UW alumna achieves dream, releases debut novel: Jennifer DeVries
UW–Madison alumna Jennifer DeVries is excited to announce the culmination of a lifelong career goal: the release of Charlie’s Mirror, her debut novel written under the pseudonym Brenda Lyne. After graduation, Jennifer embarked on a successful (a.k.a. “practical”) 20-year corporate marketing and communications career. But she always had a little voice inside her head that never let her lose sight of her true passion: to become a fiction novelist. Interestingly enough, Charlie’s Mirror is inspired by the University of Wisconsin, and the book is set on and near its campus.
“The idea for this novel first came to me in the spring of 1997, as a student at the University of Wisconsin–Madison,” Jennifer says. “As I walked through an older part of campus, I felt the history of the place all the way to my bones and wondered what it would be like if I could go back in time and SEE it for myself. Would it be as gritty and wonderful and beautiful and dusty as it was in my mind?”
It took nearly 23 years, but Jennifer finally wrote the book and achieved her dream. Her second novel is slated for release in October 2021.
The moral of the story: no matter how old you are, no matter where life or career has taken you: it is NEVER too late to chase your dreams!
More Alumni Notes
Jennifer Peck ’92 has joined the UW–Eau Claire College of Business as an instructional designer, where she will partner with subject matter experts...