Debra Jenkins is a multifaceted young woman that exhibits all the characteristics of a professional educator. Teachers, students, parents, and administrators who work with Debra are all cognizant of her love and concern for the young people she serves as well as her professional knowledge and demeanor. She is well respected and loved by her students and the staff at Middlesettlements Elementary. In her personal life she is a loving wife and mother, motorcycle rider, and active member of RIO Church.
Back in the mid 1990’s I met Debra. I remember vividly talking with her about her other passion. Debra wanted to publish a novel. As someone who always fantasized about doing the same thing I enjoyed talks with Debra, while understanding that the hard work and drive it took to realize that kind of dream was something rare. Time passed and as our careers took different paths I put those conversations in the back of my mind. Until 2015. I received a message from Debra. She had finished her first novel, In the Midst and it was published.
I read In the Midst in 2015 and found it to be entertaining reading. I recently reread In the Midst and was able to see it thru the lens of a professional reader, my current vocation. I was not just entertained but was impressed. Debra’s characters and the plot are well developed and for an East Tennessee native who loves the mountains, the setting was appealing to me.
Debra is a writer of Christian fiction and In the Midst exemplifies not just her passion for writing, but her faith. Set in the mountains of North Carolina where she was raised, it also has many elements of her current home here in East Tennessee. The main character is a young woman who had tragedy strike in her young life and is searching for peace. She finds a love interest that is devout and unwavering in his faith. Also appealing for local readers is that each chapter, as well as the title, is named after a song written by a local musician, Patrick Hebert.
During the slow days of the last few months of quarantine I was able to reconnect with Debra. I found out that she is the outgoing president and current vice-president of a national writer's group of Christian fiction, Word Weavers. Word Weavers is a support group for writers, providing professional feedback, networking, conferences and classes for those who are actively writing. Debra is the current President of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) of Knoxville and is continuing to pursue her passion for writing with her latest book set in the 1950s. The heroine for Debra's current endeavor has a past life and childhood trauma that haunt her and may effect her future. I was hooked just reading a small part of a chapter draft.
In the Midst is available on Amazon
For more information about Debra check out her authors blog https://debrajenkinsauthor.blog/
Christy Martin is a retired educator and professional reader and reviewer for Net Galley books.