A Wishful Eye by D.L. McIntyre – Local writer releases first book

“A Wishful Eye (by D.L. McIntyre) is a work of historical fiction that will sweep readers into America in the years before the Civil War when Christians took unpopular stands and even engaged in illegal activity to care for the ‘Least of These,’” Debra “Deb” Lynn McIntyre wrote when pitching her 75,000-word novel.

McIntyre grew up in Versailles, graduated from South Ripley High School in 1980, and continues learning to this day. The self-described wife, to Cleon McIntyre, mother to three, grandmother and daughter of Virginia Monroe, 95, Versailles, and the late Lovell Monroe, showcases her talent in the soon to be released novel.

You could say her writing of A Wishful Eye has been in the making for hundreds of years – several generations, with the inspiration dating back to her great-great grandparents and their love of people, especially those who were enslaved.
While the novel is fiction, some of the characters are real – a slave trader in Lexington, KY, and others. McIntyre’s family were very involved in the Underground Railroad with the story of a great grandmother sitting in a rocking chair over a trap door with slaves hiding beneath in the Flatrock area. The late Harry Adams is McIntyre’s great uncle, who was also a writer in his own right.

McIntyre began writing at the age of 12 when her sister gave her a journal. She told The Versailles Republican, “I wrote about my day at school and recorded my thoughts.” She wrote sporadically at college, just after high school, but, in the last three years got serious about what she feels God wanted her to do. She attributes her love for books and writing in part to teachers at South Ripley, in particular Mary Margaret Moorhead, Nancy Durham and Imogene Carter.

At Georgetown College, where she aspired to become an actress, she realized she loved words more than performance.

McIntyre has a story of her own to tell with how she moved back to Versailles in 1987, was a stay-at-home mom and saw an advertisement in The Versailles Republican for a part time feature writer. “I could do that,” she laughed, and applied. For the next nine years she wrote the feature “Meet Your Neighbor” among other stories. She also wrote for the Herald Tribune and won a top award writing at Berea College where she found herself in her mid-forties earning a bachelor’s degree.

After McIntyre learned about her great-great grandparents’ involvement in the Underground Railroad, she felt directed by God to “Tell their story.”

A Wishful Eye tells about the backwoods of southern Indiana in 1849 when members of the Cowper family are faced with a difficult decision. “Do they and the handful of other families who make up their antislavery congregation practice what they’ve been preaching and joining other believers – white and black – to aid and provide shelter for runaways? The fugitives are sought, not only by their frustrated owners and lawmen, but by others who hope to cash in on rich reward money. If caught, punishment for the Cowper family and the congregation could mean devastating fines, loss of their property, or even prison. Could they risk everything they and their pioneering parents worked so hard to attain? Can the Cowper’s teenage children put aside their own aspirations to join their parents in this dangerous enterprise?”

In the meantime, in Kentucky a 13-year-old slave girl named Lily is also going through a battle. Read A Wishful Eye to find out how these two scenarios come together to make an unforgettable story that will have you waiting for the sequel!

The official release date for A Wishful Eye is February 11, 2025. The significance of this date is that it is McIntyre’s dad’s birthday. He was known to many in the area for wearing his Navy uniform from WWII, where he was a Medic. Her great-grandfather was in the Civil War. The family is steeped in tradition and faith so it only seemed fitting the release date would coincide with a birthday of the man who meant so much to the writer.

McIntyre has had many bumps along the road in the journey to write the novel. As she shared much of her journey, she emotionally noted that every twist and turn brought her closer to God and closer to the mission she knows He has for her – to write. She now teaches GED classes at a prison in Kentucky, close to Georgetown where she and her husband make their home for now.

If you want to get in on pre-ordering this novel, you can go online to publishizer.com and follow the prompts. You can also scan the code printed in this paper. Also, you can follow her Facebook page where she keeps updates. She will have personal books to sell and plans to be in Versailles sometime in the fall for a book signing (to be announced).

Saying, “A movie plays in my head,” with more words and plots to write sequels, the author says to watch for more books with titles that were inspired by the old hymn On Jordan’s stormy bank I stand and cast A Wishful Eye…Oh, who will come and go with me, I am bound for the promised land!

Editor’s Note: Even if people do not want to purchase an advanced copy of the book on Publishizer, they can read more about it and “subscribe”. McIntyre says by subscribing they will be added to an email list she will be using to send occasional updates about the release of the books and where and then they will be sold in person. You can follow McIntyre on her Facebook page at D.L. McIntyre.