Columbus native and commissioned Kentucky Colonel Debra Shiveley Welch is a true Westerville treasure. She is the author of seven books and counting, and earned the award for Best Native American Fiction in 2011. She founded a publishing house called Good Red Road Publishing with a mission of “walking with the Earth and respect for all things from the stones to the stars.”
Welch began writing novels after adopting her son, Christopher. She published A Very Special Child in 2005, describing her adoption experience, and received the FaithWriters Gold Seal of Approval – Outstanding Read award. She always felt that she had a special connection to her son, so much so that she says they finish each other’s sentences. As it turns out, they do have a deep connection – a blood connection. After the adoption, Welch learned that Christopher is actually her fourth cousin.
The impact of her words reached beyond the literary world. Though she is not of Native American descent, she is motivated to uncover truths and bust myths associated with Native American cultures. Guided by her urge to share the truth, in 2010 she published the New Apple award-winning Cedar Woman, a story about the Lakota Sioux people and one woman in particular who opens a restaurant and initiates a cleansing ceremony. You might find the setting familiar. It’s right here in Westerville.
The story details the hardships the Native American woman faces. Interestingly enough, some of the novel’s readers have traveled from far and wide to experience the novel’s Westerville-based setting firsthand. Readers are even convinced that The Old Bag of Nails Pub was the restaurant featured in the book. What compels fans most about the novel, however, is the way the story showcases Native American culture, as well as the beauty of Westerville and the importance of loving the small place on Earth where you land.
Its sequel, Spirit Woman, also takes place in Westerville. It tells the tale of a woman named Nickie who had a troubled childhood and dreams of rising above her distresses to create the perfect family. The story was inspired by events in Welch’s own life, as well as in friends’ lives.
“It’s about domestic abuse and it’s based off of true stories,” Welch says, “Mine as a child; the real woman who inspired the book, she’s part Cherokee, the domestic abuse she had suffered; and then another friend who went through the same horrific things.”
Whether she is shining light on highly misunderstood cultural practices, spreading awareness about domestic abuse, or detailing the power of adoption and family, the subjects that evoke emotion in her life are the ones that end up on paper.
“They say write what you know and I’m a firm believer in that,” Welch says. “I love to write. Pressure builds up and it just builds and builds unless I sit down and write.”
While the themes portrayed in some of her stories are not always bright and cheerful, Welch has nothing but fond memories of this town and found it the ideal location for these stories to unfold.
“The feeling of it, the people, our neighbors, the way it looks, the way it’s always so clean,” she says. “You go into a store and everybody’s so nice. It’s not a small town, but it’s got the small town feel.”
Lately, Welch has been enjoying the peace of her home with her husband and son, but once virus-related restrictions are lifted, you can find her at Westerville’s Asterisk Supper Club, sipping on an English tea and surrounded by the beautiful bookshelves. She might even be diving into one of her many current projects: three novels and a cookbook. Readers can look forward to recipes from both sides of her family as well as Braveheart Woman and Turtle Woman, both continuations of The Cedar Woman Saga.
While writing will always be her passion, her advice for aspiring authors is to avoid allowing it to consume them.
“Know when to stop putting the brush to the canvas. Know when to stop writing,” she says.
Caitlyn Blair is a contributing writer. Feedback is welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
