Deborah Adams
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Tennessee State University in Tennessee
I. Biography and Literary Works
Authors write in many different genres. There are authors who write drama, fiction, plays, poetry, and non-fictions. Maya Angelou and Langston Hughes write poetry. Lorraine Hansberry wrote plays. Deborah Adams, a Tennessee author, writes novel, short fiction, and non-fiction stories.
Deborah Adams, a seventh-generation Tennessean, brings to her work an appreciation for the lore and traditions of the South. Combining her sharply perceptive observations of human nature with a biting and slightly warped wit, she creates satirical novels that gently tweak the reader's conscience while mercilessly tickling the funny bone.
Before email replaced pen and paper, Adams wrote long descriptive letters to everyone. Eventually one of her correspondents said, "I love your letters. They're so funny." "But," protested Adams, "they aren't supposed to be funny. Everything I write is completely serious. Her friend replied with a laugh, "Yes I know."
That might have been the end of Adams's literary career altogether, if it had not been for Sharyn McCrumb who, when reading one of her depressing short stories, suggested, "Why are you writing like this? Why do you not write like you write?"
A slow learner, it took Adams a few more months to realize that she was not cut out to be William Faulkner. When she next put fingers to keyboard, the finished product was her first mystery novel, All the Great Pretenders . When the story was finished, she deleted the greetings, and found that she had a book that was written in her voice, her style, and her brand of humor. Adams feels that humorous writing reaches a different type of audience. Some people take everything seriously because they worry about getting too old too fast. Not Adams.
Adams is not a Nashvillian, but she is close enough to count. Jesus Creek, Tennessee, is less than an hour away. Deborah Adams can often be seen at a Nashville Sisters in Crime meeting, at the annual Southern Festival of Books, and even occasionally at the home of friends who have the same name and share some traits of two characters in All the Deadly Beloved.
They Only Kill Their Asters is one of Adams's good fictional stories. The story is written in such a way to where it could be based on a true story. Adams makes the characters come to life.
II. Outside Interests
In addition to writing, Adams is actively involved with a domestic violence prevention organization. She has served on the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Committees (Best Novel) in 1993 and (Best Short Story) in 1996, and is actively involved with the American Crime Writers' League, Sisters in Crime, and other literary organizations. In addition to novels, her work has appeared in various anthologies and literary magazines. She has been a guest lecturer at numerous events, including the Southern Festival of Books, Appalachian Studies Conference, the Warioto Regional Library Board of Trustees Conference and East Tennessee State University Writers' Program.
II. Sources
Adams, Deborah. Home page
Femme Fatales. Deborah Adams. Oct 1999
http://members.aol.com/femmesweb/adams.htm
This essay was submitted by a student of Judith Broadbent, a college teacher in Tennessee and Kentucky.