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Member Since: Aug. 08, 2012

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Debra Milligan

Biography

A technical writer/editor for engineers and former homeschooler, Debra Milligan now works at her lifelong dream of writing novels. She is fluent in French and has varied interests in the fine arts, architecture, history of all kinds, music, horses, hounds, the Golden Age of Hollywood, quilting, and the San Jose Sharks.

Smashwords Interview

Who are your favorite writers?
F. Scott Fitzgerald, Victor Hugo, Blaise Pascal, and Louis L’Amour. It is difficult for me to cite favorite works because each work that I’ve read from each writer has taught me many things. For F. Scott, there is THE GREAT GATSBY and his unfinished THE LAST TYCOON; for Hugo, LES MISÉRABLES and poems from LES CONTEMPLATIONS; for Pascal, LES PENSÉES; and for Louis L’Amour, THE QUICK AND THE DEAD, HONDO, and RADIGAN.
How do these writers influence your work?
From F. Scott, his lyric imagery was the most influential. Also, the way in which he weaves the story with a very natural, direct but poetic voice.

From the great Victor Hugo, I learned the most, probably because he was the powerhouse of poetry and prose. Specifically, I learned how to move the point of view from the universal to the particular, and vice versa. There were also the architectural details through which Hugo could exhaust the reader but probably not himself.

Blaise taught me how to organize my thoughts in a concise, logical, linear order and how to express prose sparingly but powerfully. The artistry of the man has been overshadowed by the truth of his opinions. For Pascal, beauty and truth are synonymous.

Mr. L’Amour instructed me in the fine craft of narration. His narrative voice is pure, his prose condensed and moving.
Read more of this interview.

