Overwhelmed? There's Help

By Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

Do you ever get overwhelmed? I think most of us do from time to time. Right now, I’m working on all those things that must be done to market a book. Yes, I know. It hasn’t even been published yet. But here’s what I didn’t realize and maybe you don’t know either. The marketing begins the minute you have the idea for the book.

So, let’s consider that I’m about thirty years behind. That’s how long ago I began thinking about writing this story. I had no clue what marketing was back then. I had no clue I was a writer.

Better Than Cussin' - The Colorful Language of the South -

By Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

Did the title grab your attention? I’m sure it did as you likely never thought you’d see such from me. Let me be clear, I’m not speaking of those words, the ones we simply do not use in polite society. I’m talking about Southern slang. Those phrases we use in place of the words which may, or may not have, come to mind.

Having been reared in south Alabama, I heard my share of both categories. Of course, that was back in the day when, if children used those words, out came the bar of soap. In our household, that meant the big, brown, scary bar of Octagon soap. 

My Granny - A Lasting Legacy

By Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

One of the things I loved most about my childhood was having our grandmother, Mama’s mother, Ludie Smith Bass, live with us. She was such a sweetheart and I wish I’d been old enough to truly appreciate just who she was in my life. Of course, I was aware that she was Mama’s mother, but I had no clue about the people she knew and from whom she descended.

It took me many years to finally begin the search for my roots, on all sides. But Granny’s are some I rarely write about. Mainly because I didn’t know much about that side of our family.

Granny’s mother and father, I do know—Turner Thomas Smith and Elizabeth Gilbert, and sisters and brothers, but off the top of my head, I can’t tell you all their names. That is so sad to me. These are the people who influenced Granny’s early years, thus, the remainder of her life.

Let Your Voice be Heard

By Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

Greetings to all my friends. I want to thank you for so faithfully reading my blog posts. Words cannot express how deeply I appreciate each one of you.

I didn’t enter this writing world lightly. I began writing when I was a child. I poured over Childcraft books and tried my hand at poetry from the time I could write. When I was in the seventh grade, I wrote my first novel. But then, life took over. I went away to college, got married, had kids and didn’t really write during those later years until those kids went to school.

A Crow, a Divot, and a Lesson

By Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

The crow on the left, lifting the divot.

By now you know that we live on a golf course. No, it isn’t because we’re avid golfers. I’m more of a hack than I ever was a golfer. My husband isn’t too bad, though he tells me he isn’t very good, either. Believe me, he can get the ball into the air which is a lot more than I can say about my abilities. And, he's a decent golfer. He’s a born athlete. Baseball and basketball were his games. The first time I saw him in any sport was in an intramural basketball game at Samford University in Birmingham, way back when we first met. He was good, y’all! And I hate basketball. Sorry. Just being honest here.

Through many of the twists and turns of our lives, especially in the past ten years, we found ourselves the owners of a villa here on a fairway in Western North Carolina. The draw for us is that the HOA takes care of all the exterior needs, from new roofs, to new siding, paint, and even lawn and yard care. Hubby has never been much of one for yard care. And I can’t do it anymore on all these hillsides. Yes, age has caught up with both of us.

Grave Consequences Has an Expected Date of Birth

By Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

I’m so excited to finally have a tentative date for publication of my first novel. The thing is, it isn’t carved in stone so I can’t share it with you yet. If you’d like to be one of the first to hear the date and if you’d like to be on my launch team, sign up for my newsletter and you’ll be among the first to know.

Don’t know what a launch team is? Some authors call it their street team or their dream team. These are people who agree to help you get out word about an upcoming book or event, such as a book signing. For the most part, I’ll be doing all the work, you agree to share memes I’ll be making with everyone you reach, spread word any way you can. Plus, I would greatly appreciate it if you’d pray for me and for this book. If you can do nothing but pray, believe me, that is huge. This book isn’t going anywhere without God there to guide it.

A New Year, A New You

By Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

It’s hard to believe that Christmas has come and gone. Three of our kids left for home on the twenty-seventh, the fourth left on the twenty-eighth. It’s been a long time since we’ve had all our kids and grands here for Christmas. 2015 was the last year for all of them to be at our home. They have no idea what a gift their presence is to their Dad and me.

As I write this, it is our youngest son’s birthday and the new year is two days away. As I look at our sons, daughter-in-love, and our granddaughters, I wonder what the new year will bring for all of them. We discussed plans during their visit and I can tell you that a lot of change is ahead for each of them. But isn’t that the way it’s supposed to be?