Chronicler of Suburbia

Courtesy of Betsey Johnson

Deborah Wolf could have coined the term multitasking. By day, the Livermore resident works as director of marketing for Workday, a Walnut Creek computer services firm. Evenings find Wolf at her computer writing her next novel.

Her debut, With You and Without You, examines the relationship between a mother and her two daughters after their father is killed in a car accident. The book sold more than 12,000 copies and became a favorite selection among East Bay book clubs after its July 2006 release. For Wolf, being a published author is a dream come true, even if it means writing well into the night.

“Other people unwind by going to the gym or reading a good book,” she says. “For me, sitting down at the computer after my family is in bed and writing my next book is the ultimate way to end the day.”

This month marks the release of Wolf’s second novel, When I’m Not Myself. This time, Wolf tells the story of a suburban soccer mom who undergoes a transformation after her husband leaves her for a younger woman. So how does Wolf, a happily married mother of two, come up with ideas for her thought-provoking books about life in suburbia?

“It’s amazing the conversations you overhear in a grocery store,” she says with a smile.