Where to find Debra Milligan online

Website: http://www.debramilligan.com

Books

The 4 Seasons by
Price: $2.49 USD. Words: 9,850. Language: English. Published: June 5, 2016. Categories: Fiction » Poetry » Themes & motifs, Fiction » Poetry » Themes & motifs
Many years ago, Debra Milligan had a dream in vivid colors. She was gazing from the upstairs back porch of her childhood house, across the 4 back yards of the neighbors’ houses. Each yard was one of the 4 seasons. Inspired by this dream, The 4 Seasons presents 4 volumes of poetry: memories of innocence, harmony, forgiveness, girlhood, passion, true love, betrayal, renewal, serenity, beauty.
L'Amour à Paris by
Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 1,870. Language: French. Published: January 30, 2016. Categories: Fiction » Poetry » Themes & motifs, Fiction » Poetry » Themes & motifs
L’auteur a découvert l'impulsion pour ces poèmes pendant une semaine de décisions concernant sa vie quotidienne. Une épiphanie de son passé se réalisait au présent : les émotions qui avaient été sans voix pendant des années, elles trouvaient une voix française. Cette voix chantait soudainement: Amour à Paris, douze mois de la poésie du coeur. La poésie commence en décembre et se finit en novembre.
Coming Home by
Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 2,020. Language: English. Published: December 27, 2015. Categories: Fiction » Poetry » Themes & motifs
These 12 poems are imbued with the sense of “Coming Home,” be it a place, a time, or a state of mind. Each poem is a homecoming for the heart. Themes include carrying on to honor a beloved; atonement, bringing the heaven of love between two equals; protection of memories too close to yet be touched; the journey and arrival of the heart in various venues.
I Will Wait for You by
Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 1,890. Language: English. Published: December 23, 2015. Categories: Fiction » Poetry » Themes & motifs, Fiction » Poetry » Themes & motifs
This cycle of poetry is above love. The choice of any person to leave the herd - to mate with another - is a brave, bold act. He is alone, free, and vulnerable. Only then can he truly love. The themes of these eight poems run the gamut from love that frees the soul to love that imprisons the heart. The lone rider of this human emotion, love, makes the choice to love fully or not love at all.
Lighthouse by
Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 2,770. Language: English. Published: December 20, 2015. Categories: Fiction » Poetry » Contemporary Poetry, Fiction » Poetry » Themes & motifs
The 10 poems of Lighthouse speak truth: poetic truth, tragic truth, the truth of joy, the truth of loss, the truth of love, the truth of power, the power of truth. Each poem is a beacon of light to guide the soul through the dread-filled night and to brighten the spirit to a better day. May Lighthouse guide the way for anyone who reads these poems.
Moon Glow by
Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 3,850. Language: English. Published: October 6, 2015. Categories: Fiction » Poetry » Themes & motifs, Fiction » Poetry » American poetry
Moon Glow is a summer cycle of sixteen poems by Debra Milligan. Written during the space of four days in August, these poems express the glow of love, as symbolized by the moon. Themes include true love, betrayal, the justice of the heart, heartbreak, the healing power of love, freedom, fate, and the majesty of the nightly stars as the spirit of unconditional love.
Correspondences by
Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 3,990. Language: English. Published: April 24, 2015. Categories: Fiction » Poetry » Themes & motifs, Fiction » Poetry » Themes & motifs
During the course of writing letters to friends, business associates, and loved ones, Debra Milligan recognized far too many poetic phrases and images for her to ignore. She started her new year of 2015 by composing CORRESPONDENCES, the final volume of the quartet of spring poems. Each poem is a message of correspondence – among love, life, art, and friends.
Flight by
Price: Free! Words: 3,200. Language: English. Published: April 24, 2015. Categories: Fiction » Poetry » Themes & motifs, Fiction » Poetry » Themes & motifs
Flight is the third volume in the quartet of spring poetry by Debra Milligan. Each of these 16 poems is an invitation to a voyage in flight for anyone who dares to dream, for anyone who dares to let a reverie soar. Flight then is timeless for anyone who yields to the desires of the heart to fly, to take wing and to reach new heights, to aspire to a firmament of one’s own making.
Peacock by
Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 3,460. Language: English. Published: March 20, 2015. Categories: Fiction » Poetry » Themes & motifs, Fiction » Poetry » Themes & motifs
Peacock is a cycle of 12 poems about the dances of love. The author was inspired to write this poetry by a wish to once again possess two eye shadows of iridescent hues of blue-green and gold. She’d thrown them away, deeming them garish. And then she wanted them back. Each poem invites readers to embolden their colours, to enrich their dances of love, and to live life as if it has just begun.
Lilacs in Bloom by
Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 2,920. Language: English. Published: March 20, 2015. Categories: Fiction » Poetry » Themes & motifs, Fiction » Poetry » Themes & motifs
Lilacs in Bloom presents 16 poems by Debra Milligan. This second cycle of a trilogy of spring poetry celebrates this herald of spring: the heart-shaped lilac in bloom. Love is in the air for the fortnight during which lilacs bloom. Themes include the many sensations of love; the pain of heartache; the glorious renewal of life through yearning, through forgiveness, through any new beginning.
Equinox by
Price: Free! Words: 5,210. Language: English. Published: December 6, 2014. Categories: Fiction » Poetry » Themes & motifs
Equinox occurs twice a year, on 20 March and 22 September. It is the autumnal equinox which colors and shades these 20 poems by Debra Milligan. She writes of time: the interludes in life and the transitions, marked by the equinox. These poems speak of the effects of the equinox upon grief, joy, forgiveness, love, parting, faith, solitude, hope, and betrayal, and other moments in our lives.
Solstice II by
Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 5,190. Language: English. Published: December 6, 2014. Categories: Fiction » Poetry » Themes & motifs, Fiction » Poetry » Themes & motifs
SOLSTICE II by Debra Milligan is the logical, creative counterpart for her cycle of poetry, SOLSTICE. SOLSTICE celebrates moments of being; SOLSTICE II celebrates moments of passage in each of these 21 poems. The winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere produces the longest night and the shortest day during the moment of solstice, but every moment can last forever if it is fully lived.
Solstice by
Price: Free! Words: 3,310. Language: English. Published: August 3, 2014. Categories: Fiction » Poetry » Themes & motifs, Fiction » Poetry » Themes & motifs
A collection of poems to bookend the cycle of poetry entitled Voyage. The writing of these pieces began with a spark - the wish for a “Happy Solstice” from the daughter of Debra Milligan. Eight days of busy creativity brought about seventeen poems amidst a blaze of summer sunlight. The themes are interwoven with the start of summer, this celebration of one season for everyone to enjoy.
Voyage by
Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 1,920. Language: English. Published: August 3, 2014. Categories: Fiction » Poetry » Themes & motifs, Fiction » Poetry » Themes & motifs
Enthusiastically encouraged by a friend to publish her poetry, Debra Milligan presents Voyage, a cycle of sixteen of her poems. This writing was originally published under the name Debra Tanis Milligan since many of these pieces were written prior to her marriage. Themes include love and loss, time, and the wisdom of art.
The Ghost by
Price: $1.99 USD. Words: 68,030. Language: English. Published: July 27, 2014. Categories: Fiction » Literature » Plays & Screenplays, Fiction » Historical » United Kingdom
Julia Mac Vicker is a young widow working in Glasgow, just after the Great War. Grief-stricken, she takes the first steps of her new life. At first, she is scarcely aware of The Ghost - the spirit of her dead husband, Heath, who drowned in the Minch on New Year’s Eve of 1918. Julia experiences foul tertiary, anguished memories and eerie sensations that are, indeed, senses-beyond-the-senses.
The Dawn - Volume II by
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 650,440. Language: English. Published: September 2, 2012. Categories: Fiction » Adventure » War & military adventure
The year is 1942. The French Resistance continues covert operations to achieve their ultimate goal: liberation. THE DAWN reveals the story of a French aristocrat, a US Army colonel, and the woman they love. It chronicles the dramas of the dark years in France, 1940-1944. The fierce need of the human will for liberty is pitted against the tyrannies of evil. The battle for freedom is joined.
The Dawn - Volume I by
Price: Free! Words: 462,690. Language: English. Published: September 2, 2012. Categories: Fiction » Adventure » War & military adventure
The year is 1940. France falls. The battle for liberation begins. Set within the many landscapes of France and England. THE DAWN reveals the story of a French aristocrat, a US Army colonel, and the woman they love. It chronicles the dramas of the dark years in France, 1940-1944.The fierce need of the human will for liberty is pitted against the tyrannies of evil. The battle for freedom is joined.
Northstar by
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 71,760. Language: English. Published: September 1, 2012. Categories: Fiction » Adventure » General, Fiction » Thriller & suspense » Action & suspense
In NORTHSTAR, the fate of Northstar Dam is threatened by environmentalists; the fate of fiery Shannon Caine is threatened by corrupt politician Adam Van Tress. Engineer Thomas Martel gets embroiled in this mayhem while a crusty old geologist tries to stop his world from coming down around him. Set in Truckee in the Sierra Nevada, NORTHSTAR is a bumpy ride in the black '65 Mustang of Shannon Cain.
Nocturne by
Price: Free! Words: 30,780. Language: English. Published: September 1, 2012. Categories: Fiction » Coming of age, Fiction » Historical » Victorian
Nocturne reveals a girl’s coming of age during 1888-89 in Georgetown, D.C. The remembrances of Amelia Prescott are heightened by a sharp wit and telling details that chronicle this year in her life. Abandoned by her parents, Amelia is saved from despair by the loving hand of her aunt. When that hand dies before her eyes, she struggles to prevail over her pain through the art of music.

Debra Milligan's tag cloud

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