The Heroine of TEXAS RANGER DAD my April 2009 release on shelves now!

I only write strong women in my books. I love writing about strong women who face struggles. Many think strong women don't have moments of weakness but--being one myself as I'm sure many of you are--I face weakness constantly. What sets a strong woman apart is that she refuses to give into those weaknesses. She fights to get through them and become stronger on the other side. She does what she must and many times she does the wrong thing but still she pushes through. Sometimes she must learn that accepting help from others also takes strength...relying on God sometimes takes strength and also the people He sends into our lives to help us make it through whatever we are going through. Pride is a hard thing for a strong woman to overcome sometimes. Strong women tend to pride themselves on doing it themselves. But God sometimes has to bring a strong woman to a point where she has to get past her pride and totally rely on Him. Other strong women don't have this problem, they are strong always in their faith and their walk. It is this dynamic of strong women that make them facinating to write about because we come in so many different forms.
My grandmother was one of the strongest women I've ever known. Abandoned by my grandfather when my dad was about 4 she raised 3 sons alone during the depression (along with my dad's help)When I'm struggling I think of her and know that my troubles are nothing compared to what they faced.

When I came up with Rose Vincent, the heroine of my latest release TEXAS RANGER DAD, I wanted a woman of faith who stepped up and did what was right though it cost her everything. I'd always been curious about the good guys--especially women--who enter the witness protection plan and what it must have cost them to do so. I mean, criminals who enter it have to because of something they've done but, an innocent person who happens to witness a random act of violence and steps up to do whats right and then has to give up life as they've known it because of chosing to testify...those are the people who intrigue me. I loved creating Rose's story. It is a bit different from most of my Mule Hollow books but exploring what made Rose tick gave me a fresh and exciting spin to write about. IN a series that has lasted as long as Mule Hollow I loved this idea. I hope you'll pick up a copy of TEXAS RANGER DAD and find out more about Rose.

TEXAS RANGER DAD will soon be hitting bookstores and I'm so excited!!

I had a great time writing this book. Of course with the way I love road trips I took advantage during this one of going to the Texas Ranger Museum in Waco http://www.texasranger.org/
It is a wonderful place to learn about Texas history. A great road trip alone or with the family.

I also headed down to the Texas Hill Country to research prickly pear jelly--I bought jars of it at several different places and it is really good!

This book is kicking off my books for 2009 and I believe you will enjoy it. It's spunky and fun and the Mule Hollow gang is glad to be let loose once more to do their matchmaking thing...of course this time they have a little help from a determined teenager with a mission: He has a hero dad--and he wants to keep him. Here's the blurb: TEXAS RANGER DAD coming in April 2009 from Love Inspired

"That Boy Looks Just Like Zane!"
Everyone in Mule Hollow can see the resemblance between former Texas Ranger Zane Cantrell and Rose Vincent's son. The same gold-flecked amber eyes. The same smile. Not that Zane is smiling. He's in shock! How could Rose have kept their child a secret from him? Rose reminds Zane that he's the one who walked away.
He has to make her see he had no choice. But Rose is as prickly as the cactus jelly she makes. And that's where their hopeful son and the Mule Hollow matchmakers come marching in.

excerpt fromBy:Published by:Available:ISBN-13:ISBN-10:copyright:
Texas Ranger Dad Debra CloptonLove Inspired - Steeple HillApril, 2009 978-0-373-87524-50-373-87524-X2009 by Debra Clopton

http://debraclopton.com/

A White Christmas

Here in my hometown of Madisonville we don't often have a beautiful, white Christmas! We have sleet, ice and on occassion snow that falls then immediatly melts when it hits the ground. But every once in a while we have a winter, wonder land of snowfall...and it's happening as I write this. It is beautiful and I almost missed it! LOL I've been working on my next book all afternoon and four hours ago, my son and daughter-in-law stopped by and as they were leaving it had started to sleet. Thinking the evening was just going to be miserable I went back to work. Little did I know it was snowing until my mother called and told me. Imagine my surprise when I walked out of my office and looked out my back door to white, snowy fields! Of course I immediatly pulled on my boots and gloves and went for a walk in the fields and the moonlight. It was such a lovely surprise, a gift from God to enjoy and I'm just happy I didn't miss it buried in work... :)

Merry Christmas!
Debra

A Few Fun Coincidences with Debbie Macomber

I'm a huge fan of author Debbie Macomber. She is such a wonderful author and person who writes fantastic books. Through the years I've gone to many workshops she has presented at conferences and like all authors out there can only hope to have small portion of a career such as hers. To touch so many lives in a positive way is truly inspiring.

