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Monday, October 26, 2009

Diane Craver Interview


Please join me in welcoming fellow Desert Breeze author, Diane Craver. Thank you for joining me today Diane! Can you please tell our visitors a little about yourself?

Anne, thank you so much for having me here today. I grew up on a farm outside of Findlay, Ohio. I often acted out characters from my own stories in the backyard. Before I got started on my writing career, I taught school and directed school plays. I write contemporary romance, inspirational romance, chick-lit mystery and women's fiction. I've been married to the love of my life for thirty-four years. We live in southwestern Ohio.

How did you get started in writing?
Ever since I was small, I've enjoyed writing. When I was in junior high, I wrote a few stories for fun and also wrote poetry. Then in college my roommate and I started writing about our adventures, but we never finished the book. While teaching at the Ohio Sailors and Orphans Home, I met another teacher. We were married three years later and started a family. I quit teaching to be a stay-at-home mom. I began writing nonfiction when our oldest daughter was a toddler. I had several magazine articles published by the time I attended a romance writing conference in Cincinnati, and it was sponsored by the Ohio Valley Romance Writers. I met many published authors and their enthusiasm was contagious. I decided to start writing fiction. It kept me sane after having six children. LOL

Why don’t you tell us about your newest/or upcoming release?
Whitney in Charge is my latest release. It's a story about sisters and their family bond. The focus had to be on the youngest sister, Whitney, since I'm the little sis in my family. I could easily write how the older sisters like to mother the youngest sis. I also enjoyed writing about Whitney falling in love again.

Here is a blurb:
Whitney Benson is tired of her older sisters’ attempts to fix her up with every single male they meet. Shannon and Regan cross the line when they arrange for her to go skydiving with the simple excuse that more guys like to float in the air than women. Whitney needs to find something else to keep them busy.

When she suggests that the three of them start a family business, the fun begins in their small town. And she thought being a TV producer in New York had been exciting.

Without going skydiving, Whitney meets two eligible bachelors, Jack and Ben, who constantly battle for her affection. Which one will she choose? Both men make Whitney realize, even a heart shattered by her husband’s death, can once again be made whole.

But did she have to fall off a cliff to learn that?


Where did you come up with the concept for your story?
Before I started writing Whitney in Charge, I happened to read about a journalist going skydiving for the first time. She mentioned how much she loved it. I thought what fun it'd be to use that for a story with two older sisters trying to get their younger sister to go skydiving to meet hot guys. I liked the idea of incorporating a sisters' relationship into a romantic story.

Okay, say you have this great idea for a book, what do you do next? How much plotting do you do?
I think of the characters first with interesting conflicts. For a few days dialogue, scenes, setting and characters parade across my mind before I write anything down. When I start writing, I put the big scenes down before I start writing the first few pages. My characters tend to take over so I don't make a detailed outline.

Do you have a favorite book you’ve written? How about a favorite character?
Wow, tough questions to answer because I have more than one favorite. Right now, I'll say Whitney in Charge because it was a fun book to write about Whitney falling in love again, and I think her sisters added some interesting twists to the story line.

I like all my characters a lot so hard to choose one. My heroes are all men I'd like to meet in real life.  But for a favorite character, I choose Catherine Steel. She's an investigative reporter in my chick-lit mystery, A FIERY SECRET. Catherine is a feisty, modern, independent woman who has an exciting career and is capable of looking after herself. Catherine has certain standards and makes choices based on them.

What do you like to do for fun?
When I'm not writing, I enjoy reading and going to the movies. In the summer I prefer being outside and hanging out with my kids. We have a pool and I love to go swimming. We have fun being together whether it's playing games, going to a movie or swimming.

Do you have a favorite food or snack that you absolutely can’t live without?
I like ice cream a lot, especially Dutch Chocolate Almond, Cherry Cordial, and Pumpkin. In fact, I've used these flavors as the favorites for characters in my books.

What advice can you offer for any aspiring authors out there?
Follow your heart and believe in yourself! You have to be persistent and develop a thick skin when it comes to rejections. Remember this is a subjective business so don't get discouraged. Don't worry about getting an agent in the beginning. Some authors might disagree with me but if you write romance, you can still get published without one. I kept thinking I should get an agent. I queried agents instead of spending more time on actual writing. Finally, I took the advice of published friends and stopped worrying about getting an agent. Once I focused just on my writing, I received my contracts.

Where can we purchase your book? And do you have a website we can visit?Whitney in Charge is available here and also is at Amazon in Kindle format.

See the Book Video here.

My website and my blog. I have contests at both places a lot, excerpts, and other information.

Thank you for joining me today, Diane. I’ve enjoyed getting to know you better and hearing about your wonderful book.

