When Ohio University alumna Deb Drovdlic-Egan and a good friend waded into the ocean off of a beach in Australia last February, she did not know that within moments her entire life would be different.
Drovdlic-Egan and her friend were swept away by, and nearly drowned in, the fast waters of a riptide. The emotions she felt during the frightening ordeal influenced her to write her very first novel, "Tell My Story Walking."
"Tell My Story Walking" is a fictional novel based upon Drovdlic-Egan's near-death experience. It begins with the tale of the riptide and details the life of a woman struggling with abuse, deception and a search for self-discovery. The woman learns how important friendship is in life.
"(When events like the near drowning happen), it makes you want to connect with people, because life is really short and you don't know when you will have that chance again," Drovdlic-Egan said.
Drovdlic-Egan decided to write "Tell My Story Walking" after having written an e-mail about her experience to a friend at home. Upon rereading her words, she decided it was a "story that had to be told" and wrote the novel in four days' time.
"I was never at a loss for words," Drovdlic-Egan said. "I just started typing and there it was."
Drovdlic-Egan showed her work to several friends, and then chose to publish it under the pen name Cara Shannon. She said she chose that name because Cara means friendship in Irish and it is also the name of her dog. Shannon is the name of one of her daughters and is also her best friend's last name.
Although "Tell My Story Walking" is her first book, Drovdlic-Egan has had a desire to be an author for many years of her life. She enrolled at OU's Lancaster branch in 1980 before transferring to OU to study journalism and communications. Drovdlic-Egan eventually decided she preferred sociology, and graduated with a sociology degree in 1984. She had been working as a college instructor and corporate trainer until she decided to write her book.
"For twenty-one years to go by and be able to do the dream you had, it's incredible," Drovdlic-Egan said.
Drovdlic-Egan is not the only OU graduate who took part in the creation of the novel. The cover art of "Tell My Story Walking" was designed by OU alumna Kay Stewart, who graduated in 1983.
"Tell My Story Walking" is available for purchase on the Web site www.booklocker.com, and will be available in bookstores within a year's time, Drovdlic-Egan said. She also said she now has started to write other fictional books based on her personal experiences.
"It's not possible to write without personal experience in the story," Drovdlic-Egan said. "It's all fiction, but there's always a grain of truth."
For more information about the book, visit its Web site (www.tellmystorywalking.com).
Tell My Story Walking by Cara Shannon (Deb Drovdlic-Egan) Available for purchase at www.booklocker.com
E-book price: $7.95
Paperback price: $13.95
(shipping and handling not included)
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Katie Gill
