Debbie's Biography
D.A. “Debbie” Brockett loves Western Colorado history, which is why she writes about it. Having lived off and on in Colorado for thirty-five years, she can’t go anywhere in the state without wondering about its stories. Her expertise (and favorite place on earth) is the Western Slope's, Grand Junction.
When she first moved there in 1981, the oil shale boom was in full throttle. Within a year, Exxon left and the region emptied out. Learning about the area’s history helped Debbie endure the painful change. After all, history stayed the same…the stories couldn’t be uprooted or dismantled by Exxon’s whims.
As she studied, she was intrigued by long-unsolved murders associated with Grand Junction, and wondered if they could be solved with today's technology. When her three sons had grown, she began her series of "mystoricals" with "Stained Glass Rose," based on the 1937 murder of Jeannette Morris, who appeared to have been murdered twice in one night.
Through research and interviews, she was able to rewrite history with a different ending to Jeannette's tragic story. "Stained Glass Rose," won a 2003 EVVY Award, and was recently written into a play by Two Chairs Theater playwright, Joe Wilcox.
Her next mystorical was "Our Darling" which takes place in 1924, and is based on a mummified baby found by three brothers in a cave overlooking the Gunnison River in the 1970s. Her research found the parents and told the likely story of how "Our Darling" became entombed in the cave.
Debbie's newest book, “George Crawford’s Attic: Dusting Off Grand Junction Colorado’s Past,” won a 2009 EVVY Award for History! This fun compilation of little known stories and facts commemorates Grand Junction's 125th anniversary.
Besides a writer, Debbie is a bi-monthly columnist for a regional four-color magazine, is an award-winning editor, and speaks at writer's conferences.