24 comments:

Diane Craver said...

Good Morning, Anne!
Thank you so much for having me here today. I'm thrilled to be a guest.

You have an awesome blog!

Diane Craver said...

I just decided it'd be fun to draw a winner tonight at 10 p.m. EST for a giveaway of one of my Samhain ebooks. So if you leave a comment, you'll have a chance to win! The winner may choose the Kindle format or pdf.format from my backlist. The titles are: No Greater Loss (inspirational romance), A Fiery Secret (chick-lit mystery) OR Never the Same (women's fiction).

Good luck!

Dru said...

Hi Diane!

I've been reading lately how authors/writers do research for their books. So, my question is did you skydive?

Diane Craver said...

LOL Nope, I've never gone skydiving. I hate heights. Good question, Dru!

Anne Patrick said...

Good morning Diane. You know I've always wanted to skydive. It's on my Bucket List.

Irene Jacobson said...

What an interesting interview, and your book sounds fascinating Diane. I don’t like to fly and I sure wouldn’t jump out of a plane. I’m very content with my feet planted firmly on the ground :-).

Diane Craver said...

Anne,
I'm impressed that you have skydiving on your Bucket List.

Diane Craver said...

Hi Irene,
Thank you for visiting. I'm glad you enjoyed the interview. I doubt I'll ever skydive but it was fun learning about it and writing the adventure in Whitney in Charge.

Unknown said...

Great interview ladies!

Shawna K. Williams said...

Great interview, Diane! I enjoyed Whitney in Charge so much, and I'm really looking forward to your next release in January, Marrying Mallory.

Diane Craver said...

Hi Marcus,
Thank you - glad you stopped by Anne's blog!

Hi Shawna,
I'm so happy that you liked Whitney in Charge. I hope you'll enjoy Marrying Mallory, too!

Andrea I said...

I enjoyed your interview. I'm glad I saw it as I was not familar with your books. I look forward to reading them.

Diane Craver said...

Thanks, Andrea. I'm glad you want to read my books! Have a nice evening.

Mary Beth said...

Hi ladies, great interview! I tandem jumped with my boyfriend once and loved it! Never had the nerve to jump alone though. Maybe someday.

Diane Craver said...

Mary Beth,
That's wonderful you jumped with your boyfriend and loved it. Thanks for stopping by.

Anne Patrick said...

Mary Beth, I’m envious. I fell in love with the thought of skydiving when researching one of my books. There is a place not far from where I live that offers skydiving classes and I’ve been seriously thinking about doing it for my birthday next year. Thanks for dropping by and for sharing your experience.

And thank you everyone else for coming by today and supporting Diane with her fabulous book. I haven’t read Whitney in Charge, but I did get to read parts of Marrying Mallory (when I was formatting it for you Diane – I couldn’t resist). Diane is a very gifted writer, so I encourage you to pick up a copy of one of her books. Diane, I wish great success with Whitney in Charge. Thanks so much for allowing me to interview you. It’s been fun!

Diane Craver said...

Hi Andrea,
You won a free download of one of my Samhain ebooks - I just drew your name! Email me at: DianeCraverATcinci.rr.com to let me know your choice of either A Fiery Secret, No Greater Loss, OR Never the Same.

Everyone, thank you, for the comments! I enjoyed reading them. I'm going to have a contest in a week or two at my blog so hope you'll visit there, too.

Diane Craver said...

Hi Anne,
You should go skydiving for your next birthday! That'd be a wonderful present!

Thanks again for having me here today - it was lots of fun. I'm glad you read some of Marrying Mallory. I appreciate all the time you spent formatting it for me.

Anne Patrick said...

WooHoo, congratulations Andrea!!!
Thanks again everyone for coming by.

Miss Mae said...

I thought the interview was for TODAY, Tuesday!! You mean I'm a day late? *sigh*...Story of my life!

Good luck with Whitney, Diane. I know you worked hard on this, and deserve every success! :)

Diane Craver said...

Hi Miss Mae,
I'm delighted you visited here. Thank you so much for your kind wishes for Whitney. Take care.

Diane Craver said...

Irene,

I never heard from Andrea for my giveaway so I drew again and this time it was your name! Congrats! Please email me and tell me which Samhain ebook of mine you'd like. Here is my email address:
DianeCraverATcinci.rr.com

Irene Jacobson said...

Diane, thank you so much. I'm looking forward to reading Fiery Secret.

Anne, thank you for having Diane on your blog. I enjoy reading about different authors and their works, as well as their writing habbits.

Diane Craver said...

Irene,
I emailed you a download of A FIERY SECRET - good choice. :) AFS is one of my favorite books - I enjoyed writing it a lot.

Thanks for your quick response!

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