Deborah Jarvis is the kind of author whose stories are infused with magic, mystery, and her deep love for greyhounds. Hailing from New Hampshire, Deborah balances her time between teaching literature and writing, caring for her delightful household of furry friends, and crafting fantastical worlds that captivate readers. Her debut series, The Keyralithian Chronicles, opens with The Crystal Pawn, a spellbinding tale followed by The Ivory Queen, and continues to amaze with her later work, Wolves Running. Beyond her writing, Deborah is an advocate for greyhound adoption and a dedicated educator.
Dive into this engaging interview to learn more about her creative process, inspirations, and what’s next in her journey. Don’t forget to explore her social media and website for updates and more enchanting tales: Deborah's Linktree.
Star Trek or Star Wars? Star Trek. My dad was a consummate Trekkie, and I have followed suit up to and including naming my Kawasaki Vulcan T’Pau and adorning it with the Star Trek logo and the IDIC.
Reboots – a great idea or a lack of creativity? Given what has come out recently??? Gack! No! For the most part, a lack of creativity. I do like the Star Trek Kelvin timeline though, and the television show of The Golden Compass is a huge improvement on the movie. I am looking forward to the new Superman movie. I’m a fan of Christopher Reeve’s version, but I am intrigued that his son is involved with the new one. We’ll see.
A book that pleasantly surprised you? The Cemetary of Untold Stories by Julia Alverez. Not my normal fare, but damn, that is one fine piece of writing. It takes a lot to make me cry at the end of a book, but that one did the job.
Coffee, tea, or cacao? Coffee always. I love Arbuckles Mexicali coffee the most, though! It’s chocolate flavored and sooooo good!
When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer? When I was a kid devouring The Chronicles of Narnia, The Last Unicorn, The Hobbit, and all of those wonderful fantasy novels from the 70s and 80s. Probably around thirteen or so.
Where do you get your information or ideas for your books? It depends. I often do a lot of research online and in books. One of my WIP took me all the way to Italy on a trip with my best friend. A post-publishing trip for Wolves Running took me to Boulder, CO for the first time and also got me hooked on riding motorcycles.
What is your work schedule like when you’re writing? When I am not grading huge amounts of essays for my classes, I try to squeeze in writing whenever I can. School vacations are a prime time for writing.
What do you like to do when you’re not writing? Riding motorcycle, playing D&D, doing leatherwork. Watching Helluva Boss.
What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books? The idea that the characters really will do some of the writing for you after a fashion. Ray Bradbury would talk about how he would ask his characters for more information about themselves, and for me, that is a truth. My characters will often surprise me with information I didn’t know that later becomes critical to the plot.
How many books have you written? Which is your favorite? Three to date, and although I had the most fun writing Wolves Running, The Crystal Pawn remains my favorite.
Do you have any suggestions to help someone become a better writer? If so, what are they? Read as much as possible in and out of your genre. The more you know, the better a writer you will become. Write for yourself, but also know your audience. Know what triggers people and try to keep it in mind or at least be prepared to warn people.
Do you like to create books for adults? Yes, though as a high school teacher, I tend to write books that are not over the top spicy. If I ever write heavy spicy novels, I will do it under a pen name!
What literary pilgrimages have you gone on? My husband is also a huge reader, and one trip we took was to the Chicago area. The first night found us in Wisconsin at the House on the Rock from Neil Gaiman’s American Gods and then the next day we headed back to Chicago where we spent several days looking at locations for Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden series, including visiting Sue the T-Rex at the Field Museum. That also took an item off my bucket list as the lions from the movie The Ghost and the Darkness are housed there. That was a fun trip.
The aforementioned trips to Italy and Colorado were also very book inspired, though both of those were visiting places I had written about in my books Those were super fun.
What is the first book that made you cry? The Green Mile. That one and the movie of it got me hard core.
Does writing energize or exhaust you? It completely energizes me. A good writing day can carry me for days.
Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you building a body of work with connections between each book? I believe that there will be at least subtle connections between each book. I love the ideas of letting the readers figure those things out, so tiny Easter eggs are something I have been adding over time. I have so much fun reading Stephen King books and finding them that I want to give that same gift to my readers. They may not be huge or overly important items, but they will be there.
If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be? Publish sooner! Seriously, it took COVID to get me over my fear of self-publishing. I could have gotten into this so much sooner.
How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have? I have about two in process of being written and one in the planning stages with some very preliminary ideas for others.
What do you have coming next? The next book is called The Ebon King and it is the third book in the Keyralithian Chronicles. I am about two-thirds of the way through now, and have been writing over Christmas break without a stopping point. Hopefully, it will be done by summer and out by next fall. After that, I will turn my attentions to the book that took me to Italy, which is also about two-thirds done and hails from my grad school days. I’m hopeful that will see the light in 2026. We’ll see!
And now an excerpt from CRYSTAL PAWN
Lady Judeth shushed her and opened a door, ushering Deirdre inside and closing it behind them. It was pitch black inside, but Judeth took her hand and pulled her along effortlessly. Deirdre heard the soft sound of a curtain being pulled aside and was startled to see two small holes of light appear in the wall near the floor. Voices wafted up from somewhere below.
In the dim light, Deirdre could see the earnest look on Judeth’s face as she motioned Deirdre to sit.
