Testament he masterfully wove a very flawed man into a story about redemption.

What piece of writing have you done that you’re particularly proud of and why?

While I loved writing THE TROUBLE WITH LACY BROWN, I’m connected to AND BABY MAKES FIVE because the character Cort Wells and I share a common bond. After having what he thought was a perfect life in the blink of an eye it’s taken from him and he is faced with trying to come to terms with a new future. One he doesn’t want. As a young widow, I related to his character as I wrote this book. I think there are many who will relate to this story on many different levels. The book is funny and wacky, but I hope it touches readers on a deeper level as it did me.


Do you have a pet peeve having to do with this biz?

I love this business. Its tough, but I like a challenge.

Can you give us a view into a typical day of your writing life?

Well lets see, normally I would put in 10 hours at my hair salon then come home around 6:30 turn on the coffee maker and be sitting down with my computer by 7 then I would write until at least 11:00 usually until 1:00 am. The strain of that kind of schedule was wearing me down so on December 23 I gave myself a Christmas gift and retired from my salon. Now I write all day. WooHoo!

If you could choose to have one strength of another writer, what would it be and from whom?

That’s a tough question. I admire many authors, and there is sooo much about them that I could want, but then that wouldn’t be me. God gave each of us our own strengths and that’s what makes us who we are. So maybe that’s bad on my part, but I’m happy the way I am. Faults and all. LOL. I’m as flawed as my characters and having a blast bumbling along like I am.

Do you have a dream for the future of your writing, something you would love to accomplish?

I want to get better with each book. I want to make people smile as they read my work and I want to do it honoring Christ.

Was there ever a time in your writing career you thought of quitting?

Don’t we all? This is a tough business. It’s hard on our emotions and our families. However, I believed as did my family, that I was supposed to be a writer, so after each rejection I let myself quit for a day and then I started over. When I stopped for those 3 years it was a pause. I was always going to start again after my two sons went off to college.

What is your favorite and least favorite part of being a writer?

My favorite part is creating the new idea, opening my creative mind and letting it happen. I love that. I really do. My least favorite part is writing things that aren’t fiction…I stink at it. I have the worst time coming up with bios and web page information and all of that is important to being a writer too. Like right now doing this, I’m thinking I probably sound like a goof or something. But then that goes right back to the self doubt thing so here it is. Good or bad, but either way it’s straight from my heart. This is me.

How much marketing do you do?

Any advice in this area? Well, I have a web page thanks to my friend Kim Davis of Sublime Design. And I love to go to conferences and meet people, other than that I write. I believe the best thing I can do for my career right now is to write good books and get my name out there. I hope I’m doing the right thing. I did get mentioned in the Curves Newsletter and the Modern Salon magazine because I asked, both have huge circulation. I’ve tried to think outside the box on marketing so I guess my advice is don’t be afraid to ask.


Parting words?

Okay, this is as philosophical as I get…Parting words…lets see, true story-when I was in ninth grade track my coach told me if I hit a hurdle and fell down, to get up and finish the race-- no matter what. Of course as luck would have it, I hit the first hurdle and to this day still have asphalt embedded in my knee where it was ripped open during the fall. But, I got up and I finished the race. Then my coach picked me up and carried me in, bandaged my knee and said, “Good job.”

My parting words--If you have a dream and you hit a hurdle, get up and finish the race. Sure you may have a scar, but it’s just a reminder that you didn’t quit. Good job!
It’s my prayer of prayers that when I get to heaven God can tell me, “Good job my child, you didn’t quit.”

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.