Often I run over to her website debbiemacomber.com so I can see what she has coming out next or I read her blog. It's been a little while since I was there last and so yesterday when I dropped by I found out a new fun tidbit that we share. You see I publish under the name of Debra but all my friends call me Debbie. So we have that in common. Also, Debbie's husband's name is Wayne and my wonderful late husband's name was also Wayne. But wait--there's more. Last night I saw that Debbie and Wayne have a new puppy and they've named him Bogie! LOL this is a picture of my Bogie, he was my husband's puppy...he is even featured in my book Next Door Daddy. No they are not the same breed of dog but they are both adorable (my Bogie is a Chinese Shar Pei and Debbie's Bogie is a tiny mix of Pomeranian and Shih Tzu. ) I hope the Macomber's Bogie brings them as much joy as my Bogie has brought me :)

So as my good friend and fellow author Linda Goodnight says that is a really fun coinkydink! I love it and can't think of anyone whom I would like sharing such a fun coincidence with...hmmm, I wonder what her childrens names are? :)

Okay back to working on the latest Mule Hollow book. Be sure an keep an eye out for TEXAS RANGER DAD in April 2009. I'll be posting the cover soon!

Debra Clopton

You are invited! New blog Craftie Ladies of Romance

Hi Everyone!

Starting tomorrow I'll be posting on a regular basis on a new site that I'm starting with several of my fellow Love Inspired author friends. I'll still be posting here but at craftieladiesofromance.blogspot.com we hope to make it a bit more interactive. It will be a site celebrating faith, family,friends and fun. I hope you'll drop over. The first official post is tomorrow and it's my day to post. Each of us will post on a different day so there will always be something new going up on the site. Then on the 9th we will start our first contest The Twelve Days of Christmas with a twist! The authors of the new site will be me--Debra Clopton, Janet Tronstad, Lyn Cote, Lenora Worth, Linda Goodnight, Margaret Daley, Patricia Davids, Missy Tippins, Pamela Tracy, and Valerie Hansen.

I hope you'll stop by!
Debra

I hope everyone had a blessed Thanksgiving. I know I felt blessed to have my family with me. And I wanted to stop in and say that I'm also so blessed to have the support of so many of you who read my books. And I'm blessed to have such wonderful publishers and editors at Steeple Hill also. I couldn't let the day get completely away from me without saying thank you.
God bless!

Hi Everyone!

Boy has it been a busy summer. I've been writing furiously on the four Mule Hollow books that will be out in 09! So I've basically been a hermit and was more than ready to head off to San Francisco in July to the National Romance Writers of America conference. When I go to conference I'm like a kid in a candy store hanging out with my fellow Love Inspired authors, meeting with my editor and seeing readers. This was a wonderful conference in part because my good friend and fellow author Linda Goodnight won the Rita Award for Best Inspirational (the Rita is like winning the Oscar for romance writers so it was just a wonderful time for us) We are celebrating after the award in the above picture. Left to right Debby Giusti, Lenora Worth, Janet Dean, Missy Tippins, Linda Goodnight with Rita, behind her is Alley Pleiter, Me--Debra Clopton, Pamela Tracy who was also up for the award, and Merrillee Whren. If you real Love Inspired and Love Inspired Suspense then you will know all of them! They are a great bunch of ladies. After this picture was taken we headed up the elevator to the top of the Marriott so we could look out over the lights of SF. It was gorgeous!



Also, my book OPERATION: MARRIED BY CHRISTMAS was awarded Booksellers Best in the Inspirational category. I loved winning this award but was just happy to be nominated with such a wonderful group of talented authors. I was totally shocked when they called my name.





I came home and again disappeared as a deadline for one book was due and the proposal for another and I got them both finished just in time to head to Minneapolis Minnesota for the National conference of American Christian Fiction Writers just last week. It was a great conference and we had a huge book signing at the Mall of America with over a hundred Christian authors. And again, Linda Goodnight won The Book Of The Year in the Inspirational Category for the second year in a row, and my editor Krista Stroever won Editor of the Year for the second year in a row!



Now I'm home again and--you guessed it I'm buried in the 3rd book of next year with the deadline looming. But the book is looking good and I also just saw the cover for the two in one book I'm doing with Janet Tronstad for next year and can I say--IT IS BEAUTIFUL! Janet and I have really worked hard on these two novellas that will take two cousins on journeys to falling in love. My book takes place in Mule Hollow and Janet's takes place in Dry Creek so for all of you fans of the two series I really think you will enjoy this collaboration with Janet.

Okay it's back to work, God bless y'all!
Debra