AskDavid.com has compiled all the links related to Bend Me, Shape Me (Street Stories Book 2) and gives you an opportunity to submit your review of the book right from their site. Painted Black (Street Stories Book 1) can also be found there.
I’ll be adding Box of Rain to their list on December 15 when it releases, but in the meantime, if you want to pre-order the ebook, you can find it here.
Kathryn White gave me a chance to introduce myself and the Street Stories series to her readers in Adelaide Australia.
Kathryn White posted an
interview of me
last month on her blog
Kathryn’s Inbox
that I’d like to share even though I missed it earlier. Some of the information may be be bits you already know about me, but every interviewer always seems to have a unique slant to their questions.
Click throughto read my comments on the Street Stories series and writing in general.
Q: Indie Publishing, or Traditional Publishing?
A: I lean toward traditional publishing as a writer because I do believe that publishing houses serve as a filter, a first reader if you will, which means readers can have more confidence that my books are entertaining, well written, and with limited errors. Of course, I’m considering small presses part of the traditional publishing model–maybe that’s not what you mean? Small presses are, I think a better market for an author than the big houses, simply because…
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Come join me and about twelve other authors in Dekalb Illinois and find out how my volunteer work inspired my Street Stories series.
Starza Thompson over at Windy City Reviews gave Bend Me, Shape Me a long and marvelous review today. Below are some of my favorite excerpts, but I really hope you will click through to read everything she had to say.
Bend Me Shape Me takes a deep and fascinating look into the world of teen homelessness in Chicago. Through the eyes of Snow Ramirez, Jo Sullivan, and Leonard Goldenhawk, author Debra Borys shepherds the audience on a terrifying journey of homelessness, mental illness, family problems, and murder.
“Page-turning tension”
This novel was chock full of nail-biting scenes and page-turning tension, making it very hard to put down. Throughout the book, Borys does an excellent job of painting a realistic picture of homeless youth and the struggle they have with mental illness, family, trust, and more. From the very first page of this novel, the audience is pulled into Snow’s story and her struggle to keep her brother and herself safe.
For me, this book was both entertaining and eye-opening. The plot twists and multiple narrators kept me flipping the page to find out what happened next, while the reality of Snow’s situation made me want to learn more about how I could make a difference in the lives of homeless youth. As someone who loves psychological thrillers and who is a Big Sister in Big Brothers Big Sisters, this book combined my interests in ways I didn’t think possible. I immediately wanted to know more about Snow and her brother and could have easily read a book twice as long on this topic.
Bend Me Shape Me is a chilling and tension-drenched thriller that will enable you to take a long hard look at the plight of the homeless. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes thrillers that make you think—once you pick up this book, you will struggle to put it down!
5-star review
Jeffrey Miller, author of Ice Cream Headache, When a Hard Rain Falls and several other novels, gave Bend Me, Shape Me a warm 5-star review on Amazon.com. Here’s what he had to say:
I would like to echo the sentiments of the other reviewers here regarding how engrossing and riveting this book is. I was immediately drawn into the story by Debra Borys’ deft handling of the drama and the raw, gritty dialogue. She’s got a knack for capturing the futility of life as revealed in the characters struggling with their own demons and hardships. This is some powerful writing.
4-Star review
I almost missed this 4-star review of Bend Me, Shape Me. Al is one of Amazon’s top 1000 reviewers and posted the review both on his website and on Amazon.com. Here’s what he had to say:
Although the story of Bend Me, Shape Me is an engrossing thriller and a satisfying read for that reason alone, what I found most interesting was the light it shines on the issues faced by homeless kids. Sure, the book has the normal disclaimers about not being about real people, and I believe that. But prominent in the author’s bio is her experience working with organizations that help such kids. I’ve got to believe the issues, experiences, and difficulties of runaways and throwaways are depicted accurately, even though the specific personalities and characteristics of the kids in the story are made up.
Hey, Mom. Wanna pimp my book? 🙂
“Excuse me?” I asked my publisher. “I must have heard you wrong. You said 60, right, the book sold 60 copies the first month? That’s 
pretty good for a first novel, isn’t it?”
“I said 6. The book sold 6 total copies the first month.”
I started counting on my fingers. Mom. My two sisters. Eight members of my writers group. Ten regular attendees of the coffee house group I met with monthly who were all excited and congratulatory when I first told them I’d found a publisher. And that didn’t even factor in the numerous friends, acquaintances, cousins, and neighbors I’d been casually mentioning my release date to whenever I had a chance. Six copies just did not compute.
A genius is never appreciated in her own environment.
THE DARK SIDE OF LOVE
I understood that an unknown author might not quickly pick up new fans, but I couldn’t…
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Bend Me, Shape Me was featured yesterday on Commas and Quotations. Thank you for posting the first chapter and buy links, C&Q!
“Gritty, riveting”
After eating, she lit up her last, half smashed cigarette, and sat cross-legged, waiting while the night lowered and the wind began to clear the clouds overhead. Soon Jinx would come, or Tina, and they’d crawl through the window and find him, crazy, fucked up Blitz, with his throat slit and her fingerprints all over the room. And somehow, someone would let them know, the police pigs. And they’d come looking. Like they did before. But this time they wouldn’t find her.
via Commas and Quotations: Bend Me Shape Me by Debra R. Borvs.
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/debra-r.-borys
http://www.amazon.com/Debra-R.-Borys/e/B004WWU9EY
www.StreetStoriesSuspenseNovels.com
www.facebook.com/BendMeShapeMe
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4815613.Debra_R_Borys
M.J. Joachim, who did a thoughtful review of Bend Me, Shape Me recently, invited me to do a guest post about who I am, a theme you may have seen a few times here in this blog.
I wouldn’t be the woman who can now look at the darkness and deal with it if I hadn’t first been the woman who believed there is love and laughter and grace in the world.
I feel blessed to have “double vision” like this. While I still don’t see the whole elephant, knowing that there is more to life than just the trunk I am blindly clinging to has made me a more curious, more accepting person than I feel I would be otherwise. At least I know the truth of how we all see “but a poor reflection as in a mirror” and I fully look forward to seeing “face to face.”…
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My edited podcast interview with Get Behind Me, Now Stay There is up on iTunes to listen to! Oh and they also talk with musician Joseph Strider and author Jim Harrison, and play some cool music. There is a host of other media news that is also very interesting so I hope you’ll listen to the whole podcast, but if you can’t my section starts about 53:50 (the whole podcast is an hour long).
If you listen from their iTunes page, the episode I’m in is #40 – Dec. 31. Or you can just click the play bar below to listen here.
Just Imagine It Ink’s Facebook Page
The 1st Street Stories Suspense Novel
The 3rd Street Stories Novel
The Author
The Series