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P.D. Workman Wins 2016 Best Fiction Award from the In the Margins Committee

CALGARY, ALBERTA Mar 15, 2016

Last year, PD. Workman placed on the 2015 In the Margins Top Ten Best Books for Teens award for Ruby, Between the Cracks, the story of a tough-as-nails teen, Ruby Simpson, who is running from her past.

This year, Workman was thrilled to be notified that she had not only placed on the Top Ten list this year, but that she was being awarded first place for best fiction of 2016 for Tattooed Teardrops. Isabella Modra says that Tattooed Teardrops is “A realistic and beautiful story filled with suspense, heart-breaking friendship and loyalty that will keep you reading until the very end.” ITM 2016

In the Margins Book Award and Selection Committee, (ITM) a committee under the umbrella of Library Services for Youth in Custody (LYSC) agrees! For the second year in a row, Calgarian P.D. Workman’s work has been selected as validating, illuminating, and humanizing teens who have been marginalized by society.

ITM’s goal is to find the best books for teens living in poverty, on the streets, in custody – or a cycle of all three. They identify quality, age-appropriate resources for librarians and library workers to share with the teens in urban, lockdown, homeless shelters and other non-traditional venues for teens living in the margins.

“This is our third year of highlighting self and small press published books that validate, illuminate and humanize those living in the margins. We bring true diversity to bookshelves and libraries by reading, reviewing, debating, soliciting teen feedback and awarding honors for these titles,” says the Committee. “The majority of our list may be unknown to you or have gotten little attention in traditional reviews, but are hits with our teens. This is a statement for the need for more of us to look for and highlight diverse books.”

P.D. Workman has become ‘a household name’ at some of the facilities represented by the ITM as she continues to produce hard-hitting but sensitive books that speak to teens and adults alike. “It’s really exciting to have my work recognized like this,” Workman said. “I really appreciate the ITM for all of the work that they do in promoting literacy and curating books for youth in custody. I want these kids to know that they’re not forgotten or worthless. My heart goes out to them.”

P.D. Workman can be reached at pdworkman.author@gmail.com or 403-808-2550. Full media kit at http://pdworkman.com/media

Tattooed Teardrops is available in hardcover ISBN 9781926500409 or softcover 9780993768750 or 9781926500294 and is available on Kindle, iBooks, Google Play, and Nook.

“I don’t plan on getting in any trouble.”

Tamara had thought that when she got out of juvie, things would be easier. But before long, it seems like her life is spiraling into chaos.

If she can’t prove to her probation officer that she is innocent of the allegations against her, she’s going back to prison, and Tamara just can’t let that happen.

Download full press release here.

Calgary Author Wins “In the Margins” Book Award

CALGARY, ALBERTA Feb 4, 2015

P.D. Workman’s tough-as-nails protagonist Ruby Simpson is running from her past. Readers are falling in love with Ruby as she battles gangs, drugs, depression, and more in her bid for independence and happiness. “You know it’s a great book when you have to keep reminding yourself that the characters are not real people. I really cared about Ruby, and she gave me some bad moments. I desperately hoped her story would have a happy ending,” says Hazel Grusendorf. Nichole Betourney adds: “‘Ruby, Between the Cracks’ really put me through the wringer and I actually had to put it down a few times because I needed to return to reality… There was no chance I was going to stop reading until I knew how the story ended! …I seriously can’t wait for book two!”

In the Margins Book Award and Selection Committee, (ITM) a committee under the umbrella of Library Services for Youth in Custody (LYSC) agrees! Today they announced their top ten book titles for 2015, which included Workman’s novel “Ruby, Between the Cracks”. Calgarian P.D. Workman is one of two Canadians who placed on the list. The other is Ashley Little of BC, with Anatomy of a Girl Gang.

ITM strives to find the best books for teens living in poverty, on the streets, in custody – or a cycle of all three. They identify quality, age-appropriate resources for librarians and library workers to share with the teens in urban, lockdown, homeless shelters and other non-traditional venues for teens living in the margins.

“We are thrilled with the second year of this important work finding relevant books for our communities that validate, illuminate and humanize those living in the margins. We have a great list, bringing to national attention books that add to diversity in our collections and world,” said Amy Cheney, Chair of ITM. “The committee members and I are excited to share these books with you for those living and interested in the margins of society.”

