
One of my favorite authors right now is Debby Grahl. She writes romance, specifically paranormal romance and romantic suspense. I first met her in 2018 and a kinder woman you’ll never meet. Her stories grab you from the first page while her characters transport you to New Orleans. I asked her for an interview and she agreed. So grab your favorite beverage and sit down with us.
What do you consider to be your best accomplishment?
Overcoming my vision loss and having my stories published. I have a disease of the retina called Retinitis Pigmentosa which causes gradual vision loss. I lost the ability to read in my early twenties, but even when I had sight, seeing the printed word was always difficult for me. Reading a book would take me twice as long as a person with normal sight. I became frustrated with this and began to make up my own stories.
Have you always liked to write?
Yes. I recall as a teenager, entertaining my girlfriends on our way to school with stories I’d made up. They were kind enough to listen, and today they’re some of my biggest fans.
It wasn’t until the invention of screen reading software, that I was able to put my stories into print.
What writing advice do you have for other aspiring authors?
Do your research. Readers will catch the smallest mistake, such as if you have a specific building or street, make sure they’re in the right location.
In writing historical, check to make sure you’re using the correct devices in the correct time period.
Take online writing classes. I found these to be extremely helpful with beginner writing mistakes. Writers need to learn about tag lines, POV changes, correct punctuation and grammar. There’s also what is known as info dump and character development.
When you submit your MS, make sure it’s as perfect as it can be. Editors will reject your work in seconds if there’s too many mistakes.
Do you read your reviews? Do you respond to them, good or bad? Do you have any advice on how to deal with the bad?
I love reviews! Although I hold my breath each time there’s a new one. Being an author, you have to learn quickly not to take bad reviews to heart. Even though your book is your baby and you want to challenge anyone who doesn’t love it as much as you do, ignore those that are nasty and move on.
What is your least favorite part of the publishing / writing process?
This would definitely be marketing. I’m a writer not a marketer. Spending hours posting on social media instead of writing makes me crazy.
What are you working on now? What is your next project?
I have a number of ideas in the works. Touched by Magic and A Touch of Magic are the sequels to my latest release, His Magic Touch. I’m also working on another series, Mountain Blaze, Island Heat, and Carolina Sizzle.
Do you drink? Smoke? What’s your vice?
I do enjoy a glass of wine, mimosas, frozen mojitos, and I’ve been known to do a shot of tequila.
What is your biggest fear?
I do not go underground. Caves, waterfalls, and you would never find me in a submarine!
What do you want your tombstone to say?
She never gave up.
If you had a superpower, what would it be?
Time travel. How cool would it be to meet historical people, visit regency England, visit with your ancestors, and invest in stocks you know will make you a fortune.
What’s on your bucket list (things to do before you die)?
I’d like to swim with dolphins, stay in an English manor house, and visit Germany.
Thank you, Debby, for taking time out of your busy schedule to sit down with us. Readers, check out her romantic suspense, Rue Toulouse.

Title Rue Toulouse
Author Debby Grahl
Genre Contemporary Romance
Book Blurb
Fashion designer Caterine Doucette attends a masquerade ball dressed as a shimmering ice princess where she encounters ex-cop Remi Michaud, disguised as the handsome pirate Jean Lafitte. The princess and the pirate come together for one unforgettable night of passion.
When Caterine inherits the family’s exclusive boutique, Ma Chérie, an attempt is made on her life, for someone in the Doucette household will stop at nothing to possess what they feel is rightfully theirs.
Remi, working for a private security company, sets out to unmask Caterine’s would-be assassin, but finds himself torn between his desire for her and painful memories of another socialite’s betrayal.
Falling for Remi, Caterine struggles with old embedded pain, leaving her afraid to open herself to love.
In the heart of the Big Easy, the two must learn to trust one another if they’re to survive in a world of family greed and ruthless revenge.
Excerpt
With a wicked grin, he whispered, “When it comes to pleasing a lovely lady, I try to do everything well.”
Caterine couldn’t hold back a smile. “Oh, I’ll bet you do.”
They had stepped away from the dancers and accepted glasses of water from a passing waiter. “Now, monsieur, shouldn’t you introduce yourself?”
“My apologies for being so remiss.” He stepped back and gave her a gallant bow. “Jean Lafitte at your service.”
She grinned. “A pirate. I should have known.”
“Do you not like pirates?”
“I can’t say I’ve ever met one, but I’ve heard they can be rather dangerous.”
A slow smile spread across his face. “A little danger can be exciting, Princess.”
Again he was standing close, filling her senses with his seductive voice and spicy cologne. The heat from his body had Caterine imagining being held in his arms on a sun-drenched beach while turquoise water lapped around their feet. His mouth was now inches from hers. “Come away with me, and I’ll show you.”
Come away with him. Oh, yes, how she’d love to run away with this pirate. Caterine’s fevered imagination now had them in each others’ arms on the deck of a gently rocking ship under a star-strewn sky. When his lips brushed gently across hers, the image changed to show him lowering her onto a bed of soft down. At the sound of his low chuckle, she blinked rapidly to wipe away the erotic scene.
“I’m sorry, what did you say?”
He smiled at her as if he could read her mind. “I said you look a little flushed. Would you like to go out onto the gallery where it’s cooler?”
She took a nervous step back and stammered, “It is rather warm in here, isn’t it.”
His knowing smile widened. “Exceedingly so. Shall we?” He took her hand and led her through the nearest open door.
Buy Links
Free to read on Kindle Unlimited!
Author Biography
Debby Grahl lives on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, with her husband, David. Besides writing, she enjoys biking, walking on the beach and a glass of wine at sunset. Her favorite places to visit are New Orleans, New York City, Captiva Island in Florida, the Cotswolds of England, and her home state of Michigan. She is a history buff who also enjoys reading murder mysteries, time travel, and, of course, romance. Visually impaired since childhood by Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), she uses screen-reading software to research and write her books.
Her first published book, The Silver Crescent, won the Paranormal Romance Guild Reviewers’ Choice award. Her second book, Rue Toulouse, a contemporary romance set in New Orleans, was a finalist in the National Excellence in Romantic Fiction Award and was selected as a May, 2016, ‘local read’ by Hilton Head Monthly.
Decorated to Death is a holiday mystery cozy. She also has stories in three anthologies, The Haunted West, Never Fear/Christmas Terrors; and Ebb and Flow from the local Island Writers’ Network.
Debby was featured in the January, 2016, Hilton Head Monthly article ‘Intriguing People of the Lowcountry’. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, Florida Romance Writers, and First Coast Romance Writers.
Her latest book, His Magic Touch, was released December 5, 2018, by Wild Rose Press.
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