Deborah J. Chavez, Ph.D., winner of the Literary Titan Award 2025, is the author of twelve novels. These novels touch on pieces of Deborah’s life: her love of dogs, her love of camping and travel, her love of nature and science, and her knowledge of the Forest Service. 

Deborah grew up in a small town in Southern California, where her family moved when she was three years old. Her nuclear family always had dogs, which ranged from strays to AKC-registered Clumber spaniels. Much of her young life revolved around those dogs. One stray became Deborah’s favorite for being impressively smart. The pup would ride in the car, watching for the “idiot” light to come on, then pull Deborah’s mom’s shoulder to warn her about the car overheating. Her family claimed the dog saved them from breakdowns many times.

Deborah took many long summer car trips with her family and dogs. Her family always camped on those journeys. For most of her life, that meant tent camping back in the days of canvas tents. Eventually the family moved up to a camper shell, and later to a motorhome. Their favorite trips were to the Sierra Nevada mountain range to see the giant Sequoia trees and those that took them back home to the mid-west to see extended family. 

Deborah’s years as a research social scientist with the Forest Service was the foundation on which many of her novels were built. Her research took her to many of the places she chose as locations for her novels. Her studies of crime and violence on our forests are re-formed, using much creative license, into the stories Deborah tells. Deborah’s novels include adventures that range from the George Washington/Jefferson National Forest, to the Custer/Gallatin National Forest, to the Los Padres National Forest, plus many more.

Deborah continues to reside in Southern California with her family, takes frequent camping trips, is raising three dogs, and loves her post-retirement career as a novelist. She was recently awarded a Literary Titan Award for her twelfth novel, Buckaloo.

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