Deanna Raybourn

Name: Deanna Raybourn
Current Home: Williamsburg, Virginia
Date of Birth: June 17, 1968
Place of Birth: Ft. Worth, Texas

I am a sixth-generation native Texan, which means I say "y'all" a lot and my family has a registered cattle brand. (We have no cattle, but I suppose we could use it on the furniture if we really wanted to.)  I am an only child, which most people figure out within two minutes of meeting me.  I graduated from the University of Texas at San Antonio--a perfectly nice school with a mascot, but no football team. (Go, Roadrunners!)  I double-majored in history and English, which means I know how to find Jesus imagery in any book you care to give me, and then I can write a fifty-page paper about it with footnotes.

I have been married to my college sweetheart for almost sixteen years, and we have one child and a dog.  A few years ago, we moved from Texas to a small college town in Virginia where the people talk differently but still say "y'all".
 
I wrote my first novel when I was 23.  It got a nibble from a publisher, but ultimately it went to live in a box in the attic.  It has friends now, eight of them I think, keeping it company in a much bigger box.  But I got an agent--a delightful woman with the tenacity of a pit bull on uppers (I mean that as a compliment!--and she worked tirelessly for years to place my novels.  They were romances, which was a mistake for me.  I lean more towards mystery and historical Fiction in my reading, so I finally decided to write what I read. Apparently THAT is the magical formula for success, in case anyone is writing this down.  I wrote Silent in the Grave, and after two years it found a happy home at MIRA, known in my house as The Finest Publishing Company on The Planet.  I have a charming editor and a cast of thousands who work slavishly on my books with such dedication and devotion that I would happily give any of them a kidney.  (Note: that statement does NOT constitute a legally-binding contract.)  And not only did MIRA give a home to SITG, they have adopted two sequels as well, both of which are well underway.
In my free time (HA!) I don't do much at all.  I say it is because I must think deeply about my work, but the truth is, I am just as likely to be thinking about how much I miss "Will & Grace" or whether I can justify ordering the new Nanette Lepore keyhole sweater.  I read voraciously, knit badly, and have recently discovered the addictive power of podcasts, which I hope to harness for this website.  My favorite color is blood red (venous, not arterial); I am a Gemini with Libra Rising, and I do not like long walks in the rain because of what it does to my hair.  And I think a nice cup of tea makes everything better.