Autumn Author: Debbie Manber Kupfer

Today, here's an author I've been lucky to work with on the Stardust, Always anthology. It's Debbie Manber Kupfer! 

​Debbie grew up in the UK in the East London suburb of Barking. She has lived in Israel, New York and North Carolina and somehow ended up in St. Louis, where she works as a writer and a freelance puzzle constructor of word puzzles and logic problems. She lives with her husband, two children and a very opinionated feline. Her first novel, P.A.W.S., was published originally in June 2013 and her second book in the series, Argentum, was released in October 2014. In addition she has stories in several anthologies including Fauxpocalypse, Shades of Fear, Winter Wishes, Sins of The Past, Sins of the Future, and Stardust, Always. In February 2015 she published a book of logic puzzles, Paws 4 Logic, with her son Joey. She believes that with enough tea and dark chocolate you can achieve anything!  

The elusive opinionated feline, Miri Billie Joe, in her natural habitat.

D.R.- Do you have a writing routine?
D.M.K.- Only during NaNoWriMo months. In November (and April and July if I’m doing CampNaNo) I set myself a daily target of 2K words and don’t let myself go on the internet until I’ve finished my daily quota. It works well for me. Both my two published works started as NaNo novels. The rest of the year I try to do something creative each day, whether it’s writing a little, editing or creating one of my puzzles. 

D.R.- Dancing or singing? 
D.M.K.- Both – much to the chagrin of my daughter! I get very enthusiastic when we go to concerts.

D.R.- Coffee or tea or something else? 
D.M.K.- Tea – gallons and gallons of hot tea with milk each day.

D.R.- Breakfast, brunch, or lunch? 
D.M.K.- Breakfast – I love breakfast foods. At home I’m most likely to have a bowl of Weetabix, but out and about I adore pancakes, waffles and anything eggy. Plus I enjoy most breakfasts when I travel. In England they have these amazing veggie breakfast platters with eggs, beans, veggie sausage, toast and of course tea. And in Israel I love Israeli breakfasts which are a whole cornucopia of cheeses, salads, fruits, eggs, breads and practically anything you can think of!

D.R.- What's the scariest thing your villain of choice has done?
D.M.K.- That would be my own villain – Alistair – who is a very scary werewolf dude. In his own words: 
“I ate my own father once and it was the best meal I ever had!” 

D.R.- What's the funniest book you've read and why?
D.M.K.- The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams. Adore this book (and pretty much all Adams’ books). I have read it a gazillion times and have encouraged many of my friends over the years to read the books, just so that they get all my weird references. 
What book do you recommend the most?
Apart from the Hitchhiker’s Guide, I think everyone should read The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak. 
There are also a bunch of indie authors that more folk need to know about, Michelle Proulx, M.A. Ray, Misha Burnett and George Sirois to name a few. I always get excited when I discover a new author.

D.R.- How do you get ideas for stories?
D.M.K.- From the “go for a walk fairy” and the “take a shower fairy”. Any time in fact when I don’t have a paper and pencil to write them down. I adore people watching and listening in to snippets of conversation and often times those odd snippets make it into my stories. 
Which genres do you write and what's your favorite one?
My main series is Fantasy – and that’s my favorite to write. I love magic and being able to delve deep into my imagination. I also experiment in other genres in my short stories including so far, horror, humor, sci-fi and contemporary. I like using short stories to explore other genres. 

D.R.- What's the best advice you've gotten about writing? 
D.M.K.- Just get the story down. Editing comes later. Also sometimes it’s good to take a short break between writing drafts so that you can look at them with fresh eyes. Often times when I’m writing I believe everything I write is bad, but when I put it away for a few days and read it back I usually discover that’s it not so awful after all.

D.R.- Tell me about the biggest surprise your own character, story, or setting has given you.
D.M.K.- A couple of things: When writing P.A.W.S. my villain, Alistair, wasn’t even in my original idea for the story. But a few chapters in he emerged and made the story all about him!
Also I’m currently working on book 3 of my series and have discovered a whole shadow world, Umbrae, hidden beneath the surface of our own. Who knew? 
​
D.R.- Tell us about your plans or ideas for a new-to-you genre in the future.
D.M.K.- I’m currently working with a local artist to produce a children’s picture book, Cecilia’s Tale – a little kitty story dedicated to my cat, Cecilia, who found me while I was living in Israel. It’s wonderful watching her story come to life. And I look forward to having a picture book I can share in school