​SHORT BIO:

 

Debra Bokur is the author of The Dark Paradise Mysteries series from Kensington. She’s traveled the world as a writer, journalist and staff editor for various national media outlets, with more than 2,000 print pieces carrying her byline to date. Her work has garnered numerous awards, including multiple Lowell Thomas Awards for Travel Journalism. For more than a decade, she served as the poetry editor at a national literary journal, and her poetry and short fiction have been widely published. Among her favorite writing credits are a series of original literary essays commissioned by the Celestial Seasonings tea company that appeared on the artfully illustrated boxes of ten separate tea flavors. She continues to travel in her capacity as the Global Researcher and Writer for the Association for Safe International Road Travel, and as a monthly columnist for Global Traveler Magazine. Debra is also an experienced voice actor and voiceover artist, and is currently in production for several audio books for fellow authors.

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LONG BIO:

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For lovers of mystery stories with a splash of mysticism and a strong sense of place, author Debra Bokur offers the Dark Paradise Mysteries series, built on a framework of personal exploration into the lore, landscape and legends of Hawaii.

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Bokur is an award-winning author, journalist, essayist, editor, illustrator and poet who divides her time between the mountains of Colorado and a small coastal town in Maine. She is a regular contributor to national publications including Global Traveler Magazine, where her monthly column and
in-depth features appear. Her work covers travel, culture, lifestyle, the environment, sustainable living, food and wine, and has been published in a broad variety of domestic and international media outlets including National Geographic Traveler, Islands, Shape, Body+Soul, Spa Magazine, Experience Life Magazine, Natural Home, Yoga Journal and Women’s Adventure Travel Magazine. She’s also been a repeat guest on Wine Country Network’s national radio program.

 

Past editorial positions have included Digital Content Producer at Global Traveler Magazine, Travel & Wellness Editor at Healing Lifestyles & Spas Magazine, Contributing Editor at Fit Yoga Magazine, Travel & Horsemanship Editor at American Cowboy Magazine, Managing Editor at BLOOM Magazine, Managing Editor at Delicious! Magazine, Editor of TEMPO, Editor of Events Magazine, Arts & Entertainment Editor at The St. Augustine Record and Travel Correspondent for Jetsetter.com.

 

For a decade, Bokur served as the poetry editor of the nationally acclaimed literary journal Many Mountains Moving, and she is a contributing author to the book Spreading the Word: Editors on Poetry (The Bench Press, 2002). In 2004, she was selected by the Celestial Seasonings tea company to write a number of original literary essays that appeared on the packaging of ten separate flavors of Celestial Seasonings teas, including their flagship flavor, Sleepytime—making her the author most frequently commissioned by the company.

 

Her poetry has been widely published in numerous literary journals and anthologies, including Kalliope: A Journal of Women’s Literature & Art, The Connecticut Review and I-70 Review. She is the recipient of multiple awards for journalistic excellence, including the 1996 Frances Buck Sherman Award for Outstanding Woman Poet by the American Pen Women, multiple Lowell Thomas Awards for Travel Journalism, and numerous awards from the Society of American Travel Writers for coverage of international events and destinations.

 

Bokur holds a BA in Drama from Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida, and has studied film and television writing at the University of Colorado, Boulder. She is a trained voice actor and voiceover artist, producing audiobooks for fellow authors (and particularly enjoys projects that allow her to use a wide range of accents and character voices).

 

For many years and until his death in 2009, Bokur was personally mentored by novelist and friend Jack D. Hunter (author of numerous international bestsellers, including The Blue Max and The Ace). She once lived a double life training horses professionally in the disciplines of dressage and three-day eventing, and capitalized on her background in equestrian sports by writing hundreds of pieces for related magazines including Spur, Horse & Rider, HorsePlay, Discover Horses, EquiSearch.com and Horse & Horseman.

 

Her writing frequently delves into topics of magic, legend, animals, spirituality and the mystical. She’s written, produced and directed a number of short films and plays, and has appeared in numerous stage productions and in several independent films. She taught movement for the stage for four years at a private school in North Florida, and maintains a strong interest in theater arts. She and her husband, streaming media/telecommunications specialist James Rawsthorne, are busy renovating an 1800s-era Victorian inn in Downeast Maine, which they are restoring to provide the future setting for writing and artistic gatherings.

 

Bokur takes frequent writing breaks to hike in the forest or by the sea, photograph wildlife, and to experiment with apple cake recipes, read works by her favorite authors, and practice yoga and meditation.

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