An Interview with Deborah Davitt

Deborah L. Davitt was raised in Nevada, but currently lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband and son. She’s worked as a technical writer on contracts involving nuclear submarines, NASA, and computer manufacturing. Her prize-winning poetry has received Rhysling, Elgin, Dwarf Star, and Pushcart nominations and has appeared in over seventy journals, including F&SF and Asimov’s. Her award-winning short fiction has appeared in Analog and Lightspeed. She’s published six novels and a TTRPG.

For more about her work, including her Elgin-placing poetry collections, Bounded by Eternity and From Voyages Unreturning, see www.deborahldavitt.com.

Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?

I was a prolific reader as a kid, and authors like Pamela Sargent, Diane Duane, and Meredith Ann Pierce made me want to write novels. Poetry came later—I’d include it in chapters of novels, but I never believed I was a poet. I met Michelle Muenzler at a convention here in Houston in 2015, and she convinced me that poetry could sell, and I started writing it more or less on a lark. Five poetry collections later? I guess I’m a poet, too!

What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?

I’ve taught English composition at the college level, worked as a copy editor at a textbook publishing firm, and been a technical writer on contracts as diverse as nuclear ballistic submarines, NASA, and computer manufacturing. All of these experiences have taught me to prize clarity and connection with the reader above everything else.

Tell us the story of your book’s title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?

Titles are so hard for me to come up with. This one actually came in a flash, which surprised me! I knew it was a collection about different types of love—obsessive, dark, regretful, missed connections, and more—and the word “unquiet” came to mind.

What part of publishing your book made it feel real for the first time?

Deciding on the cover art made me giddy. And seeing it in print form when I got my author copies…that never gets old.

What’s one thing you hope sticks with readers after they finish your book?

I hope they remember that love is more than just storybook, fairy-tale endings. That it requires work, determination, care, and self-awareness.

What was the most rewarding/meaningful part of publishing your book?

I love hearing from readers. I rarely read reviews (that’s a sure path to madness and self-doubt), but love hearing directly from people when they’re moved by my words.

What creative projects are you currently working on?

I’m trying to wrap up a trilogy of novels set in a secondary-fantasy world for release later this year. Each book has a central mystery, so it’s sort of Renaissance fantasy noir, with a half-fey thief-taker as its protagonist, with some romance aspects.

Are you a writer, too? Submit your manuscript to Atmosphere Press.