Debra Yergen

I've been writing my entire life. My mom helped me create my first picture book with crayons and stapled pages when I was in first grade. I participated in my high school newspaper (Rams Tales) my WSU college newspaper (The Evergreen) and since then I've been published in more than 30 newspapers and magazines on diverse topics, including: visiting Hawaii, travel, transportation, food, automobiles, entertainment, health, treasury, accounting, a column featuring CFOs of Fortune 500 companies, and a handful of articles on international finance. I currently write health features for Portland Interview Magazine in Oregon. I think the No. 1 skill required to be an interesting writer is to be curious. I'm curious about everything, and I see every person as someone who can teach me something.

In 1998, I published my first book with The Graduate Group called, "Real Life 101: Winning Secrets You Won't Find in Class." From there I published a series of books under the "Creating Job Security" brand. That series was a media darling and I was interviewed by nearly every major publication in the world. (The links that are still valid are included on my website.) Along the way I learned so much from thousands of people from all walks of life. In 2010, I published a book on domestic violence under a pen name and donated the proceeds to our local YWCA to help women and children who were experiencing what I survived.

In 2012, I turned to writing advertising copy, where I remembered some great advice I received from a producer at KOMO-TV news when I was starting my career: Put your audience first. Be relevant. Be intentional. Be brief. It must have worked. The hospital I worked for won 6 national healthcare advertising awards for individual ads and campaigns.

In 2015, I started what I thought was going to be one book, but turned out to be a trilogy. I missed my characters when I finished "The Eulogy" and my ARC readers insisted I give them more. It's a story about family and the friends who become like family along the way.

In 2019, after losing my job, I found myself in need of a little comfort. So I wrote a book that was part devotional/part cookbook called "Sweet Pickles Take Time: 12 Days of God's Love + Grandma's Recipes." It seems a lot of readers also needed some comforting words and food, because it went to the #1 New Release on Amazon.

On Mother's Day, I released "The Eulogy" in honor of my mom, who inspired my fictional family. Book 2 "The Bench" will be released on mom's birthday, January 16, 2020, and the conclusion, book 3 "The Gathering" will be released on Mother's Day 2020.

In March, I connected to a former colleague who is living in the final stages of CVID, a primary immunodeficiency genetic condition that makes patients highly susceptible to infections and life-threatening illnesses. She wanted to write her story but was not physically strong enough. So over a few months, she and her husband recounted her story to me and I wrote it for them. The book is called, "Finding My Dazzle: A Zebra's Journey." It too zoomed to a #1 New Release on Amazon.

Someone once said to me, "You write pain well." The fact is, I'm highly empathetic and I write what I know. The other side of pain is victory, overcoming odds, growing, living, blooming, dreaming, striving and hopefully inspiring others along the way. My novels are complex. My characters are flawed. But they are good people, doing their best. I hope you'll give them a chance. Despite the trials and challenges along the way, every book ends on an up-note. I might write pain well, but I specialize in a satisfying ending that makes your investment of time worth it! This is entertainment, and you deserve endings that leave you feeling good and wanting more.