I was excited when I was informed that Ruby had been nominated for In The Margins best books for teens; and humbled and thrilled when it made the top ten list.

Workman expressed her gratitude to the ITM for their inclusion of Ruby in the top ten. “I am so honoured to have one of my books selected for this award. I took at look at the other nine books selected, and they all look so good. I’m delighted to have Ruby showcased side-by-side with them. I was excited when I was informed that Ruby had been nominated for In The Margins best books for teens; and humbled and thrilled when it made the top ten list.”

P.D. Workman can be reached at pdworkman.author@gmail.com or 403-808-2550. Full media kit at http://pdworkman.com/media

Ruby, Between the Cracks #1
ISBN 9780992153953
Available through all major retailers

If you asked Ruby, she’d tell you she’s happy with her life. She’s tough and independent and doesn’t depend on anyone else. The road that has led her here has not been easy, and she’s blocked a lot of it from her memory.

But things aren’t as rosy as she would have everyone believe, and the road ahead of her is filled not only with gangs, drugs, and depression, but other challenges that Ruby hasn’t even imagined.

Download full press release here

Calgary author publishes nine books in a year

CALGARY, ALBERTA October 7, 2014

P. D. Workman has been writing novels for three decades, but you may not have read any of her work. Up until a year ago, she had not sought to have any of them published. That all changed in October 2013, when she published Looking Over Your Shoulder, a mystery novel about a jewel heist with a main character with paranoid schizophrenia. Since then, Workman has published six more books, with another to come out later this month, and a ninth in December.

But that’s not all. When Workman sat down to catalogue her novels last year, she had written forty-two. She has written several more since that time.

“My plan is to write at least three books per year, and to publish six per year.” At that rate, it will take Workman fourteen years to get her entire backlist published. “The older stuff takes a lot more work to edit and get ready for publication than my recent work,” Workman confides. “I’ve grown a lot as a writer and learned a lot more about the craft in the last few years. Some of my older works need extensive rewriting before they are ready for publication.”

Writing three new novels per year may sound daunting, but Workman shrugs it off. “I generally write a 100,000-word novel (about 350 pages) in about 21 days. Of course that’s just the first draft; it still needs to go through several drafts after that, then proofing, formatting, etc. So three or four a year is pretty comfortable when I’m rewriting and editing at least three other books a year. Publishing and marketing also take time.”

Most of Workman’s published work is young adult contemporary, though there are a few more adult books to come. In describing her work, she says: “Generally, I write young adult and suspense fiction about mental illness, addiction, and abuse.” Workman’s subject range extends to other disabilities, homelessness, foster care, crime, poverty, and other social issues.

“I want to shine a light on the lives led by kids and adults outside the mainstream. And I want to do it in an engaging and entertaining way. It’s one thing to read a headline or infographic or even listen to a lecture about kids in foster care being abused. It’s another to immerse yourself in Ruby’s story and to see the world through her eyes. Or through the eyes of Henry, Justine, Steven, Tamara, or Bobby. They expand your experience and become a part of you.” Workman goes on to say: “By becoming aware, we start to make small changes within our spheres of influence. Those little changes add up, and can change the lives of real kids and adults who have previously been marginalized.”

It’s a tall order, but Workman appears to be up to the challenge.

Download full press release here.

About P. D. Workman

Tagline:

P. D. Workman writes riveting young adult and suspense fiction about mental illness, addiction, and abuse.

Short Biography:

P. D. Workman writes riveting young adult and suspense fiction about mental illness, addiction, and abuse.

For as long as P. D. Workman can remember, the blank page has held an incredible allure. After a number of false starts, she finally wrote her first complete novel at the age of twelve. It was full of fantastic ideas. It was the spring board for many stories over the next few years. Then, forty-some novels later, P.D. Workman finally decided to start publishing.

P. D. Workman is a devout wife and a mother of one, born and raised in Alberta, Canada. She is a homeschooler and an Executive Assistant. She has a passion for art and nature, creative cooking for special diets, and running. She loves to read, to listen to audio books, and to share books out loud with her family. She is a technology geek with a love for all kinds of gadgets and tools to make her writing and work easier and more fun. In person, she is far less well-spoken than on the written page and tends to be shy and reserved with all but those closest to her.

