We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Danielle DeVor. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Danielle below.
Danielle, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
The biggest thing is finding peiple in the industry you want to branch out into and learn from them. I sought out Tina Moss before she started City Owl Press back in 2014. She was kind enough to help me find resources so that I could educate myself.
I think that I could have sped things but by believing in myself more and not just sitting back and watching others go forward. Once I finally did, I realized I should have done it much sooner.
For me, good grammar and a good imagination is essential for being both an author and an editor. In editing, having a good imagination helps you help your client by coming up with ideas that will inspire them when there needs to be a change made in their manuscript.
The biggest obstacle I discovered was a local writing group. They were stuck in old fashioned trends and ideas and never moved forward in their knowledge, so had I not listened to them, I would have finished writing my first book much sooner.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
As an author, I am most known for writing my series, The Marker Chronicles. The series features a former priest and his on again off again witchy fiance as they battle demons, reanimated corpses, and sometimes the Devil himself. Unlike usual exorcism stories, my series has created it’s own form of exorcism combining occult practices and Christian ritual. Jimmy Holiday, my exorcist, is a pretty funny guy too.
I am, at heart, a gothic bat lover who would be happy stumbling around in a crumbling castle listening to music while reading an old book.
I am proud to have been writing this series for as long as I have. Book 5 of The Marker Chronicles, Sorrow’s Fall, is coming out March 2026.
And I have finished my most abitious project yet, a ergodic novel in the style of The House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski about a brother and sister and their trip to a house formerly owned by an old botanist who kept a very dark secret.
As an editor, I have had the pleasure of working with quite a few authors. Currently, my roster includes authors such as Dana Evyn, Scott Craven, Kat D. Coffin, and many more. I am very proud of the work we’ve accomplished together and every one of them is an amazing author.
I am the type of editor that likes to polish a client’s work along with them. I truly believe we are a team. I don’t just tell my authors how to fix problems in their books, I give them options and examples to inspire them toward a resolution that makes sense for their story.
I want authors who work with me to know that I will always be happy to share information about marketing and do whatever I can to help make their book a success.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
In 2018, I was diagnosed with a rare form of ovarian cancer called Granulosa Cell Tumor. The diagnosis and subsequent treatment set me back for quite a while as both an author and an editor. I experienced chemo brain and had to train my brain how to focus again. I had to teach my brain how to write differently. (I previously had written everything longhand because my creative brain worked better that way.) With the neuropathy from the chemo, I could no longer write to where I could read my handwriting at all. So, I had to rain myself to write creatively by typing out stories. That took some time and it wasn’t the same. I still think the tone of my prose sounds a little different from before compared to now, but different does not mean bad. And that was a lesson I had to learn.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The most rewarding part of being an author is being told that something I have written has helped someone through hard times or inspired them. It means so much to hear that. I like theidea that my stories are an escape from reality and I think we all need that ability to escape from time to time.
As an editor, it is so rewarding to see my authors become successful. I celebrate every win they have. It is such an amazing thing to be part of someone else’s creative process.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.danielledevor.com
- Instagram: @danielledevor76
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/danielledevorauthor
- Twitter: @sammyig
