A best selling author, publisher, literary agent and intuitive writing couch, Deborah Levine Herman has a vast wealth of knowledge of the publishing world. Her goal: Help writers discover their spiritual writing path. We talked more with Deborah to get to the bottom of the secret and tell us more about Spiritual Writing From Inspiration to Publication.
Q. What makes your book a must-read?
The book is a must-read for writers but beyond that it has significant Spiritual messages for people in general who want inspiration and a greater understanding of our place in this world. It is also about how we can do our part to make things better. Aside from that, it is well-written with some really good stories in it.
If you could give your book to one world leader, who would it be and why? Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
I think he is a good leader during this very difficult time. I believe my book would give him hope by putting it in the context of spiritual lessons. He is someone who is in tune with his authentic Divine Inner Voice.
What was the hardest part of writing your book?
I wrote the first version of this book over twenty years ago. I thought I would just update it to reflect the changes in the world and available technology. However, I found that I had changed so much and had held back aspects of my story that I needed to rewrite the book from top to bottom. Every word is now new and a reflection of my authentic voice and meaning. The book is personal as I am sharing my journey as well as “coming out of the closet,” with my spiritual gifts. Twenty years ago, I wrote the book because spiritual material was considered too fringe and “woo, woo.” Now, in writing the book I no longer felt the need to hold back anything. If I am asking people to be authentic, I needed to be as well.
What is the most enlightening/inspirational story you tell in your book?
Perhaps it is the beginning when I discovered there was more to life than the five senses. I met my first spiritual teacher only a few weeks before he passed away. He was the husband of my music teacher and he gave me a poem to read that he had written. It was very mystical and opened my eyes. He gave me his book and said this is for you. From that point on it was as if something was ignited in me, a spiritual flame. One of my first writing jobs was to write his Eulogy for a local paper. Even though I had only known him a short while, his wife told me he wanted it that way. That started me on the path to becoming a writer.
One word that best describes you.
Mystical
Any ritual like a specific scented candle, preferred writing place, or drink that you kept through writing?
When I am writing anything of length I have a writing room in my home. My home is over 100 years old and this room has bookshelves and a large desk. I can block off the rest of the house so I can concentrate. When I am writing a book I tell my family that I love them but they should not call me unless they are bleeding or in jail and they typically comply. Of course, I do allow my dogs to sleep near my desk or they would make a lot of noise.
Then, although this doesn’t help my figure, I keep a box of crackers, some cashews and chocolate in my desk drawer.
I light nag champa incense because I love the smell and it relaxes me.
If I am under a particularly difficult deadline I will say a prayer asking God to allow me to be a vessel for the highest energies and to do a good job.
If I am particularly nervous about a project I might also add a prayer: Almighty God and my Guides, please don’t let me “screw” this up. However, I may use a different expletive.
If there is a movie adaptation of Spiritual Writing Second Edition, who do you think would be perfect for the lead roles?
My daughter Jess is about the same age as I was when I first came into awareness and she looks like a mini Me. She is also an actress.
What can this new edition teach to a motivated and mission-driven population of writers?
The first part will help them center and focus on being a positive vessel for higher information. I stress the need to move above ego. The seven lessons are laid out clearly for writers to understand their individual journeys.
Then these writers will learn everything they need to know about how to navigate the publishing industry, but more importantly, how to create success with the many alternative opportunities. I stress that becoming a bestselling author may not be the goal. It could be the result. However, the important thing is to be accessible to those who need the message they convey. The book includes sections on platform building and digital marketing that didn’t exist when I first conceived of the book.
As an animal communicator, what would animals mostly like to tell their human owners?
Not to worry so much. I had a dog drag his owner across a street to meet me. I explained that I was an animal communicator and asked if she wanted to know what her dog was telling me. She agreed and I told her the dog was adamant that he was okay and no longer sick from lyme disease. She was still so anxious and worried about losing him that it was interfering with the relationship and was making him nervous.
Dogs tend to complain about things, but they are also there to convey concerns about their owners.
Cats often start out with “I don’t like you.” I am not making this up. When they feel me tap into them they don’t like it at first but then it seems to change to “you are not like me.” When they warm up they also like to complain and demand.
In one situation, a woman came to me and said her cat stopped being affectionate toward her. She was worried.
I tuned into the cat and the cat clearly showed me salmon and said it was angry that she didn’t give it to her.
I asked the owner if she had stopped giving the cat salmon and she said, “yes, she was getting too fat.”
I had to laugh and tell her that the cat was essentially on strike. Of course, you never have to do what the cat wants, but at least she could understand the stalemate.
I know that the animals do not speak English and am not sure why my mind translates it this way.
Horses are the best for me. I can hear them as clearly as a conversation with a human. They are philosophical. They are concerned about humanity and, at least my first horse who has passed away, hoped that people would be more like a herd and have each other’s back more. Even though there is a hierarchy in a herd, they protect and watch over each other.
My horse was also concerned about too much traffic and business. He passed away before the pandemic but I think he would have thought the side effect of people staying home would have been a good one.
The Lakota Medicine Man, Chief Arvol Lookinghorse explained the importance of horses to his people. He said the horse is here to give us many lessons of wisdom.
Are you ready for our rapid-fire questions? Let’s go.
- Dogs or Cats? Both
- Beach or Mountain? Beach but I live in the mountains
- Werewolf or Vampire? Vampire
- Candles or Incense? Incense
- Pasta or Pizza? Pizza
- Artist or Writer? both
- Writing in the Morning or at Night? morning
- Coffee or Tea? tea
- Games or Movie Night? movie night
- The ability to see the future or the ability to change the past? see the future
Find your copy of Inspiration to Publication on Amazon now. Reflect on your journey and life, check out this interview about the poetry collection, Tears of Change.