Deborah Hand-Cutler

Deborah Hand-Cutler started her writing career at The Christian Science Monitor, working in print, radio and media. She has also been a copyeditor for Fairchild Publications in New York. She holds a Bachelor's degree from the University of Washington's Far East and Russian Institute, and a Masters in History from UCLA. She lives in Tehachapi, CA, and has written plays produced by the local community theatre. Deborah has also served on the Tehachapi City council and was the mayor during the city's revitalization project in 2008. She and her husband, Peter Cutler, own Fiddlers Crossing, a concert venue in Tehachapi. They both are part of Folkscene, a radio program that has been on the air for over 50 years. Deborah is a multi-instrumentalist and teaches cello and mountain dulcimer. The Snake in the Garden is her first novel, written in collaboration with former Motown artist Brenda Sutton Turner. Her second novel, Banned in Boston, was co-written with humor, sci-fi writer and film critic Daniel M. Kimmel. The two novels couldn't be more different. Deborah states her primary literary influence as Winnie the Pooh.