Long form bio:

P.D. Workman writes riveting young adult and suspense fiction about mental illness, addiction, and abuse.

For as long as she can remember, the blank page has held an incredible allure for Workman. She has samples of stories and booklets that go back to my early childhood. Workman collected notebooks of all shapes and sizes with plans to fill them with words and stories. By grade four, she discovered that inventing a story in her head could rival the joy of reading one from a book. She wrote and bound a series stories about a rabbit, painstakingly typed on her dad’s Selectric typewriter and illustrated by tracing pictures.

In grade five, Workman spent a lot of leisure time creating a Narnia-like world of her own. She drew pictures of it… unicorns, rainbows, forests, mountains in the distance. There were six meals a day (probably influenced by The Hobbit, with names like nibble and munch. She didn’t write a word of the story, though she imagined the plot line, which included her arrival in the land via a pair of magical red tennis shoes.

In grade six, Workman had a language arts teacher who had a box full of pictures to use as story prompts, and the class would write a creative writing story every Friday. Workman loved it. She wrote a number of stories about a pair of magical black dogs with glowing eyes. In grade seven she continued to enjoy creative writing at school, much of it about horses, her new obsession as she read every book in the Black Stallion series. She started to write her first full-length novel, a classic plot line about a class of school children who get marooned on a deserted tropical island. No, no Lord of the Flies. It was all about survival. She went to a young writer’s conference and talked about it. She read it to the kids she babysat. But she never finished it.

At the age of twelve, Workman finally did it, she wrote her first complete novel. It was full of fantastic ideas. It was the spring board for many other stories and books over the next few years.

Over the years, family and friends had encouraged her publish. But she wrote for herself, for the joy of creating characters and experiencing their lives. Most people didn’t even have any idea that Workman wrote. A few times, she took up the pen and dabbled with contacting publishers, submitting to contests, etc., but each time, the joy disappeared and the creative juices dried up. So Workman went back to her hermit-like writing existence, proclaiming that her estate could publish her work after her death. Not until 2013 did Workman finally decide to publish her work, and she has been enjoying the process very much.

When not writing, Workman is a devout wife and a mother of one. She was born and raised in Alberta, Canada. She is a homeschooler and an executive assistant. She has a passion for art and nature, creative cooking for special diets, and running. She loves to read, to listen to audio books, and to share books out loud with her family. She is an acknowledged technology geek with a love for all kinds of gadgets and tools to make her writing and work easier and more fun. In person, she is far less well-spoken than on the written page. She tends to be shy and reserved with all but those closest to her, and prefers communicating by e-mail and text rather than phone calls or face-to-face visits. Her sociable husband and son help keep her from becoming a complete recluse!

Contact:

P. D. Workman can be reached through pdworkman.com

Pamela Workman (403) 808-2550

info@pdworkman.com

About P. D. Workman’s books:

P. D. Workman’s initial publications can be found at any of the major online book sellers or ordered by your local bookstore. They are:

