WHO
IS SHE?
MORGAN'S BIO

WHO
SAYS?
REVIEWS

WHERE
IS SHE?

Usually in her studio.
Or spending time with family.
Or any number of places.
If those have to do with writing,
they'll be listed here

Deborah Morgan made $33.33 a word for the first words she sold, and says, "it's gone downhill from there." Actually, it was award money for winning a "Name Our Business" contest in her hometown of Grove, Oklahoma. That was back in the '80s, the place was a lumberyard/home store, and the handle she gave it was "Grand Country Homeworks." (At the time, Oklahoma was called the State of Many Countries, and the northeast corner was dubbed Grand Country.)

     She's won awards in both fiction and nonfiction--most recent is the 2013 Stirrup Award from Western Writers of America for best article in Roundup Magazine, 2012. Morgan has often served as a speaker and panel moderator at writers' conventions and seminars, and is an active member of Western Writers of America.

       The fifth book in her antique-lover's mystery series featuring antiques picker (and former FBI agent) Jeff Talbot was published in April 2006. Every novel in the series made the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association list, with the third--The Marriage Casket--taking the #1 slot. In 2013, Crossroad Press contracted to publish all five of the Jeff Talbot novels in e-book format.

      She grew up on a ranch just outside Grove, was the Grove Roundup Club's Rodeo Queen when she was 15 years old  -- and she still  likes to wear boots and jeans. A touch of western often finds its way into her mystery writing. For instance, even though her tough-gal detective Mary Shelley lives in Detroit, she drives a pickup truck and wears cowboy boots whenever she can get away with it. In addition, a couple of fellow Western Writers of America members have found their way into the Jeff Talbot antique-lover's mysteries, and Sheila Talbot's sister, Karen Gray, decorated a retro camper in western antiques and cowgirl chic to use for her home as an itinerant photographer.

      Morgan picked up her basic knowledge of criminal investigation while she was Chief Dispatcher for a city police department in northeastern Oklahoma, and as permit clerk and dispatcher for  the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. While with OHP, she could fire 12 rounds in under 15 seconds using a handgun, and scored 93% target-shooting with a rifle from a cruiser (had to exit cruiser and use door as shield while firing through open window).

      Before moving to Michigan in 1993 to "join typewriters" with Loren D. Estleman,  she was managing editor of a biweekly newspaper in southeast Kansas. She's also been managing editor of two national treasure hunting magazines. In addition to those editorial duties, she wrote columns, articles, and profiles of higher-ups in the business. She was editor and art director of the Private Eye Writers of America newsletter for three years.

     She and Loren live on 120 acres in Michigan, in a home that reflects their shared love for antiques. Each room is a different character, much like those in the couple's writing, and one of Morgan's favorite pastimes is browsing hardware stores. Her tools don't have pink handles.

      Morgan enjoys photographing other authors and many of those photos have appeared nationally in magazines, newspapers, and on book jackets.

      An accomplished poker player,  Morgan's been known to match skills with such luminaries as Sara Paretsky, Lawrence Block, and Parnell Hall at the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention.

      Morgan has a son, a daughter, a grandson, and a granddaughter -- all in Missouri. She spends as much time there as possible, near her Oklahoma roots in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains. Most of her family (parents, siblings, etc.) still reside there.

 WHAT
DOES SHE WRITE?

JEFF TALBOT
ANTIQUE-LOVER'S
MYSTERY SERIES

HISTORICAL WESTERNS

MARY SHELLEY
PRIVATE EYE SERIES

WHAT
ELSE IS ON HER
WEB SITE?

HER 1937 CADDY

GRAPHIC DESIGN