Unforseen Circumstances: A New Novel by Debbi Holmes

Book Signing

Debbi Holmes will be at Skipjack Nautical Wares

Friday, October 15 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Saturday, October 16 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Debbi Holmes recently accomplished a dream she had since high school; she wrote and published a book called Unforeseen Circumstances. The book has turned non-readers into readers and has left avid readers’ wanting more. 

Debbi Holmes will be signing her book Unforseen Circumstances at Skipjack Nautical Wares & Marine Gallery

Inspiration for the Book
Inspiration can come in many forms and can be different for many people. For Debbi, the inspiration came last year when she was struggling to find a good book to read with a mixture of romance, suspense and action. Her husband joking said, “Why don’t you write your own?” Debbi stated, “I don’t think he thought I would follow through on that comment!” Debbi eagerly got to work writing her book.

The storyline needed to have all the components she was looking for: romance, suspense and action. The idea came from stories she heard from “transients” that visit the dock, where she lives on her boat, about pirates in the Caribbean. She also had her nephew as a resource, who is in the Coast Guard, to provide stories about pirates coasting the Caribbean waters. She states, “I live on a boat so some of the experiences the characters have are interwoven from both my own experiences and fantasy.”

She had a co-worker read the book to get her opinion and see if was worth taking the time and expense to publish it. After her friend raved about the storyline and characters and encouraged her to follow through, Debbi began researching what it took to publish a book.

Patience is a Virtue

The good ole statement, “Rome was not built in a day”, is rule of thumb to keep in mind when writing and publishing a book. It takes both time and dedication to go through the process. Since she is a full time manager, the book was written at night and most weekends. “My husband found me disappearing from enjoying friends out on the dock, to being holed up in the bedroom, writing”, she states. Writing the story, for her, was the easiest part. She was able to finish the story in 3 months. Then it was time to design the cover, edit, and publish the book.

The cover was Debbi’s idea. She wanted to design a cover that would catch an individuals’ eye who is scanning the shelf for an interesting book to read. She utilized a photographer based on a referral and her daughter as the model. After 6 hours and over 80 different photo shots, she finally found the one that she imagined.

The road for editing was a little bumpy. She paid a student, who was working on their Masters in editing, to do the original editing. She didn’t think to go behind them to re-read the whole book. It went to the publishers and the first edition went out for people to buy. Luckily, only friends and family purchased the first edition and informed Debbi of misspellings, punctuation errors, and missing words. She immediately pulled it back out of print and had it re-edited by three different friends as well as going over the book herself an additional 2 times. “I have learned patience through this process and that has been the hardest thing for me”, she states. The second edition was completed and the book went back to printers. It is now available for purchase.  

Upcoming Projects

Debbi is not finished pursuing her dream. She is currently marketing her first book and has a few book signings lined up. She is half way through the sequel to the first book, which many are anxiously awaiting. She also has 2 other ideas for books that are going to be a completely different story line from the first two. She wants to maintain the theme of boats and water in all of her books, making it her signature style.


Comments from Fans

I had the privilege of reading Debbi’s book, which I must say was simply amazing. I was so engrossed in the story line that I could barely put the book down. She did provide a little snip-it of the sequel in the back of the book and I choose not to read it because I wanted to be completely surprised. I, like many others, are eagerly waiting for the sequel to be finished.

“When I heard that Debbi had written a book, I went online that evening and purchased it.  Just a few days later, I brought it to work and had Debbi sign it.  I was very excited for her and showed the book to everyone I saw that day.  I have to say, I really enjoyed reading Unforeseen Circumstances.  The early references to local landmarks sparked my interest in the beginning.  As I read on, I noticed that Debbi's descriptive story telling really made you feel as if you were right there with the characters.  This book had a little bit of everything, Romance, Suspense and Action.  There were times; I just couldn't put the book down.  I am looking forward to the sequel.” By: Sharon Hughes

“The story is so intriguing; I immediately got immersed in the characters lives.
Debbi has such great way of making the reader feel that they are a part of the story.  She's also a very descriptive writer.  When she talks about the beaches and some of the downtown Portsmouth landmarks, I can completely envision myself there! By: Michelle Garrett

For more information on the book and Debbi please visit www.debbiannholmes.com.
You can also purchase Unforseen  Circumstances  at Skipjack's web store: Click here!

Written by Shannon Dickson.