Debbi Migit

I’ve lived in Central Illinois all of my life, but moved to the cornfields about twenty years ago.

I love seeing the light come back into the eyes of people who have started to lose hope. I really want them to believe their promises again, too.

I started writing before I could read! I would dictate the stories to my mom, and she wrote them down for me. My very first story (age 5 maybe?) was about a mannequin who was being used to fit a dress. When the girl who was pinning the dress stuck the mannequin she cried out and they both realized the mannequin had come to life. Between first and second grade I became very ill and spent an entire summer on ‘couchrest’ watching my twin brother and my best friend playing outside. Since I had just learned to read in first grade, my mom brought stacks of books home from the library and I devoured them. But I soon realized that I could also entertain myself with my own stories-and a writer was born!

I started reading Trixie Belden when I was about nine. I tried Nancy Drew, but only made it through one book (sorry ND fans out there) I just couldn’t relate to Nancy because she just seemed so perfect. But Trixie was always jumping in with both feet and making mistakes even as she solved the mystery. Plus, I had a secret crush on Jim.

My typewriters came a bit later. As a new bride, I liked to shop at garage sales. One day I found a sweet little teapot in the shape of a typewriter and that was the first of my collection. Since then I have added several others, including a toy replica of the one I used as a child. If they are turquoise in color that’s a bonus.

LOL challenging! Actually, those were some of the happiest days of my life. Alex, our oldest, was eleven when we adopted Ethan. Kate came along a year later and by that time Alex was a pro at being a big brother. I never imagined on our wedding day that the biggest challenge for our 25 th anniversary would be finding a babysitter for two toddlers! I like to think they’ve kept us young.

I was in seventh grade. Our small town was having a big anniversary and there was a contest to write a story about the train that ran through town. I won seven dollars and in 1967 that was a lot of money to a twelve-year -old. I can still remember walking to the school to collect my prize money, dressed in an orange mini-skirt, white go-go boots, and a matching white newsboy hat.

My writing career had begun!

Another favorite award came many years later when I was told that one of the judges who chose my story was the famous science fiction author, Philip Jose Farmer.

Oh my, do I have to answer this question? Let’s just go with, “too many”.

There is something still ‘untamed’ about Montana. It’s one of the few states I have never visited but I hope to change that very soon. I think I was drawn to the history of the ghost town of Bannack, Montana first. I then set my story in the fictional town of Justice, which is loosely based on Dillon, Montana.

In one way it was easy to write Child of Promise, since it was my own story. In another, it was the hardest thing I’ve ever written. I originally tried to write it in third person just because first person made it so…personal. But then I realized I was distancing myself from the story and I had to be real. It was difficult to relive the pain of the dark days, but then I would reach out and grab one of my kids as they walked by and give them an extra squeeze. They are worth every tear I cried in those hard years.

I love this question! I once had a short story published in Wee Wisdom magazine. I received a letter from a young girl living in New Zealand who told me how much she enjoyed my story. That is the first time I realized how my writing could touch people all over the world.

I’ve had some wonderful letters from adoptive families who read Child of Promise, but the most precious one came from a woman who went to Africa to adopt her son. She said that a friend gave her a copy of Child of Promise when she boarded the plane. Once she arrived in the country, she was met with so much red tape that she had to stay much longer than she expected, suddenly facing the possibility that she might return home without her son. She said she read my book over and over again and the pages that told our adoption stories were actually stained with her tears. She said she told God, “I know if you can do it for Debbi you can do it for me!” And He did

Probably boring, but mostly kind with a little sass. Everyone would have a sense of humor and enjoy puns.

We tried to use adoption words from the beginning, so the kids grew up with adoption as part of their vocabulary. On the other hand, we didn’t make a big production of it, trying to find a balance between being open but not overwhelming. When they were young, we told them that God forms families in different ways, and ours was formed through adoption. It also helped that there were several adoptive families in our church. One thing I tell adoptive parents is to be pro- active when you meet people who might ask questions in front of your children. Before the question even forms, I say, “This is my daughter, Kate; these are my sons, Alex and Ethan.” Normally people mean well, but my priority is always protecting my children. If someone has a question about adoption in general or our story in particular, I’m happy to discuss it with them-later.

One funny story: when Ethan and Kate were babies, a woman I didn’t know approached me in the store and aggressively demanded, “Are you ever going to tell them they are adopted?”

I looked down at my pinkness, as my kids call it, and then at Ethan and Kate’s beautiful brown skin and many responses crossed my mind. Finally, I said, “I think that will be best, don’t you?”

Rocky :) There were many years when I didn’t write anything longer than a grocery list. But eventually the stories had to be told, even if I’m the only one who reads them.

I’m so excited to announce that September Shadows, the first book in the Justice, Montana series will be released by Scrivenings Press on February 2, 2021. I’m in the process of writing the second book, December Dreams, which will be followed by January Justice. I love these characters, so this is a fun series to write.

AllAuthor is a great resource for writers and readers. Plus, you ask excellent interview questions.