A Writer's Journey . . .

 

Writing books that make people feel good about themselves!

1962
Denise is born

1970
A life-long love of books!
Her favorite children's book is Pippi Longstocking.
She also enjoyed reading the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew
mystery series.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor became
the first socially conscious book Denise read
that spoke to and stirred her deeper courage.

1972
Becoming a writer!
Denise's baby sister comes home from school with
a book of poetry by Chicago's poet laureate,
Gwendolyn Brooks. Denise is in a funk. At first
she tosses the book across the bed that she shares with
her sister, then she picks the book up and reads it.
The characters leap from the pages and remind Denise
of home, of friends and family, people she knows and
is close to. An unmistakable feeling covers Denise, a
thing she has never experienced before and cannot explain.
Without forethought, Denise closes the book and speaks into
the empty room, "I am a writer."

1974
Her first novel
The book that Denise doesn't finish until she is 18 years old
begins. It is the story of a NFL great and his remarkable
love affair with his wife, a woman he meets when they are
both young, impressionable teenagers trying to find their way.
It's a book Denise has yet to share with her readers, a story that
made her cry at its end.

1974 - 1984
Submitting work to editors and publishers!
Especially after she started working at her first job at
Dunkin' Donuts and has a little money to spend, Denise
catches the bus to downtown Knoxville and visits the
bookstore on Gay Street. She loves reading magazines like
The Writer and Writer's Digest. Her love for books grows.
Her spare money nearly always goes to books and writing.
Each week she submits 1-2 articles to editors and publishers.
It takes awhile. She keeps writing and learning. Eventually
she receives acceptances for her work, a time of great joy and triumph!

1984 - 1988
Ten books!
While stationed at an isolated military installation
when she was in the Navy, Denise pens her next ten novels,
one of those books became Portia. The other became Spiral.

Portia in particular sprang from a real-life challenge in
Denise's life. She was faced with a breast cancer scare,
having to travel to out-of-town specialists and take tests,
tests, tests. Some news she received caused her to wonder if
she would see 24 years old. Not knowing how to tell her family
she might not be around another six months, she penned
a series of love letters to her family, thanking them for their
remarkable courage through the various challenges they'd faced
in their individual lives, their laughter, the family reunions,
cookouts, holiday get-togethers and so much more! These letters
became the book that is available at this site, Denise's first
published novel, Portia.

1988 - 1995
Getting married and becoming a mom
Denise weds in Hawaii. Two years later in 1990 her son
is born. She puts her writing on hold while her son is
young and doesn resume writing actively until her
son is about five years old. When colleagues pay her
way into the Trenton State College Writer's Conference,
the muse strikes again.

1997 - 1998
Portia is published
Denise publishes her first novel Portia, a book that is
as much Portia's story as it is her own.

This website that you are now visiting was also birthed.
It started as a free AOL site Denise built herself.
She had a lot of fun creating and updating it, but soon
decided to leave the work of a professional site to
professional website designers. ALG Designs by
Anna Stevens was her first designer. They met on a
discussion list, and from the start Denise had a feeling
Anna and she would work together in a rewarding way.

2000
Love Has Many Faces debuts!
Denise's second novel is published. Research for the book
takes Denise to the heart of a city she remains fond of, New York!
Her friend Linda who is from the Bronx shows her around.
Denise is surprised at how on target scenes from the book
are to the city being that she had never visited the city before.

Denise also starts The Book Lover's Haven, a literary zine that
quickly grows with well over a thousand subscribers.

2003
Dusting off an old friend
Spiral is one of the books Denise wrote while she was stationed
in Indiana. In 2003, she returned to the story, spent more than
two years reworking the story that's set in Memphis, Tennessee
in the 1940s, Then released it for her readers to enjoy.

In addition, Denise hosts her own literary radio program, Off The Shelf
on www.blakeradio.com on the Rainbow Soul Channel.

2007
The story of a remarkable little girl
Long Walk Up, Denise's new book, came to her while she drove
into Princeton two years ago. The little girl's story and the clear
way it sprang up and came to Denise out-of-the-blue are
experiences Denise appreciates and remains stunned about.
Denise followed the guidance she received about the book that
early morning, except Long Walk Up is a bit longer than at its
inception. This little girl's story should be told. It's the story of
millions of children around the world.

2008
Courage for the dream!
It's been quite a journey! One thing Denise has learned for sure
is that a joy-filled life calls for courage. Searching for safe ways
in life can be costly. Sometimes you just have to
Jump in! -- a thing Denise is doing.

2010
First Children's Book!
Denise publishes her first children's book (one in a series). The book is titled "Rosetta's Great Adventure." You can pick up a copy right here at this website.

2012
Publishes Love Pour Over Me!
Thank you for sharing this journey. Come back again.
Just like a good friend, we love it when you stop by!

2015 - 2017
Creating "Gada's Glory". Continues to interview bestselling and new authors, actress, movie producers, book publishers and editors on Off The Shelf Radio.

Purchase Denise's books right here at Chistell Publishing or Purchase Denise's books at Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, WalMart, Borders Books, Cushcity.com, thru Ingram and Baker & Taylor distributors and other online and offline bookstores. Of course, when you buy Denise's books here at Chistell Publishing, you never ever pay shipping and handling. We always give that to Denise's book buyers for FREE!


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