A huge HEY from South Carolina!
Debbie Lynne Costello here. And yes, people really call me Debbie Lynne. My mom is a Debi as well and so I was always called by my first and middle name to prevent confusion. I was born in Michigan. My parents owned a hardware store up in Cadillac where I worked on weekends and summers, and I went to school in a small rural town called Mesick. We always lived on a lake growing up, and I spent a lot of time outside in the woods or on the lake, and was always trying to nurse any wounded animal back to health. I was a tomboy through and through. Played with turtles, frogs, and snakes. And even spiders until one bit me! I started writing stories when I was around eight years old about animals. I loved to read the Ribsy and Henry books.
In high school, I took every class I could that had to do with writing. When I graduated from high school I went to a Christian College down in South Carolina for journalism and fell in love with the state. The school closed and I headed home and married my high school sweetheart who had joined the Air Force. We lived in Knob Noster, Missouri. I had my first child while my husband was enlisted. When he got his walking papers we moved to South Carolina and made that our home. I've lived in South Carolina three times as long as I did in Michigan and my whole adult life so this is home to me.
Joe and I always dreamed of having a farm and horses, but with four children that seemed to be a pipe dream. Because of multiple miscarriages, we had one child starting college and one starting kindergarten! We basically had two families. I stayed home and sewed their clothes, sewed for other people, made crafts and did craft shows, and ran a paper route while they were sleeping. I raised and showed shelties to help put them in Christian School.
We homeschooled the youngest two from 4th an 6th grade to 11th and 12th grade. It was during those later years, when the boys didn't really need my help that much, but needed me in the room to keep them motivated, that I began to read a lot. At dinner I'd tell my husband what I did and didn't like about the book and what I would have done differently. One day he said to me, "Why don't you write a book?" I thought about it for a couple weeks and then one day sat down and started to write. Four months later I finished my 110,000 page manuscript, Sword of Forgiveness. But then came the hard stuff, learning all the things I did wrong! I loved the medieval period and ended up getting 2 contracts for novellas which are part of the Winds of Change Series.
Click on any of my books to find out more about it.
By 2013 the kids either had started careers or were still in college and we finally were able to purchase our farm land where we put our 2 Arabians and 2 Tennessee Walking Horses. In 2015 my husband was diagnosed with Mantle Cell, Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. That delayed building our new house since we do the building ourselves. The outcome for Mantle Cell is pretty grim. But God in His amazing way worked things out for us and Joe went in a clinical trial with the top Mantle Cell Doctor in the WORLD! (If you'd like to read about our journey you can find it here) The catch was we had to move to Houston, Texas for 6 months so we could be close to MD Anderson Hospital. During that time in Houston I put out another book, Shattered Memories, a 19th century, set in my favorite place, Charleston, South Carolina. It is set in 1886 during an earthquake that devastated the Charleston area. A tremendous amount of research went into Shattered Memories and I used many eye-witness accounts.
We are now in our new home, although we still have trim work to do, a fireplace to put in among other things. But now that we are 'in' I am back to work, writing, and enjoying every bit of it! My newest release, Bride by Blackmail released two days ago, September 15th, is set in 19th century Charleston, SC. I loved writing this book! It was so much fun! Duncan is a hoot and Charlotte is as headstrong as they come!
A broken heart, a controlling father, and an intrusive Scot leave Charlotte Jackson reeling. Accused of stealing an heirloom pin, she must choose between an unwanted marriage and the ruin of her family name. With the futures of her three younger sisters at stake, as well as her own reputation, Charlotte must navigate through injustice to find forgiveness and true happiness.
Eager to find the traitor that caused the death of his brother, Duncan Mackenzie comes to America and attempts to fit in with Charleston society. But when the headstrong Charlotte catches his eye, Duncan takes on a second mission—acquiring the lass's hand. After being spurned several times, he uses unconventional ways of winning her heart.
In closing, I'd like to mention that God has blessed me in friendships through this career. Some of my closest friends I would never have met if it wasn't for our love for Christian Historicals. My life is so much richer because of these beautiful ladies.
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I enjoyed learning about you and your career. You inspire me to press in with my own writing no matter what life brings my way. May God continue to bless you and yours.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jubilee! If God is calling you to write go for it! He will give you the direction and the strength to do it. And feel free to contact me personally if you have any questions. I'm always happy to help in anyway I can! debbielynnecostello (at) hotmail (dot) com
DeleteIt was great to read more about you in this segment, Debbie Lynne. Is the editing still the hardest part of the book for you? I've enjoyed all of your books!
ReplyDeleteHey Connie, Hardest parts for me are the first few chapters when I'm getting to know my characters and learning what they will and won't do. Writing Blurbs! And picking titles. LOL Edits are too bad with my crit partners, editor, and my awesome Beta readers and reviewers!
