About author Deborah Dolen and Press Room

Deborah Dolen was born on February 19, 1963 at Our Lady of Victory near Niagara Falls, NY and stands 5'1.  Deborah Dolen is from "Black Irish" ancestry, which is a mix of Irish, Spanish and American Indian. 

Born in a Catholic Infant home and then raised in homes of various Catholic Clergy, (mostly old churches scantly remodeled into homes)--often did not have toys, and creativity was the only option.  Living in these old remodeled churches, heat was never usually part of the deal, so Deborah remembers being cold and hungry most of her adolescence.

Strictly forbidden to enter the attics of homes owned by Catholic clergy, that is exactly where she could be found when she came up missing.  "Forbidden" being an invitation she could not resist.  Deborah spent much time in those attics throwing on brightly colored silk garments and using ornate gold and silver crosses as her "magic wands," creating plays and writing. She found the chest of "treasures" in those attics as endlessly fascinating.  Friends were hard to come by, as she did not live in a "normal" home and was often informed of that detraction by people her age.  So, if Deborah was not in the attic of clergy, she was at her fort in "the woods."

At age 8 she determined she wanted as far away from human interaction as possible and built a fort a mile into the woods, in the Catskill mountains.  The fort held many possessions of the attics she frequented, as well as kitchens of Catholic institutions-such as pots and pans, spoons, tea sets and even food.  Deborah would serve tea to angels and other imaginary people that showed up.  She would also spend much of her time in prayer, praying mainly for a real family, and writing fiction books even that young.

Deborah's fort was her haven for about four years, until one day-at age 12, when she came upon her fort, she noticed someone had skinned every tree that defined her fort boundaries.  Four large birch trees, and two pine trees.  Even at age 12, two things stood out about this invasion.  Number one, no one would want to walk that far in the woods just to find her fort--and most obviously, no human could have skinned all those trees and so high up.  All of six trees were skinned to the very tops.  This was one of the few times in her life she recalls being mortified, sensing evil she had never known-that could not be human, and she ran as fast as she could out of those woods, never to go back there again. 

Join Deborah Dolen on Facebook, Twitter, on on her working photo stream on Flickr! Amazon

After age 12, living near the Canadian border Deborah often hung out in Quebec, a French province of Canada-Ontario, specifically.  She figured out how to get there by the Amtrak train system.  In Quebec she was able to learn French and later in school as well.  As a young girl, Deborah felt more at home even on the streets of Quebec than she had in any "home" in the states.  So, whenever she ran away, (which was at least once a month) it was usually to Quebec.  U.S. Immigration Officials were constantly going to Quebec to retrieve her so she would get back to school in the states.  It was most likely at that time, Deborah began not liking "men in suits."  She later went on to own 520 legal clinics for the poor and helped those she felt oppressed.

Deborah's fiction books written under age 18 were never published and many are still stored today by Nun's at Our Lady of Victory.  Those books may be published soon, after some 30 years. 

As an adult, and as she began to raise a family, Deborah turned to writing and actually publishing recipe, self help and Diy type non-fiction books.  By age 48, she had written 28 Diy type books, completed several vocational type videos, and wrote thousands of articles about how to make natural products and the environment.  Most of her published work is now offered only on Amazon.  Deborah Dolen donates her vocational type videos, such as floral Design 101 and 102 to non-profit agencies such as Georgia and Ohio vocational rehabilitation programs. 

One of her most notable and popular works was "The Lemonade Stand" which she later took off the publishing block citing personal reasons.  Deborah had lost a husband to cancer in her early 30's and the book touched upon that.

World in Motion:  No time for Rugged Individualists by Deborah Dolen  talks about Eyjafjallajökull, global environment impacts on our life and the importance of food storage. http://deborahdolen.blogspot.com/2010/04/icelands-volcanic-eruptions-giving-food.html

People of the Corn by Deborah Dolen Discussion on how we are all basically made of corn right down to our DNA.  http://deborahdolen.blogspot.com/2010/02/people-of-corn-by-deborah-dolen.html