Alumna Finds Success Under the Pen Name Brooklyn James

By Marysa Cordova

Working under the pen name, Brooklyn James, Bobbie Duell (MA 03) is now a novelist and singer/ songwriter. Bobbie is originally from North Fork, Pennsylvania.

Bobbie earned her Masters degree in Communication with an emphasis in Broadcasting and Documentary Film from ENMU in 2003. She was drawn to ENMU because of the Communication Department. She loved working at the college television morning show, which was called, “Good Morning, High Plains.” She also liked the wide open space Portales had to offer.

While attending ENMU, Bobbie worked on a documentary film about war veterans and was a graduate assistant for Introduction to Communication, Television Production, and Voice Performance courses.

Bobbie recalls several memorable ENMU instructors: Dr. Anthony Schroeder, Dr. Chris Stasheff, and Dr. Janet Roehl. “Dr. Janet Roehl was very insightful and helped shape my views on feminism,” recalled Bobbie.

Bobbie’s eclectic list of careers and skills began with singing and song writing in Austin, Texas. She recorded with Wonderland Studios and later she moved to Nashville to study Animal Science and Broadcasting. Bobbie received her bachelor’s degree from West Texas Agricultural and Mechanical University.

After completion of her degree at ENMU, she moved to Los Angeles, CA, and worked in radio production. She received an award for Outstanding On-Air Personality from the Communication Department when she attended WTAMU. Bobbie worked for the college radio station there and at the time worked as a field reporter and news writer for Channel 10 out of Amarillo, TX.

Bobbie acknowledged, “My plan A was always writing and plan B getting my education.” In January 2010, she made it her New Year’s Resolution to start writing.

Her novel, The Boots My Mother Gave Me, started out as just a hobby. Bobbie sent it to a friend for review and her friend thought she had real potential. The manuscript was then sent to editors who also revised it. Bobbie sent the novel in to Amazon and received the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Quarter Finalist Award. Her novel ranked at one time in the Kindle “Top 100 Coming of Age Novels,” and the Kindle “Top 100 Women’s Fiction Novels.” There were over ten thousand entries, which were narrowed down to one thousand, then five hundred, and lastly two-hundred fifty. Essentially, these are daily rankings, and to make it into any of these categories is a great accomplishment. This novel is about a young women’s journey of recovery and self-discovery as she comes of age while overcoming an abusive childhood. There is a music soundtrack to accompany the novel, written and performed by Bobbie herself.

Bobbie is currently drafting Jolie Blonde, the next novel and music soundtrack compilation, performed by Bobbie herself. When the manuscript is finished, it will be edited, go through formatting, receive a cover design, etc., and has an expected release date later in 2013. She has two other novels out currently in the Vigilare trilogy series.

To learn more about Brooklyn James, visit http://www.brooklyn-james.com/.