Story Weekend: Hair

February 3, 2012 By 10 Comments

I can’t believe we haven’t had hair as a Story Weekend topic yet. (Isn’t this a stunner of a photograph? That’s me, in my dreams). Whether “hair” makes you think of childhood perms, fright wigs, your grandma’s snow-white bun or the broadway musical, tell us about it!

If you’re new to Story Weekend, here’s how it works: I pick a theme and you share something from your life that relates to that theme, however you interpret it. Thanks to all of you who’ve been contributing. As always, there are a few “rules”:

▪   The story must be true.

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Backlist on Fire! (and a Contest)

February 1, 2012 By 6 Comments

As you probably know, last year I published five of my out-of-print books as e-books. Well, today I checked my records to see if it was worth the time and effort. Uh. . . YES! You bought over 50,000 of them in 2011! I’m staggered by that number, especially since I never thought those books that I’d treasured would ever see the light of day again.  Thank you for embracing them. They’ll be the subject of my February newsletter, due to go out in a few days, and that’s where the contest comes in. Everyone on my mailing list is eligible to win a $100 bookstore gift certificate. Whether you’ve been on my list for years or are a total newbie, you’re eligible. You have till March 18th at 10 pm EST to sign up. I love giving things away, so please join in the fun!

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Do You Read the Last Page First?

January 30, 2012 By 19 Comments

A friend called the other day. I hadn’t spoken to him in a couple of months and I knew he and his family were going through some difficult times. He wanted to catch me up, telling me “so much has happened since I talked to you last.” (I really did receive this call, but I’m completely changing the nature of the incidents.) My friend began telling me what happened after we’d last talked. At that time, his daughter, Jill, had broken up with a young man who began flaming her on Facebook. After that initial flaming, my friend told me now, the guy started threatening Jill and stalking her. Jill learned that he bought a gun. She thought she saw him following her in his car a few times. Her apartment was then broken into and he left a threatening note behind. She called the police, who thought she was making it all up.

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Story Weekend: Rebellion

January 28, 2012 By 17 Comments

This week’s theme popped into my mind out of nowhere and I look forward to seeing what that word conjures up for you. I’m not going to start it off with my own story this week so as not to influence anyone. Instead, I’ll let you take this in whatever direction you like.

If you’re new to Story Weekend, here’s how it works: I pick a theme and you share something from your life that relates to that theme, however you interpret it. Thanks to all of you who’ve been contributing. As always, there are a few “rules”:

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Let’s Have a Worry-Free Week

January 23, 2012 By 9 Comments

All right, I will settle for a semi-worry-free week.

I spend too much time worrying about things. One of my main worries is always the book I’m working on. Will I meet my deadline?  Will it please my readers? Will the reviews be good? Will it make any bestseller lists? Etcetera, etcetera. I was thinking about my book worries this afternoon and realized there was only one book I never worried about, at least not while I was writing it and that was my first, Private Relations, written a zillion years ago. When I wrote that book, I viewed writing as a hobby. It was Just Plain Fun. I was a social worker back then and though I loved my job, I couldn’t wait to get home and play with my story. It was actually relaxing, the way knitting or doing a puzzle or playing with the dogs could be fun.

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Filed Under: Diane's Books, Everyday Stuff, Writing

Story Weekend: Random Acts of Kindness

January 20, 2012 By 27 Comments

This weekend’s theme: Random Acts of Kindness. It’s a great topic, suggested by one of my Facebook friends. Write whatever true little (and I do mean little!) story pops into your mind. Something you did. Something someone else did for you. Something you witnessed. I can’t wait to read what you come up with.

If you’re new to Story Weekend, here’s how it works: I pick a theme and you share something from your life that relates to that theme, however you interpret it. Thanks to all of you who’ve been contributing. As always, there are a few “rules”:

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Recipe Reviews Crack Me Up

January 16, 2012 By 6 Comments

Even though I have a cupboard full of cookbooks, I often end up turning to the Internet when I want to make dinner. I go to one of the recipe sites, plug in what I have on hand, such as “chicken” “mushrooms” and “basil”,  and track down a recipe that sounds good.  I print it and I’m good to go. It’s so easy, although it usually takes me a while to get from the computer to the kitchen, because I get so caught up reading the recipe’s reviews. They never fail to make me laugh. They go something like this:

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Story Weekend: Art

January 13, 2012 By 18 Comments

John and I just got home from the gallery where he shows his art photography. Tonight was the grand opening of the gallery’s new space and wow, was it packed! Walking from room to room was a treat and the variety of paintings, photography, pottery, glass, jewelry etc was amazing. Some of it I love and some of it, well, I don’t. It started me thinking how we all have different tastes and experiences when it comes to art. I’d like to hear about yours. I’ll add my story tomorrow because right now I’m ready to crash, but I look forward to reading what you have to say.

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New Covers for my Backlist E-Books!

January 10, 2012 By 14 Comments

When I first made my out-of-print books available as e-books, I designed my own covers.  I found designing the covers fun, time consuming, and a wake-up call to the fact that I am not a graphic artist! I had a professional, author Patricia Ryan, re-do one of them and it was beautiful but I eventually realized that what I was missing was a consistent look for the books. Pat was no longer designing book covers, so I hired Kim Killion of HotDamn Designs. I have to admit, I had some trepidation because Kim does mostly romantic and steamy covers that wouldn’t fit my books at all, but I admired her design skills and she really “got” what I was looking for. Practically overnight, she created these five new covers for me. I love them and couldn’t wait to share them with you. Here’s the link to my backlist on my website, if you’d like to read more about the books themselves. Purchase links are there for Kindle and Nook, but the books are available for any e-reader you may choose, although I don’t think Apple has the new covers yet. Soon!

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Sneak Peek at a Book Cover

January 8, 2012 By 15 Comments

I thought you might like a sneak peek at the cover for my next new book, The Good Father! I love this cover and it fits the book perfectly. The Good Father will be out April 24th in the US and early June in the United Kingdom.

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Filed Under: Diane's Books
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