Bio

From my earliest years in elementary school, I have always enjoyed writing. I remember writing my first little poem, and hearing my teacher compliment my writing while in a parent-teacher conference with my Mom and Dad.  Those few words of encouragement stuck with me, and fueled my budding interest in writing. It really is true that the words of our teachers leave a lasting impact, because what she said and other teachers and supervisors said through the years helped me find my passion for writing.

I wrote many things in my diaries growing up. I wrote letters to pen pals for many years, and enjoyed writing about my life and reading about other people's lives. One time a friend and I decided to co-author a book and so we started taking turns writing a story in a notebook. I also wrote many notebooks full of prayers and found that to be the most meaningful way to communicate with my Heavenly Father. I wrote countless book reports, essays, and research papers through the years. Through it all I discovered that writing is my most effective means of communication.

I have always found pleasure in putting my thoughts on paper and reading them back. I like to work with words to describe and illustrate what is in my mind. When I started attending college at Southern Adventist University in Tennessee, I decided to study journalism after a short time spent in the Elementary Education program. I specifically found myself drawn to Public Relations, because it involved writing, marketing, digital art, and communication between a business or organization and its public. While in the Public Relations program, I took the Feature Article Writing course, and fell in love with the concept of freelance writing. Coming up with story ideas and pitching them for publication was so exciting to me. Having my name as the author of an article was the icing on the cake of actually telling the story which became my drive and passion. I love to interview people and learn about what they are doing or who they are. When I work on a story I feel like I am temporarily in another world exploring and discovering and learning. Writing is definitely something that makes me feel alive in a meaningful way!

The first time I was published was in 1998 in a magazine called Insight, it was a Seventh-day Adventist magazine for youth ages 14-18. I submitted a poem for their poetry contest, and I won the 1st place prize of $100 and my writing and my name were in publication for the first time!

I worked as a summer intern for the communication department of the North American Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Silver Spring, Maryland. I wrote many press releases and served as a media contact for a mobile missions exhibit and traveled to promote it in several different states. During the next summer I was the communication intern for The Quiet Hour, a multimedia evangelistic ministry in Redlands, California.

From the time I completed my Public Relations degree at Southern Adventist University, I kept in touch with contacts I made during internships and completed many freelance writing projects for them and their colleagues. I wrote for several different Seventh-day Adventist publications for teens and adults. Even when I had full-time jobs, I would accept and complete freelance writing assignments for Seventh-day Adventist publications in my spare time on the weekends.

My first job after college was as marketing and public relations director for Southwestern Adventist University in Keene, Texas. It was exciting to write about the university and share all their good news. It was also exciting to help develop promotional materials to recruit more students. I learned and expanded my abilities so much while working there and made many cherished memories with the staff and students who I worked with.

When I became a stay-at home Mom in 2010, I continued freelance writing and editing. I also completed my masters degree in 2013 at University of Houston Clear Lake -- M.A. Humanities in Professional Writing and Applied Graphic Design.

Editing has also been a major part of my self-employed freelance business pursuits. I was the editor of Insight Youth Resource magazine from 2013-2015. I was senior editor of three books from 2015-2016: Marriage: Living With the Unexplainable by Arthur and Kim Nowlin; Leave Me Alone . . . But, Don't Leave Me!!! by Corey and Natasha Feimster; and Intensive Care: Can My Marriage Survive or Not? by Arthur and Kim Nowlin. My editing portfolio can be viewed here.

My writing portfolio contains hundreds of articles that I have written freelance from 1998 until now. I have added a few writing samples as PDF files on this webpage, see Publications. All my writing is not posted here, but I selected some of my more recent work to share as samples.

I cannot take credit for my writing, because I believe God is leading my life. I have been blessed to write for ministry purposes. The feature stories I have written, the Bible study resources I have developed, and the other writing projects I have completed were all because I gave my talents to God and He helped me write the words. I give Him thanks, because I know I am only a tool in His Hand. My prayer is that God will guide and bless me as I continue to write to bring honor and glory to His name.

When I am not writing, I spend time reading, cooking, gardening, and doing fun and meaningful things with my husband, two sons, and friends. We love traveling, hiking, swimming, biking, camping, watching movies, attending concerts, sightseeing, serving in our church, and just being together!

Debbie Battin Sasser, M.A. 

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