Cover	Description	ISBN
	*Looking Over Your Shoulder* – A victim of late-onset paranoid schizophrenia, Abe is losing his family as well as his mind. In the wake of one of the largest successful jewel heists in history, Abe is certain the jewel thieves are out to get him. But are they really, or is he just losing the battle against his inner demons?	9780992153915
	*Deviation (Breaking the Pattern #1)* – Everyone knew that he was a good guy; geeky, responsible, hard-working. Henry has had a lot to deal with in the past, and now he is hindered by abuse, the challenge of raising his baby brother while dealing with his mother’s deep depressions, and the return of a ghost from the past Henry has tried his best to forget.	9780992153922
	*Ruby, Between the Cracks* – If you asked Ruby, she’d tell you she’s happy with her life. She’s tough and independent and doesn’t depend on anyone else. But the road that has led her here has not been easy, and she’s blocked a lot of it from her memory.	9780992153953
	*Stand Alone* – Is Justine crazy? Everyone thinks so, but Justine can’t give up her sense of who she is—someone far different than the loving daughter Em expects her to be—to just fit in and be happy. She is sure that Em secretly holds the key to who Justine really is. But if she does, Em isn’t talking.	9780992153984
	*Diversion (Breaking the Pattern #2)* – Raised to a life of crime, Sandy is a teenage prostitute, junkie, and con artist. She always joked that at least her Da taught her a trade. But things keep getting more complicated, more dangerous, and Sandy doesn’t want to admit even to herself that she longs for an honest, normal life.	9780993768712
	*Tattooed Teardrops* – “I don’t plan on getting in any trouble.” Tamara had thought that when she got out of juvie, things would be easier. But before long, it seems like her life is spiraling into chaos. If she can’t prove to her probation officer that she is innocent of the allegations against her, she’s going back to prison, and Tamara just can’t let that happen.	9780993768750
	*Don’t Forget Steven* – He never told what went on behind closed doors. Things never have been easy for Steven. But just when he thought things couldn’t get much worse, they did. Steven is accused of murder. But that isn’t the worst part. The really bad part is not even knowing if he did it.	9780993768781
	*Those Who Believe* – On the run from Social Services and others who do not understand their beliefs, Nathan and his mom, faith-healer Billie Ashbury move into yet another a new town. Nathan is struggling to reconcile his wavering faith with what his devoted mother has taught him from the cradle, and his life could depend on what he decides.	9781926500089
	*By-Pass (Breaking the Pattern #3)* – Bobby is a geeky teen who is convinced that his new foster mom Katya is everything he has ever hoped for; but as her behavior becomes more and more unpredictable and disturbing, he comes to realize that both he and Katya’s daughter Zane are in big trouble.	9781926500126
	*June & Justin (Between the Cracks #2)* – Justin had already failed June once. He wasn’t there when she needed him, and because of him, their lives will never be the same. June is everything to Justin, and he must be everything to her. He must protect June at all costs. Justin is prepared spend the rest of his life keeping her from getting hurt again.	9781926500201
	*Cynthia Has a Secret* – One day, fifteen-year-old Carmina Knight’s life was perfect, and the next, she’d lost everything. Her family, her home, almost everything that she knew. Alone on the streets, she can’t trust anyone, but she also can’t make it alone.	9781926500164
	*Lion Within* – Leo is a troubled young man, constantly on the brink of disaster. In the midst of his own emotional turmoil, Leo meets Elizabeth, single mom of a newborn, with a lot on her plate and a past that she won’t acknowledge Can Leo reach Elizabeth, and at the same time, come to terms with his own past? Or is he messing around with something beyond his ability to manage?	9781926500454
	*Questing for a Dream –* Nadie is a bright but rebellious teen growing up Manitoba Cree. Living in abject poverty, she tries to help care for the younger children in the band. Devastated by the drowning death of her little cousin and unable to overcome her grief, Nadie leaves the band. How can she find her own place in a foreign world where she is abused and discriminated against, and for the first time in her life, completely alone?	9781926500546
	*Pursued by the Past –* Vanna had a good life. She had her challenges but all in all, she had a job she enjoyed, a fun hobby and friends. But that all changed shortly after trying to break things off with Tino. The phone calls with no one on the other end. Anonymous gifts. Someone moving things around in her bedroom. A restraining order that, if anything, caused things to escalate. If Vanna wants her life back, she will have to take things into her own hands.	9781926500508
	*Michelle (Between the Cracks #3)* – When Michelle asked to be taken away from her abusive mother, she never expected to lose everyone she loved in the process. They said they would keep her and Kenny together. Her daddy said he would be back. And she never even got to say good-bye to Marcie. All too soon, they were trying to reunite her with her mother, and Michelle is forced to take to the streets, seeking safety in the gang life.	9781926500614
	*Intersexion* – Taylor is a teen teetering on the edge of a steep precipice. Disowned by his family, living on the street, battling abuse and prejudice, he struggles to discover who he really is and how to carry on with life. The last person you would expect to touch him is Roz, whose foremost identity is a Christian wife and mother. But her world is about to be shaken.	9781926500669
	*In the Tick of Time* – Matt Malloy knew there was something wrong with the Buffalo Head infection cluster the minute it crossed his desk. He knew that solving the secret of the Buffalo Head cluster was a matter of life and death. Matt just didn’t know that it was a matter of his life and death.	9781926500690

Q&A:

Q: What do you write?

A: I write riveting young adult and suspense fiction about mental illness, addiction, and abuse.