DeleteReading about everyone calling you Debbie Lynne reminds me of my dad. I've lived in SC my whole life and back when I was little, I knew my dad's name as Ray. Sometimes at church and especially at funeral homes, people would come up to him and say "Hey, Benny Ray", and I would look up at him and say who is Benny Ray.
ReplyDeleteI've been wanting to read Shattered Memories for a long time, but just haven't gotten around to it. Life here has been changed and turned upside down forever as yours has.
Good luck and I hope things continue to go well with you and your family.
Hey Linda! Thank you for sharing your story. That is funny that you didn't know they were talking about your dad. LOL> I hope you will be able to read Shattered Memories some day. Living in SC I know you will enjoy the history that is packed into that story. It was SO interesting researching it! I loved it. I actually had someone from California email me and tell me people would not act like that when an earthquake hit. She knew because she'd been through many. I had to tell her she'd have to argue with the eye witness accounts because everything in the reactions of people to the earthquake were taken from eye witness accounts in newspapers! It was amazing how the people gathered in open parks and joined together in songs of praise and praying. Very cool! I hope your life will get back to normal or as close as normal can be. God bless you!
DeleteI was born and raised in MI, but have spent all of my adult life in the upstate of SC!
ReplyDeleteDo you still have family in MI? Do you ever go back to visit?
Hey Patty! Wow! What a cool coincidence! I have a brother and his family in Michigan and a Sister-in-law and her family in MI. But I think my Sister in law and husband may be moving down when they retire. We are hoping so! We rarely make it up there. And when we have it has been for sad reasons. I live in York County SC. What county do you live in? Where did you live in Michigan?
DeleteWas it confusing growing up with the same name as your mother? My dad and brother have the same name, so growing up in my house and answering the phone was often quite interesting. Looking forward to your latest release!
ReplyDeleteNo, not really because everyone used my middle name. So it was always obvious which Debbie they wanted. My husband and my 3 sons sound the same on the phone and they like to mess with me and a close friend. We sometimes didn't know who we were really talking to because they'd pass the phone around. LOL Thank you for coming by!
DeleteCONGRATULATIONS BETSY! YOU WON CHOICE OF MY BOOKS INCLUDING MY NEW RELEASE. PLEASE EMAIL ME WITH WHAT BOOK YOU WOULD LIKE. DEBBIELYNNECOSTELLO (AT) HOTMAIL (DOT) COM
DeleteHey Debbie Lynne, Why did you choose the Sheltie breed to raise and show? Congratulations on your new book baby!
ReplyDeleteSHALOM and BLESSINGS!
I had a Shitzu and she was not well behaved so I took her to dog training two days a week. The trainer had a Sheltie and she was the most well behaved and loyal dog I'd ever seen. I decided I wanted one. It was probably over 10 years later when we got one. I just loved the breed so much I started showing them.
DeleteI live in MI but as a teen/young adult I lived with my mom in KY. I enjoyed the southern weather which is kinda funny as I now live in the UP. 😄 Did you and your husband do all the work on your home or hire some of it? My ex and I built our home. We did everything but the drywall. Thankfully he recognized that he was not good at it. 😂 It’s a lot of work building your own home. Thankfully you’re there now and only have the minor stuff to finish.
ReplyDeleteHey Sherry! Wow! The UP! BRRRRR. LOL> It is beautiful up there. We did not do everything ourselves. Joe had just come off chemo when we started. We hired the framing, roofing, chimney, and the sheetrock. Like you, one does sheetrock one time and realizes it is a talent! LOL. The framing would have taken to long for just Joe and he was gaining his strength back. The chimney and the roofing I kind of had to insist. There are parts of the house that are 3 stories high and it scared me to death to think he would be up there doing that. But then he sided the house so he was on a ladder up that high doing that and then painting it. LOL. Glad all that is behind us! I hate heights! Thanks for coming by and sharing!
DeleteWow, I really learned a lot about you today. Some things I knew, but others were really interesting. I wish we could have connected during the time you were in Houston, but I know how stressful and time consuming those treatments can be as we spent some long days at the medical center during Rex's treatments for Melanoma. God blessed us both by giving our husbands renewed health and allowing them to stay with us. Blessings on your new ventures.
ReplyDeleteMartha, I would love to connect with you next trip! We plan to be in Houston sometime between March and April of 2021. I'd love to see you!
DeleteWhere would you like to go next in the name of research?
ReplyDeleteCONGRATULATIONS BETSY! YOU WON CHOICE OF MY BOOKS INCLUDING MY NEW RELEASE. PLEASE EMAIL ME WITH WHAT BOOK YOU WOULD LIKE. DEBBIELYNNECOSTELLO (AT) HOTMAIL (DOT) COM
ReplyDelete