Welcome to the Saturday Spotlight, a weekly feature that shines the light on Indie and Debut authors. This week I have the pleasure introducing readers to:

DEVON TREVARROW FLAHERTY

~Author of Benevolent~

My first novel was floundering. It’s an old, worn-out story. I wrote what I knew while balancing (other) work and family life. Then—holding a limp book—I discovered that although I could write, I needed work in the plotting department. I fantasized chucking the manuscript out of a moving train. I started writing another book (or ten). And then I had a brilliant idea for a sub-plot. I threw myself into it. It seemed to write itself, at times. 

After a few months, I was left holding a completely revitalized coming-of-age magical realism novel. Whah? And it wasn't half-bad, either.

I say all this to convince myself that my reviewers are right: Benevolent is an addictive, charming, and magical book about people that you find yourself loving. I also say this to bring up an old piece of writerly advice. There is more than one path to a place. Plenty of people, I am sure, write their first book about what they know, heave a big sigh, and retire the manuscript to a dusty shelf. Your first novel is, after all, your first novel. It’s practice. It’s a new process. And let’s face it: “what you know” might be a tad boring. And myopic.

But I am a lover and a fighter. When I see a dead novel—one that I have worked on for how-long-I-don’t-want-to-tell-you—I want to give it CPR, a chance to live, a kick in the balls. I want to give it the hardest try I have first, at editing, at re-writing, at creation, before I drop it. Sure, I have plenty of other ideas that might be better, but I've never yet invested this much in a writing and so I have a distinct interest in seeing it work. That, and I believe you should also practice editing, and killing darlings, and re-thinking a thing, and applying craft.

Novels don’t fall from heaven. They’re fought for.

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Gaby LeFevre is a suburban, Midwestern firecracker, growing up in the 80's and 90's and saving the world one homeless person, centenarian, and orphan at a time. With her crew of twin sister, Annie, smitten Mikhail, and frenemy Mel, she’s a pamphlet-wielding humanitarian, tackling a broken world full of heroes and heroines, villains and magical seeds, and Northwyth stories.

Beginning with a roadkill-burying nine-year-old and a gas-leak explosion, Benevolent follows Gaby from her formative years; through her awakening during a soup-kitchen stampede; through high school drama; a college career filled with an epic term paper, a building fire, and a protest-gone-bad; to Israel, a land full of romance and mysticism. It all ends back in metro-Detroit with a cataclysmic clash to resolve all good intentions.

Thanks Devon for being on the spotlight today! Find out more about this author at:

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