Celeste De Blasis
Encyclopedia
Celeste De Blasis was a successful American
author
of historical
romance novels.
. She grew up at the Kemper Campbell Ranch in Victorville, California
located in the high Mojave Desert
. She attended Wellesley College, later transferred to Oregon State University
, and in 1968 was graduated from Pomona College
where longing to be back home at the ranch had drawn her. She continued to live on the ranch until her death from complications associated with Lupus erythematosus on April 13, 2001.
Celeste De Blasis was published in a number of poetry magazines, including "Manifold" (London), "Kauri" and "Sandcutters". In 1969 she was given the Southern Division National League of Pen Women Award for Letters for her poetry.
In 1975, De Blasis published her first novel titled "The Night Child" and was followed the next year by "Suffer A Sea Change" (1976). Her third book, titled "The Proud Breed" (1978) was about having pride in being a Californian. Of the novel, De Blasis observed, "This story is very dear to me, and the need to write it came from the demands of pride. I grew up in an educational system that taught me more about the eastern seaboard than I needed to know and almost nothing about California... and the paucity of that history grew to be more and more galling. In the writing of 'The Proud Breed' I have discovered what an immensely rich, varied and intricate weaving has made the fabric of this state, and I am proud to be even so small a thread in the pattern." The book became a Doubleday Book Club selection. In 1981, De Blasis published "The Tiger's Woman". The book became Doubleday Book Club and Literary Guild selections. De Blasis then embarked on her most ambitious and successful work, the "Wild Swan" trilogy. The first volume, "Wild Swan" was published in 1984, set in Collington, Maryland
around the Belair Mansion
and was quickly followed by "Swan's Chance" in 1985. The final volume of the trilogy, "A Season of Swans" was published in 1989.
Her final book did not follow her proven historical romance formula. It was a biographical work titled "Graveyard Peaches" about her life at the Kemper Campbell Ranch in Victorville, California. After the publication of this work, Celeste De Blasis battled Lupus erythematosus until her death in 2001. She was cremated and her ashes were spread along her favorite trail at the Kemper Campbell Ranch where she had walked nearly every day.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
of historical
Historical romance
Historical romance is a subgenre of two literary genres, the romance novel and the historical novel.-Definition:Historical romance is set before World War II...
romance novels.
Biography
Celeste N. De Blasis was born on May 8, 1946 in Santa Monica, CaliforniaSanta Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
. She grew up at the Kemper Campbell Ranch in Victorville, California
Victorville, California
Victorville is a city located in the Victor Valley of southwestern San Bernardino County, California. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2010 census, the city had a population of 115,903, up from 64,030 at the 2000 census.-Geography and climate:...
located in the high Mojave Desert
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...
. She attended Wellesley College, later transferred to Oregon State University
Oregon State University
Oregon State University is a coeducational, public research university located in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. The university offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees and a multitude of research opportunities. There are more than 200 academic degree programs offered through the...
, and in 1968 was graduated from Pomona College
Pomona College
Pomona College is a private, residential, liberal arts college in Claremont, California. Founded in 1887 in Pomona, California by a group of Congregationalists, the college moved to Claremont in 1889 to the site of a hotel, retaining its name. The school enrolls 1,548 students.The founding member...
where longing to be back home at the ranch had drawn her. She continued to live on the ranch until her death from complications associated with Lupus erythematosus on April 13, 2001.
Celeste De Blasis was published in a number of poetry magazines, including "Manifold" (London), "Kauri" and "Sandcutters". In 1969 she was given the Southern Division National League of Pen Women Award for Letters for her poetry.
In 1975, De Blasis published her first novel titled "The Night Child" and was followed the next year by "Suffer A Sea Change" (1976). Her third book, titled "The Proud Breed" (1978) was about having pride in being a Californian. Of the novel, De Blasis observed, "This story is very dear to me, and the need to write it came from the demands of pride. I grew up in an educational system that taught me more about the eastern seaboard than I needed to know and almost nothing about California... and the paucity of that history grew to be more and more galling. In the writing of 'The Proud Breed' I have discovered what an immensely rich, varied and intricate weaving has made the fabric of this state, and I am proud to be even so small a thread in the pattern." The book became a Doubleday Book Club selection. In 1981, De Blasis published "The Tiger's Woman". The book became Doubleday Book Club and Literary Guild selections. De Blasis then embarked on her most ambitious and successful work, the "Wild Swan" trilogy. The first volume, "Wild Swan" was published in 1984, set in Collington, Maryland
Collington, Maryland
Collington, Maryland is a now defunct settlement in Prince George's County, Maryland dating from colonial times. Collington has been subsumed by the city of Bowie, Maryland.-Geography:...
around the Belair Mansion
Belair Mansion
The Belair Mansion, located in Collington, Maryland, United States, was built in circa 1745 as the Georgian plantation home of the Provincial Governor of Maryland, Samuel Ogle...
and was quickly followed by "Swan's Chance" in 1985. The final volume of the trilogy, "A Season of Swans" was published in 1989.
Her final book did not follow her proven historical romance formula. It was a biographical work titled "Graveyard Peaches" about her life at the Kemper Campbell Ranch in Victorville, California. After the publication of this work, Celeste De Blasis battled Lupus erythematosus until her death in 2001. She was cremated and her ashes were spread along her favorite trail at the Kemper Campbell Ranch where she had walked nearly every day.