Hi, Diane. Welcome to Writers4Higher.
1.
Tell
me about yourself. Your book(s), your life, your inspiration.
Diane
grew up in Greenport, a small resort town on the eastern tip of Long Island.
She graduated from SUNY at Albany, Seton Hall University, and Fordham University,
where she received a Ph.D. She married her college sweetheart, Robert. They
lived in Tallman, New York, near New York City, and raised a son and daughter. She
taught French, Latin, and English, and for several years was the Coordinator of
a K-12 district-wide English as a Second Language Program.
Tired
of shoveling snow and raking leaves, Diane and her husband made a big change in
their lives. Fond of beaches and dramatic sunsets, they moved to St.
Petersburg, Florida. No more snow, but plenty of leaves. She split her time
working as an Educational Consultant and writing, but as soon as her first
novel was published, she turned to writing full-time, and her long-time dream
became a reality. Her short stories have won awards; her novels have been
published internationally. She is a frequent guest speaker at writing groups
and workshops.
The
Tell-Tale Treasure is Diane’s first
novel for SYP, Southern Yellow Pine Publishing. Others will soon follow. Her
five previous novels—The Montauk Mystery,
The Montauk Steps, The Tomoka Mystery, The Cinderella Murders, and The
Treasures of Montauk Cove—were published originally in hardcover by Avalon,
then in paperback by World Wide Mysteries, and recently in hardcover,
paperback, and e-book by Thomas & Mercer, the mystery division of Amazon. She
writes a newsletter/blog to family, friends she grew up with, neighbors,
fitness friends, volunteer friends, writing friends, and people she meets as
she travels the world seeking adventures that often make their way into her
stories.
2.
Where
do you see your writing taking you in the future?
I
can’t even begin to predict where my writing will take me. A story begins forming when I learn something
new and different (such as the haunting sound of a musical instrument called an
erhu, sometimes called a Chinese fiddle or Chinese violin), then I research the
topic to learn much more, and, most interesting of all, I create characters who
will live that story and possibly help solve the mystery that is taking place.
At that point, the hard work begins: writing and rewriting, discussing my critiquing
partners’ advice and, of course, monitoring the characters, who, in every novel
I write, seem to vie for a bigger role. That’s when I have to ask myself: who
is in control? Is it me or is it the
characters?
For
a long time, I reached into my past for memories of Long Island, where I grew
up. I branched out to the New Jersey shore after I saw a painting entitled The Woman by the Sea, and created a
story. Two years ago, I traveled to Guatemala on an adventure trip, where my
group climbed high pyramids, swam deep rivers, learned how to shoot a blowgun,
and journeyed through the jungle and onto a balsa raft to travel down an Amazon
tributary. I recorded everything and turned it into an adventure story that
should be in print next year. I didn’t know what I was writing until I got home
and put it all together. So, I don’t know where my writing will take me—and
that’s the biggest adventure of all!
3.
How
do you use your talents/time to help others?
Volunteerism
plays a very important part in my life. Currently, I volunteer as a Friend (and
Secretary) of the South Community Library in St. Petersburg. We organize all
the donated books, sell them once a month at a very popular books sale, and
with the funds we buy summer programs that take place at the library for the
children of all ages. The programs are educational and fun. Most popular this
past summer was the “Ranger” who arrived with boxes of every size (with air
holes), housing animals that he discussed. The favorite was the amazingly long,
bright yellow python.
I
also teach creative writing to the Teenage Book Club at the library once a
month. I am a docent at the Dali Museum, where I give tours in English and
French.
Annual
events also occupy much of my time: The Great American Teach-In where I teach 6
classes of creative writing in one day, once a year: First Night (New Year’s
Eve Celebration) where my husband and I serve as information people and sell
tickets to our popular event for all ages. Over the years, I have also volunteered at Bayfront Hospital,
The Fine Arts Museum, and the Florida International Museum.
Readers
can connect with me at my Amazon Page:
amazon.com/author/dianewsawyer
Website: www.dianewsawyer.com
My
books are available from my publisher:
Southern Yellow Pine (SYP) Publishing: www.syppublishing.com
Also, online at these vendors:
Best to you and your writing, Diane!
Rhett DeVane, blogmaster
Southern Fiction Author
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