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BHS graduate: a published author of books and articles
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Debbie Coty
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One of the two smallest counties in Florida, and with a correspondingly small population base, Bradford County has produced an inordinate number of people whose exploits are known far beyond county lines. Unfortunately, we were unaware of anyone currently moving up to a position of prominence until recently when Bradford High School graduate Debbie Mitchell Coty emerged as an author of renown with two historical novels published and selling well, along with co-authoring another and writing literally dozens of articles published in magazines, newspapers, anthologies and trade journals.
More interestingly, this is a second career, beginning at middle-age, after having worked in a non-related field for 20 years, or more. It's an interesting story.
Coty's parents, Frank and Adele Mitchell, came to Starke in the late 1950s for Frank to work as administrator for Dr. Haupt's osteopath clinic. He later left to accept employment in the Florida State Prison Hospital (now Union Correctional Institution) and later became supervisor of education in Florida State Prison, from which he retired. Adele taught in Bradford County schools until her retirement.
Coty was born in Jasper in 1957 and was still an infant when the family moved to Starke. In school, she was a good student, vivacious and outgoing, active in girls' sports, with tennis becoming her sport of preference.
Following graduation in 1975, Coty enrolled in the University of South Florida for two years, then transferred to the University of Florida for her final two years, earning a degree in occupational therapy, a vocation she would follow until she made a career change.
In 2002, at age 45, she was sitting in a dentist's waiting room feeling disconsolate about her career and the fact her youngest child was leaving the nest when an ad for a writer's contest caught her eye. She thought, "Writing? Me? Dare I take the risk? Well, why not?" Coty had an abiding faith in God and sought, through prayer, his guidance and leadership with the thought uppermost in her mind, "If he wills it, he fulfills it."
The die was cast, and Coty began preparation for the new career, although she had no background in literary activity other than having been a vociferous reader down through the years.
Obviously, writing requires more than a desire to put words together, and Coty began to explore all facets of the craft, taking courses in grammar, style and punctuation, and talking to people who were successful in publishing various papers. She entered the contest, but despite failing to win (or even place), she soldiered on. Early failures didn't deter her, nor did they extinguish the flame that burned within.
In the first year of writing, she saw 10 of her articles published, and has now seen more than 80 articles in print. During the next five years, she wrote two historical novels, "The Distant Shore" and "Billowing Sails," based on the true story of a young girl's incredible journey of faith on remote, untamed Merritt Island (on Florida's east coast) in 1904. The two books, with heroine Emma Lee Palmer, are stories of hard-scrabble families scratching out a living in a tropical paradise, cognizant of life as it was lived in the urban communities of Miami and other coastal Florida towns of the time, but loving the rugged rural life on Merritt Island and its diverse characters living there.
"The Distant Shore" and its sequel "Billowing Sails" tell the story of a 9-year old girl leaving her home and family in Miami in the year 1904 and going to live with an old-maid, school teacher aunt on Merritt Island. A precocious child, wise beyond her years, she was adored by everyone, and participated in a number of adventures during the three years covered in the stories. The books, while fiction, are an adaptation of a real-life experience of Kathryn Harrison, whose life on Merritt Island occurred about 30 years earlier. The story, though perhaps a little saccharine, was never dull and maintained the interest of the reader throughout.
"The Distant Shore" jumped to number two on the VR Publishing best-seller list within four months of its 2007 release. "Billowing Sails," released in December 2008, bids to become similarly successful. The publisher, Barbour Books, has requested Coty write several chapters for four devotional books that will also feature articles by published authors Patsy Clairmont and Anita Renfro. This is a real compliment to a fledging new writer, to be sure.
Unlike many authors who write a single book (think Margaret Mitchell, author of "Gone With the Wind," ) and disappear from the radar screen, Coty continues writing and publishing books and assorted papers, and has expanded her contributions to the literary world by teaching workshops and leading free writers' mini-workshops at bookstores and libraries. In her resume, Coty says she is "excited that my inspirational speaking invitations are exploding." It is refreshing to learn of a person willing to freely share his or her education and talents with others.
Coty and her husband, Charles "Chuck" Coty, live in Seffner in Hillsborough County near Tampa, where he is self-employed as a financial planner. With two children, Christi and Matthew grown and living independently, the Cotys are empty nesters, living active lives in their community. Coty's sister and brother-in-law, Cindy and Jim Hardee, also live in Seffner. The two families will be joined by Adele and Frank Mitchell later this year as they relocate to Seffner.
By Buster Rahn, Telegraph editorialist
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©Bradford County Telegraph 2010
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