Cover Artist – Anna DeStefano
Anna Writes and her Affirmation Photography™ Inspires...
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ou might not expect a Georgia Tech honors graduate to build a successful career as a professional artist, but Anna DeStefano has found a way to do just that. After growing up on the South Carolina and Georgia coasts and then moving to Atlanta for college, she spent a decade working in Big Six consulting and Corporate IT, specializing as a senior technical writer. “Get a job where you can make a nice living,” her daddy told her. And she has. Just not for the last twenty years the way her father would have expected. People who excel at technical things aren’t typically seen as creatives. But Anna is not typical. And she has been blessed with one opportunity after another to lean into her creative side and watch it flourish, first as a best-selling novelist and now as an award-winning, fine art photographer. She married her college sweetheart, Andrew, right after graduation. When their son, James, came along it was a game changer for Anna. “I was determined to be as involved in his life as I could, so I left my corporate life behind and shifted my writing in a creative direction. I’ve always loved small towns, family connections and finding the good in every day—so I began telling stories that delivered that message. A cathartic, healing message that leaves the reader inspired,” she shared during our recent visit. And so began a stayat-home mom’s publishing journey. Her twenty-seven novel career started with Harlequin and Silhouette Romance. More recently she’s written larger, more mainstream novels for several New York publishers, all of them uplifting stories set in small towns, celebrating the enduring strength of families. Anna often escaped to Rabun County’s mountains to plot or finish a novel. Sylvan Falls Mill near the lovely Wolffork Valley was a favorite destination. A quiet bed and breakfast nestled beside a
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beautiful waterfall was the perfect retreat, immersing her in the nature that has been an inspiration her whole life. These visits started a love affair with our hills and valleys that she now calls home. The DeStefano family began their move to the North Georgia mountains in 2017. By then, Anna’s enthusiasm for hiking and exploring outdoors was thriving. Her connection to nature evolved into a passion for sharing the affirmation she found there. By the time her family settled permanently in North Habersham county near Tallulah Gorge, her “visual storytelling” had progressed from making photographs with her phone to using a simple point and shoot camera to mastering her first professional system. Image after image, it took her breath away—the magic she could convey with a single capture. From childhood, Anna’s instinct has been to see the silver lining in things. She’d found a new way to express that healing gift to others. Today, she considers the work she does behind the lens to be her “poetry.” With each image, she tempts you to pause for a moment. If you smile, breathe a little easier and feel hopeful as a result, her job is done. If she had to describe a central theme to her visual art, it would be “healing.” An aesthetic that hasn’t gone unnoticed. Her work has been featured by the National Wildlife Federation, the Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation, and Friends of Georgia Parks