“Lady Margret and I have known each other a long time,” Lady Judeth whispered. “She has given me a little of your background and has confided in me what you plan to do. I am with you on this. No offense to the queen, but locking you away in the castle will make you an easy target. You will fall into a routine and become vulnerable, just like Darlena.”
“How much did she tell you?” asked Deirdre softly.
“She did not reveal too much, but I do know that your plan involves finding Jack Parns. I am with you if you would like my help. Jack Parns has a wealth of knowledge in all things regarding the southern areas of Keyralithsmus. He would know where to find just about anything and anyone.”
“What about your lands?” asked Deirdre.
“They are forfeit anyway if the Perstalians get a hold of the country. I would rather take my chances with you. Jan is assembling clothing, food, and other staples for the road. I can ride as well as any of you, I suppose, and Evarl will stay here and guard the lands until, or if, I return.
“I also have a horse that the minotaur can ride if he is able. How did you ever…or am I being too nosy?”
“We have agreed to protect each other,” said Deirdre. “He isn’t stupid and he knows what will happen to him if he gets caught alone. Now, can Jan be trusted?”
“He is as mute as your friend, loyal to me, and smarter than anyone I have ever known,” Judeth nodded. “We are…very fond of each other, Jan and I.”
Judeth then pointed abruptly to the round holes in the walls.
“Take a look,” she said.
Deirdre did as she was instructed, and saw an assembly of men and women sitting slightly below her vantage point. They were talking in overly loud voices, not caring who else might hear them.
“So where are they?” asked a russet haired man with a look of perpetual boredom on his face. “How long does it take to fetch someone?”
“Lord Jasper of Ganley Keep,” whispered Judeth in Deirdre’s ear. “Not someone to tangle with.”
A woman with sandy blond shoulder-length hair and piercing blue eyes made an exasperated sound. She appeared to be about Deirdre’s age and was dressed in royal blue with lighter blue lace at throat and wrist. She set down her cup with an overly loud thump and glared at Jasper, speaking to him in a voice that hinted at rapidly declining patience.
“My Lord, the Lady Deirdre has been through some very hard trials as of late, some of which are potentially linked with your house and your father. She has every right to be late if she so chooses.”
Jasper leaned back in his chair, one arm thrown behind his head, the other raising his half-drained wine glass to his lips. In contrast to his black velvet doublet and pale face, the dark red wine possessed great color and vitality.
“What my father does or does not do is no concern of mine. The house of Ganley can rot for all I care.”
He set the heavy crystal goblet down hard, echoing the lady’s action.
“My father is more than content to rule his domain, and he tells me little of it. I, however, much prefer the gentle companies of ladies and the lucky roll of the dice now and again.”
Deirdre watched the red haired man with a combination of amusement and concern. This Jasper Ganley was a great actor, but something in his attitude made her wonder what his real motives were. Was he here to spy for his father? What was his real agenda?
The lady in blue spoke again, eyes flashing angrily.
“Not that your father is well loved by any in this company,” she said, “you still have the job to act as his emissary while you are here. What you do in your spare time is none of our affairs.”
“Hear, hear,” spoke up a thin man dressed in green. “I must agree with the Lady Lorelei. We all know of what you do, Lord Jasper. None here need to be reminded of your ‘hobbies’. What all of us are concerned about is that your family might be trying to murder our last chance of salvation!”
His words had risen to a crescendo and when he was done, the air rang momentarily, leaving a brief, unfillable silence. Lord Jasper folded his hands in front of him on the table and looked at the speaker long and hard, a half-sneer twisting his face.
“Do you believe for one minute, Lord Percy, that Lady Deirdre, a half-spawned bastard from some backwoods farm in the Mountain Reaches, that unlanded shaper, that…minotaur-lover…could save anyone, much less herself? If my father’s wolves had attacked her, which I very much doubt, she would be dead by now. Dark Wolves indeed!” spat Lord Jasper.
He raised his cup and drained it, slamming the cup angrily on the table once again.
Part 2
Walking so that Judeth could easily hear her approach, she made her way down the bank and sat next to the Lady of Garey Manor. Neither of them spoke for a while; instead, they sat in quiet companionship on the river’s edge, staring into the clear, cold water as it flowed by. Deirdre glanced back at the ruin of the mill, the blades of the sails rotted and the chute through which the water flowed now choked with weeds and water lilies. Around them, birds sang sporadic autumn songs and leaves drifted down from the trees in light cascades of gold and russet.
“I miss Jan,” said Judeth quietly. “I wish that I had brought him with us.”
“You couldn’t have known what was going to happen,” said Deirdre. “Marshall Rialain was a trusted captain in Queen Brena’s army. Who would have thought that he’d do this?”
“I agree with what you and Margret were saying this morning,” said Judeth, taking a deep breath. “The signs were all there. Why did we not see them?”
“I don’t think that anyone wanted to believe that it could be possible,” said Deirdre, brushing her hair out of her eyes. “How do you believe that the head of your own army, someone who has grown up with and is related to the royal family, is a traitor? No one would want to believe that.”
Judeth looked over at her, seeming to see her for the first time.
“You are very different from the rest of us,” she said. “Your outlook on things is unique. Are all people from your world like you?”
“I don’t know,” said Deirdre. “Our world is often very cold to strangers, and you learn how to fend for yourself after a fashion. I’ve been doing art in my studio and making a living from it for so long that I forget the outside world sometimes. I feel like a lot of people are not very kind to others. Maybe I am being unfair. I just don’t know.”
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