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.
