About Deanne

I was born and raised out on the fringes of the rainy Pacific Northwest on fishing boats and cold beaches with only a dog and kittens for company, and so my love of reading and creating stories started very early. My dad would illustrate my early stories and I would listen to him ramble about European history and warfare, eagerly asking questions about Kings, Queens and our own family history. In my adult life I am wife to a brilliant and hilarious web designer and mother to two wonderfully weird children whom I am trying to pass on to my love of learning about the world. I'm an amateur genealogist, amateur photographer and amateur history major haha. I'm good at doing amateur stuff lol. During the last couple years I finally turned my life-long urge to write into a serious endeavor and finished my first novel called (for now) The Stone and the Stars, about a dying dystopian society, and one girl trying to escape it before it collapses. While I finish cleaning up the edges on my novel for the umpteenth time, and before I send it out into the world, I've lately begun a novel about utopia, this time on Earth. I'm finally living up to the nerdy book-worm title my family 'lovingly' pinned on me from the time I was small, and finally doing that one thing I feel like I was born to do. Cliche and silly? Yes!

The Angry Tide: A novel of Cornwall 7: by Winston Graham

I’m going to keep this one short. Shorter than most of my posts by far! I think I’m still angry. As evidenced by the title, results are starting to pour in from all corners of the novel as sins of the characters’ past catch up with them. Despite, or because … Continue reading

The Four Swans: A Novel of Cornwall 6: by Winston Graham

‘The Four Swans’ is the SIXTH Poldark novel taking place in Cornwall, England just before the year 1800. At this point in the saga, everything could be going better. This novel is strange and dark, dealing with themes of adultery, despair, suspicion and jealousy. [Skip to the end if you’re … Continue reading

The Black Moon: A Novel of Cornwall 5: by Winston Graham

I know I said I was ‘over’ these books, but I’d already ordered this one in the mail and I had nothing else to read…and who am I kidding these are addicting like a soap opera. Winston Graham took a cruel twenty year break in the writing of the Poldark … Continue reading

Empress of Fashion: A Life of Diana Vreeland by Amanda Mackenzie Stuart

Diana Vreeland: the original Dragon Lady, fashion trendsetter, jet-setting socialite and notorious eccentric. Once called ‘a beacon of fashion for the twentieth century’, Diana Vreeland set her own boundaries on life, and lived it to the full. Born in 1903, she was a curious creature who helmed Harper’s Bazaar for … Continue reading

Grace: by Grace Coddington

I’m sorry to say I only first heard of Grace Coddington while watching ‘The September Issue’, the fast-paced 2009 documentary behind Vogue magazine’s annual September issue- the biggest of the year. Who was this lady stomping about the place, red frizzy hair flying, growling at Anna (quelle horreur!!) who was … Continue reading

Warleggan: A Novel of Cornwall 4: by Winston Graham

Well, the Poldark honeymoon is over for me, and ‘Warleggan’ is mostly to blame. From an early and earnest enjoyment of the books and show on BBC/PBS, the saga has become rather strained at this point. I find myself hoping that if the show ever makes it this far that … Continue reading

Jeremy Poldark: A Novel of Cornwall 3: by Winston Graham

“There are no permanent things, only fleeting moments of warmth and companionship, precious stationary seconds in a flicker of troubled days.” A typical poignant piece of prose from ‘Jeremy’ the third Poldark book. ‘Jeremy’ Poldark picks up where the tumultuous and sad ending of ‘Demelza’ and season two of BBC/PBS … Continue reading

Demelza Poldark: A Novel of Cornwall 2: by Winston Graham

  Book two of the Poldark series continues the story of Ross Poldark: war veteran, county gentleman, mine owner, and all around moody main character. The year is now 1788, five years have passed since Ross Poldark came home from war in America to find his inheritance in ruins and … Continue reading