AN INTERVIEW WITH DEBRA ULLRICK

 

Debra Ullrick’s debut novel, The Bride Wore Coveralls was recently released by Heartsong Presents.

Welcome Debra, I’m excited to have you here.

Thank you for having me. It’s an honor to be here.

Debra, you seem to have lived an adventurous life with barrel racing, mud bog racing and ranch life. And now, besides your novel, you have two sequels and a slew of other books in the works. When did you realize you were called to add writing to the mix and how did it come about?

At first I didn’t know I was called to write. It started with me praying about something to do to replace a bad habit. Shortly afterward, a story idea struck me. In two and half weeks I wrote my first book Lacy’s Luck. A story about a klutzy barrel racer and bull rider. One thing led to another. And due to a published friend of mine who pointed me to American Christian Romance Writers, now known as American Christian Fiction Writers, I joined and met Jeanne Leach, who became my first mentor. Next I met Staci Stallings, in the most unique way I might add, who has invested numerous hours in me and my stories. To be honest, so many times I wanted to quit, but it was people like Jeanne and Staci, who encouraged me to keep going. Thank the good Lord they did too. And now, God would have to come down in the flesh and tell me to stop. *smiling*

According to your bio, you’ve owned one classic hot rod after another. Does your love of muscle cars, mud bog racing and monster trucks stem from a familial interest?

My sister was married to a trophy winning race car driver, and my brother’s owned classic cars and took me to the races. For years, I’ve gone to races with family, friends and then my husband. Hubby and I used to go to Englewood Speedway and watch the figure-eight and round track races there. In fact, one time there was a guy who was driving a purple Camaro that had these words on his car door… Hire the handicap. They’re fun to watch. Needless to say, my husband and I were livid and thought that man had a lot of nerve—especially when a young boy in a wheel chair was there watching. Well, that man went on to win. And when he got out of his car, he removed both of his arms. Everyone stood and clapped, including my husband and I.

Years later, in the small town we live in, they started holding mud bog races. I didn’t even know what that was. The first time we saw it, we told my brother and nephew. The next year, they came and watched it. They went home and bought the truck on my website from a junk yard and fixed it up. They turned that hunk of junk into one mean, racing machine.

Tell us about The Bride Wore Coveralls.

The Bride Wore Coveralls, is about pride, acceptance, forgiveness, and love.

Camara (pronounced Ca-mare-ah) Cole is a southern female mechanic, who loves to race and build bog trucks. But several of the jealous old fashioned men she competes against strive to make it extremely difficult for her—especially her long time rival Chase Lamar.
Camara, a Chevy lover, and Chase, a Ford lover, have been bitter rivals for years. Not just in the mud pits either. Camara sets out to prove to Chase, and all the other men, that she’s just as capable of building and racing bog trucks as they are. Her goal is to win the mud-bog racing championship at Swamper Speedway, and hopefully earn her fellow workers and competitors respect. When Chase becomes a Christian, Camara has a hard time believing he’s a changed man. Just when she starts trusting him and even liking him, someone starts sabotaging her bog truck. And who else but Chase would do such a thing? After all, he’s done it before.

Chase Lamar is a changed man, but proving that to Camara is his biggest challenge. That, and overcoming a controlling father who hates the Coles.
When his feelings for Camara begin to change, he tries desperately to win her heart. But Camara doesn’t trust him. And he doesn’t blame her.

Deb, you are one multi-talented lady. Besides mud bog and barrel racing, you paint, sketch and are into photography. How do you balance all that, plus family and home, and still find time to write?

I’m not really into photography. I just love mud bog racing and classic cars so much that I take pictures of them whenever I can.
As for my artwork, I haven’t drawn since I started writing. Writing has replaced my artwork.  
Barrel racing is something I did in my teen years.
As for balancing all of this, it’s not hard at all because my only daughter, Sharmane, is married, and  I’m a stay at home wife, who has oodles of time on her hands. Now it’s just hubby and I. And one ornery Manx cat—Tickles.

Are painting and sketching things you’ve learned, or do they come naturally?

Just like my writing, drawing is something I have to work really hard at. Painting and sketching doesn’t come naturally to me. My brother in law, Wayne Swedberg, who is an amazing artist, recognized talent in me and taught me how to use charcoal, pastels, and acrylics. Charcoal is my favorite to work with. Someday I might draw again, but right now, I’ll stick to writing.

Deb, what difficulties are you dealing with since your recent move from the small mountain town to a large city?

The people are in a hurry to get somewhere—they’re very cautious, untrusting, and unfriendly. The lines in the stores are long, and people boldly walk to the front of the line instead of waiting their turn. When I let someone in front of me on the street or in the stores, at first they look at me as if I’ve grown horns, then they smile and wave and thank me profusely. My mother keeps telling me, “We just don’t do that here.” And I tell her just as often, “Well, I do.”
I lived out of town for twenty-plus years, so living in the city limits and having close neighbors is weird. I find it strange that after two years of living down here, with the exception of a few family members, we don’t know anyone. Whereas, where we used to live, we knew everyone. At the grocery store, faces were familiar. You stopped and chatted with people. Here, you rarely see the same face. And if you say hi to someone here, they either ignore you or look at you with eyes of distrust. Once in a great while someone will carry a conversation with you.
Also, there are tornados down in the flatlands. In the mountains we didn’t have tornados. We had a lot of snow but it didn’t destroy a house or a whole town. The tornados are probably the hardest thing for me. And the high crime rate. More people, more crime, I guess.
Another thing, in the mountains, the local, sparse grocery store was so pricey that we used to drive forty-eight miles to do our shopping. Many times we left home to a cloudless sky, only to end up in a poor visibility, major blizzard. One nice thing here is the snow melts right away.
Some major blessings here are: We belong to an amazing body of believers—Red Rocks Church. The store is only five minutes away. My husband works five days a week, and if he does works over time, he gets paid for the extra hours he puts in. And because my husband is home more now, we have gotten reacquainted and are closer than we’ve ever been. To God be the glory!

On your Web site there is a picture of a mud bogging truck covered in mud. It looks as though the name on it might be The Black Beast, just like Camara’s in your novel. Is that your truck and you at the wheel?

It is indeed the same truck. But the truck belongs to my brother. My nephew and niece race it. It’s kind of, Dad pays, Son plays. *grin*
My niece is the one at the wheel.

Is there anything else you would like us to know about The Bride Wore Coveralls?

Yes. Make haste and buy a copy soon. hehe
And if you like it, send in the tear out sheet in the back.

One last question, Deb. On your Web site, you mention having once lived on a ranch where people bought parcels of land, and that one was owned by a famous movie star and her screenwriter husband. You said that you would have loved to have picked his brain. If you had been able to do that, would you be writing scripts, right now,  instead of books?

No, I wouldn’t be writing scripts, right now. Although I am thinking about turning The Bride Wore Coveralls into a script and entering into a Christian screenplay contest in October.

It’s been so much fun talking to you, Deb. Thank you for stopping by, and I’m looking forward to reading those sequels when they’re released

Thank you for having me, Debra. It’s been fun. If Heartsong buys the sequels, I’ll let you know.

Debra has graciously offered an autographed copy of The Bride Wore Coveralls for a book drawing. To enter, just use the “Contact” page on this site, and type “drawing” in the comments box. The deadline to enter is June 24th and the winner will be announced on next month’s home page.

If you’d like to learn more about Debra and her books, visit her Web site at www.debraullrick.com.

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