About

First, an exciting note. Trapped, the third novel in my young adult Mei-hua Adventure trilogy (Hidden, Warned, and Trapped) was nominated for a 2017 Agatha Award. I am thrilled and honored by the nomination. It was also a 2017 Silver Falchion Award finalist. A good year! The awesome editor for all three of my young adult trilogy books was Renee Mertz.

I am beginning a new mystery series set in early Ming China. The first two books, Deadly Relations, A Ming Dynasty Mystery and No Way to Die, A Ming Dynasty Mystery, are now out. They are fun to write and I hope you enjoy reading them.

In 2016, I had the honor of having a short story, The Immortality Mushroom, in an Anthony Award Winning Anthology, Murder Under the Oaks, edited by Art Taylor. And then, Warned, in my ancient China YA trilogy, received the the 2016 Silver Falchion award in the Best International category AND was nominated for the 2016 Silver Falchion Best YA Non-Fiction Award. The non-fiction award is given to honor any book which “could be used for reference or inspiration by writers when writing their own respective works.” Because I strive to be as historically and culturally accurate as possible, I am  delighted with this latter nomination.

As an anthropologist, I have had a long standing interest in culture–in its holistic sense.  I am particularly interested in two areas:  Chinese traditional systems and their impact on the present in China, Taiwan, and the Chinese diaspora; and immigrants and refugees–again, in the most holistic sense and especially highlighting issues involving change and adaptation.

As a result, at this time, my site will emphasize these two areas.  In the beginning–March 2013–I started by accenting Things Chinese.  This is as much an off-shoot of time constraints as of interest. I am working on novels and short stories which take place in the early Ming Dynasty.

And now, finally, I will be exploring concerns writers have for writing stories using diverse characters. Our world is highly multi-cultural, no matter where you live–what country, state, city, and even town–and therefore, our fictional characters are also more diverse and multi-cultural. I hope to deepen our discussion on how to develop well-rounded characters which respects their differences, while avoiding stereotyping. If you are interested in this, please join in on the discussion.

One more note.  It is also my hope that these ramblings on my part (and hopefully yours) involve not only the anthropological (particularly folk traditions), sociological and historical, but also the literary–essays, poems, novels.

Welcome and let us begin!

6 thoughts on “About”

  1. Hello, Ms. Devoe. My name is Steve Leftridge from Webster Groves High School in St. Louis. We have a week-long writers festival called the All Write Festival, during which we bring in about 30 novelists, poets, screenwriters, memoirists, journalists, critics, and songwriters, who hold readings, panel discussions, and Q&A sessions with our high school’s 1350 students at historic Webster High. We’d like to invite you to join us for All Write 2017!

    Last year, the All Write Festival played host to novelist Jonathan Franzen, Senator Claire McCaskill, Ilyasah Shabazz (Malcolm X’s daughter), standup comedian Sara Schaefer, and many more.

    The dates for our upcoming festival are February 27 – March 3, 2017.

    I can promise you that you would love what we’re doing here. By incorporating authors, student writers, musical buskers, art installations, art pieces inspired by our visiting authors’ works, short student-made writing-themed films, workshops, a game show, and much more, we are creating a festive celebration of writing, focusing on awareness and diversity. Through the All Write Festival, our visiting writers, beyond promoting their own works, have the opportunity to instill the art of writing, the power of words, the intellectual pursuit of ideas, the humanity of shared experiences, and the value of reading, thereby inspiring countless numbers of our kids to write, to think, to learn and to carry these invaluable skills and values into the world. Our hope is that you will be able to join in the celebration of All Write 2017, and we would be very honored to have you with us.

    Thank you and warm regards,
    Steve Leftridge
    English Teacher
    All Write Festival
    Wghsallwrite.org
    314-623-8952

  2. Hi,
    I am a librarian at the University of California, Berkeley. We recently acquired a copy of the 2015 Bouchercon anthology, Murder Under The Oaks, and I am cataloging it for our collection. In trying to create entries for the various authors, I’m trying to determine if you are also the author of “The influence of social networks on rural/urban orientation and life goals among Taiwanese young people” and other books on refugee issues. If so, the Library of Congress has mistakenly created 2 different identities for you. I can help straighten things out. Please contact me at your convenience.
    Thank you!

    1. Randal, I’m so glad you have a copy of Murder Under The Oaks for the library. And yes, the paper you referenced and possibly the other non-fiction works are my materials. I will contact you through your email address concerning these things.
      Best,
      Pam

  3. Hello dear P.A. De Voe,

    I have just written a short story, “Daughter of Xiu”. Its about a young Chinese woman having memories of a former lifetime in she was a Taoist warrior woman, a mystic whom dwelt in the mountains, having mastered the secrets of nature. She draws upon the power of this previous life to fight herself free.
    I was wondering if you would like to empower my humble little short story with a blurb. I would deem it a great honour.

    Thank you,

    Jop

    1. Dear Jop —

      If you’d like, you can send your short story to me at padevoeauthor@gmail.com, and I’d be happy to consider writing a blurb for it.

      What is the blurb for? Are you planning on indie publishing it as a separate story?

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