Deborah Smith Parker grew up bilingual, fluent in both prose and poetry. Beginning at an early age she learned from her father to compose rhythmic and rhyming verse. Her poems, essays, and articles have appeared in a wide range of published outlets ranging from Journal of the American Medical Association to The Mountain Astrologer, to North County Times to Nuthouse and New Press Literary Quarterly, winning some prizes along the way. An English major and graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Parker lives in San Diego with her husband Jeff.