London Writers' Salon #191: Debra Curtis — Becoming a Novelist After Sixty, Surviving Hundreds of Rejections, Radical Forgiveness, and Not Giving Up as a Writer
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Apr 25, 2026 Debra Curtis, a retired cultural anthropology professor turned debut novelist, published her first book in her 60s after years of rejections. She describes teaching herself to write as a dyslexic child, a marina vision that birthed her protagonist, using contemporary novels as craft guides, rituals for getting into writing flow, and how themes of suffering and radical forgiveness shape her work.
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Write Nonlinear Then Layer Revisions
- Write non-linearly and layer the manuscript: jump forward or back to scenes you want, then return to start-to-end layering setting, theme, and detail.
- Debra composes scenes out of order, then 'layers' the draft into a coherent arc during revisions.
Hosting A Tibetan Refugee Shaped The Novel's Themes
- Debra hosted a young Tibetan woman after meeting her during field visits, which later led to meeting the Dalai Lama and influenced themes in her book.
- The woman walked over the Himalayas as a child, later earned degrees in the U.S., married, and named her son Sonam after a visit with His Holiness.
Psychic, Paris Prophecy, And Finding An Agent
- A psychic, a prophetic Paris artist, and finding an agent's name in acknowledgements all converged: Rita said 'the woman you're looking for is in London'.
- Debra later discovered Felicity Blunt's name in Lessons in Chemistry and queried her, leading to representation and international sales.