Q: Are you famous? Have I read anything you have written?

A: I am a newly published author, so I am just getting my readership established. If you want to read some of my work prior to buying, I regularly run freebies and giveaways, there are teasers and excerpts of my books on my website, previews on Amazon, and Ruby Between the Cracks is available on Wattpad. If you’re in Calgary, some of my books are available through the library system. If one of them is not, or if you are under a different library system, ask your librarian to request it.

Q: Are you independently wealthy? A millionaire?

A: No! I’m a working mom. Buy my books, read them with your book club, brag them up to your friends, leave reviews, and then check back with me in another year! I rely largely on word of mouth to grow my readership.

Q: Okay, I want to read one of your books. Where should I go?

A: You should be able to get my books wherever you regularly buy your reading material. Go to my website, and under “my books”, click on the book that you are interested in, and you will see buttons for any of the main online vendors who currently have it listed. If you go to a local bookstore, and they are not already carrying it, you can ask them to order it in.

Q: I have an account with a book-subscription service, can I get your books through it?

A: Kindle Unlimited, Oyster, and Scribd each have some of my books listed.

Q: What about Overdrive?

A: My books are available as ebooks on Overdrive. I have also started to produce some audiobooks.

Q: What do you do about writer’s block?

A: Writer’s block?

Q: Will you ghost write a book for me?

A: No.

Q: Will you read my manuscript?

A: No, probably not. If it is ready to go to print and you want to send me an ARC, I may consider it if it is within the type of writing that I do (similar genre and subject matter), but with the amount of publishing and writing that I am doing, my reading time is very limited and I have to be picky.

Q: Are you crazy?

A: Probably not, but some of my characters are.

Q: How do you get inside the heads of your characters? Especially the ones with severe mental illnesses?

A: A lot of it seems to be innate. I have always been a very empathetic person and able to get into people’s heads and see their viewpoint. Sometimes when I am working on a dysfunctional character, I’ll come across the diagnostic criteria for a mental illness and realize that they fall squarely into the diagnosis for that disorder. I have intuitively brought all of the characteristics together without knowing the name for it. Other times, I start with a particular mental illness or disorder in mind, and build a character and a story around that.

Q: What books have influenced your writing the most?

The Outsiders, S.E. Hinton – one of my first exposures to the lives of youth gangs or social issues

Anything by Dick Francis – I love the level of heart-pounding tension, sympathetic characters, the complex mystery

The Pigeon, Jay Bennett – like S.E. Hinton, a journey into the world of the young offender – love the hard-hitting bare bones dialogue

The Hobbit, LOTR, Silmarillion, JRR Tolkien – okay, so that’s five books at once, but I love the whole journey from mythology to epic fantasy and a personal journey

There are so many other writers and books that have touched me and improved my writing. My mom’s Agatha Christie and Mary Stuart collections and my dad’s Louis L’Amour and Rex Stout. Incident at Hawk’s Hill. Jane Goodall’s books. The stacks of YA fiction that I read through the school library. Jack London. Hard-hitters like Jack Higgins and Desmond Bagley. Softer genres like Amish romance and Cozy mysteries. Today’s popular YA like the Twilight series, Hunger Games, Divergent, and Maze Runner and fantasy like Harry Potter, Eragon, Fablehaven, and Septimus Heap. I love to read and I’m always getting new ideas and improving my own writing a bit at a time.

Q: Where do you get your ideas?

A: Everywhere. Things I read in the news, dreams, songs, people walking down the street, random thoughts that occur to me while washing dishes or walking. I currently have nearly 300 entries in my “Story clip file”, so no worries about me running out of ideas in the near future.

Q: Are you like your protagonists or other characters?

A: All of my characters are part of me. They all came out of and live in my brain. Some characters have more of my traits than others. Sometimes minor characters who put on brief appearances are sort of ‘cameos’ of me. But all of them, good or bad, were dredged out of my brain.

Q: Do you put people you know in your books?

A: No. I do often get ideas and inspirations from people I know. And sometimes people I don’t know, maybe who I’ve just seen walking down the street or riding the city transit, inspire an idea for a book or a character. All of my characters are fictional, not biographical. But the things that they experience are things that real people have to deal with in the real world, every day.