INSPIRED BY ALASKA
At age twenty-one, Deb Vanasse was dropped by a bush pilot on a gravel runway in middle of the Alaska wilderness. No roads, no houses, no cars, no people—only a winding brown slough and tundra spread flat as prairie. She had come not for adventure but to live, an isolating but evocative experience that has inspired much of her work, including her books about writing.
Between her mountain home and a glacier-based cabin, she continues to enjoy Alaska’s wild places.
Don’t tell…but Vanasse was raised in a mental institute.

Author Deb Vanassee at Denali
Her family lived on the grounds of the state mental institution where her dad worked. The staff consisted mostly of foreign doctors, so she grew up with children from around the world, always in the shadow of the sprawling hospital and patients who walked the grounds, each more or less in his own little world. Deb lived in her own little world much of the time too. Her favorite hangout was a shed attached to her family’s barracks-style cement block house, where she’d spend hours reading and imagining story worlds.
The Confessional
We asked & our authors answered…
Deb has been known to…buy way more books than she’ll ever read
Things Deb likes…chocolate, good books, an occasional movie, a good hot shower after a few days of camping, warm flannel sheets, wide open spaces, soft falling snow, her friends
She’ll never get caught…skydiving; she so doesn’t like heights
A favorite/line expression and where it’s from: “There’s a crack in everything; that’s how the light gets in.” Leonard Cohen
Alaskans she most admires: Peggy Shumaker, Elizabeth Peratrovich, DeeDee Jonrowe
Favorite Alaska places: Matanuska Glacier, Kennicott Mine, the Pribilofs
CONNECT OFF THE PAGE
Readers & writers form a relationship on the page. We help you make connections off the page.
Author Website Book Club Visit/Guides Author Blog Email
Description
As co-founder of the wildly successful Alaska writer’s organization 49 Writers, a popular blogger on writing topics, and author of 16 published books, Vanasse offers a unique and trusted perspective for writers.
In this comprehensive handbook, readers will learn how to map out a publishing strategy in either traditional or self-publishing, or a hybrid of both. They’ll discover proven techniques for promoting their work, and they’ll learn to navigate life as a writer, managing the frustrations and celebrating the joys. Whether you pursue traditional publishing, publish on your own, or craft a hybrid approach, you’ll find a practical guide in Vanasse’s work.
Sneaky Peek
In the workshops I teach on publishing, I begin with this exercise, which I suggest you do right now (as in right now, not later—it only takes a few minutes).
Start with the fantasy. You have one—all writers do. Imagine that through some astounding magic, your every writerly dream came true—the wildest, the most outlandish, the things you’re scared to articulate, even to yourself. If in five years, each and every one of these dreams were fulfilled, how would it look, in terms of income, recognition, your body of work, and how you spend your time (creative vs. production/promotion)?