Deborah J. Lightfoot

Biography

Castles in the cornfield provided the setting for Deborah J. Lightfoot’s earliest flights of fancy. On her father’s farm in Texas, she grew up reading tales of adventure and reenacting them behind ramparts of sun-drenched grain. She left the farm to earn a degree in journalism and write award-winning books of history and biography. High on her bucket list was the desire to try her hand at the genre she most admired. The result is Waterspell, a complex, intricately detailed fantasy comprising the original four-book series (Warlock, Wysard, Wisewoman, Witch). New in 2023, The Karenina Chronicles is the first book in a new series also set in the Waterspell universe.

Having discovered this world, the author finds it difficult to leave.

Deborah is a professional member of The Authors Guild. She lives in the country near Fort Worth, Texas. Find her on Instagram @booksofwaterspell and peruse her overflowing, catch-all website at waterspell.net.

Where to find Deborah J. Lightfoot online

Where to buy in print

Series

Waterspell
How far would you go to find where you belong? Drawn into the schemes of an angry wizard, lost traveler Carin must decipher the words of an alien book, follow the clues in a bewitched poem, conjure a dragon from a pool of magic -- and tread carefully around a tortured, emotionally scarred sorcerer who can't seem to decide whether to love her or kill her. "Plenty of mystery and twists and turns.”

Books

Waterspell: The Complete Series (Boxed Set: Books 1-4)
Price: $8.95 USD. Words: 455,470. Language: English. Published: April 21, 2022 by Seven Rivers Publishing. Categories: Fiction » Fantasy » General, Fiction » Fantasy » Epic
Making a place for yourself in a world where you don’t belong takes courage. So does moving in with a warlock. Especially one who is a cauldron of seething anger, who is thinking, perhaps, of killing you. And you can almost understand why he'd do it. But you’ll fight to stay alive. Because maybe you’ve found the place where you belong: On his world, in his magic, saving the warlock from himself.
Waterspell Book 4: The Witch
Series: Waterspell. Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 92,170. Language: English. Published: February 18, 2022 by Seven Rivers Publishing. Categories: Fiction » Fantasy » Epic
In the House of Verek, it's five years later. The waters are troubled. Memories are darkening. If the story is to end “happily ever after” for Carin and Verek, old demons must be laid to rest. Readers of the Waterspell series will welcome this long-awaited Book 4 for the answers it provides to questions raised in volumes 1 through 3, not least: Did Carin's conjured dragon kill the necromancer?
Waterspell Book 3: The Wisewoman
Series: Waterspell. Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 115,310. Language: English. Published: March 2, 2012 by Seven Rivers Publishing. Categories: Fiction » Fantasy » Epic
Plague and pestilence have come to Ladrehdin. In this third book of Waterspell, Carin and Verek set out to put right everything that has gone so wrong. On the final leg of their quest, they retrace Carin's journey north from the plains—accompanied this time by the village wisewoman, Megella, whose "old stories" reveal how the actions of the Ancients menace every life on this world, and beyond.
Waterspell Book 2: The Wysard
Series: Waterspell. Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 133,600. Language: English. Published: November 14, 2011 by Seven Rivers Publishing. Categories: Fiction » Fantasy » Epic
After blundering into the last stronghold of magic, Carin discovers that she is right to fear the wizard Verek. He is using her to seal the ruptures in the void, and she may be nothing more to him than an expendable weapon. But will Lord Verek find it in his heart to dispose of his fiery water-sylph? Book 2 of a series. The story begins with Waterspell Book 1: The Warlock.
Waterspell Book 1: The Warlock
Series: Waterspell. Price: Free! Words: 116,430. Language: English. Published: November 13, 2011 by Seven Rivers Publishing. Categories: Fiction » Fantasy » Epic
(5.00 from 1 review)
Drawn into the schemes of an angry wizard, lost traveler Carin must decipher the words of an alien book, follow the clues in a bewitched poem, conjure a dragon from a pool of magic—and tread carefully around a tortured, emotionally scarred sorcerer who can't seem to decide whether to love her or kill her. "The Warlock" is Book 1 of a four-book series.
Self-Editing: Two Half Brains Make a Whole Writer
Price: Free! Words: 12,870. Language: English. Published: September 20, 2011 by Seven Rivers Publishing. Categories: Nonfiction » Reference » Writing skills, Nonfiction » Reference » Grammar & punctuation
(5.00 from 3 reviews)
Self-Editing: Bringing Out Your Best (Two Half Brains Make a Whole Writer) -- practical professional advice from Deborah J. Lightfoot, published author and gainfully employed editor. Drawn from the author's 25 years of experience in newspaper, magazine, and book writing and editing, this book offers nuts-and-bolts advice on fixing common errors: eliminating wordiness, using the active voice, etc.