MEET DIANE CRAVER



DIANE CRAVER



Have you ever experienced a connection with a complete stranger after only brief introductions? I met Diane Craver through a mutual publisher and on a couple of Yahoo Groups for romance authors. She stood out among the other wonderful authors as a person with deep convictions and beliefs. I liked her pleasant, caring comments, and the fact that she always paid more attention to others rather drawing it to herself.

She’s an Ohio farm girl and still lives in the country. Don’t let that fool you—she is well-educated. She met the love of her life, another teacher, while teaching in an orphanage and directing their plays.

Diane writes fun and inspiring stories filled with memorable characters.



MARRYING MALLORY

I read one of those novels, titled Marrying Mallory. In it, things have always gone wrong for Mallory, including a divorce from the father of her young son. Even though she has faith in God, she suffers guilt because she cannot forgive her philandering husband. So she decides to do something for herself—a cosmetic surgical procedure she’s always wanted—and accepts the fact that some things cannot be changed. After all…life must go on.

Today, I am pleased to have Diane as my guest. Diane, you have a special Christmas release, titled A Christmas Gift. Since the season is right around the corner, I’m certain readers will want to know about it, too. What is the story about?

A CHRISTMAS GIFT

“Some of A Christmas Gift is based on my childhood experiences, so that lends an authentic feel to the whole story. Love seeps through the characters, even though the story line and characters are fictional. Debby Reeves is an adult in the prologue and epilogue of the book. The rest of the book is told through the viewpoint of Debby as a bright seven-year-old. Her father, Justin Reeves, is a man who has it all: a good job, a loving wife and children who are the center of his universe. Justin also has a secret he’d hidden from everyone his entire life. One night Debby stumbles upon his secret and is shocked by what she finds. She confronts her father with the awful truth. What happens next is heartwarming and proves that obstacles can be overcome at any age.”


The novel sounds like a perfect Christmas story. When will this book be available?

“A Christmas Gift will available on November 15th – in both trade paperback and eBook formats.”

You’re one of the busiest people I know, pulled in many directions. How and when do you find time to write?

“It’s hard. I thought it would be easier now that we only have two daughters at home but it isn’t. I actually wrote longer books when more children were at home. LOL My three books published by Samhain are much longer at approximately 85,000 words. My Desert Breeze books are only around 50,000 words. I wanted to keep A Christmas Gift short so it’s 25,000 words. It’s a perfect length to read during the busy holiday season! I write in spurts and set writing goals. I do manage to scrawl paragraphs on pieces of paper if busy with family and household chores, so later I can transfer what I’ve written to my laptop.”

Your life sounds full and rewarding! What is the most surprising thing about you that most people don’t know?

“I think they’d be surprised how easygoing I am when it comes to my hubby. When we were making our wedding plans, he said that I wouldn’t get him to wear a tux. I didn’t care if he wore a tux but wanted him to wear a nice suit. Then he decided to buy a leisure suit to wear because it wouldn’t require a tie. Wearing a tie would be a reminder that he was losing his freedom as a single guy and be a symbolic thing with feeling tied down. His words! He’s always been a nonconformist and unique in his thinking, and I actually went along with it even though I thought he should wear a suit and tie. We had a small church wedding with about 80 guests in 1975. He and the best man wore their stupid leisure suits that were only in style for a short time. After 35 years of marriage and six children, he never mentions feeling tied down. LOL”

You sound very proud of his nonconformist attitude! When you have complete freedom and time alone, what is one special thing you enjoy?

“If it’s in the summer, I like to escape to our pool and swim by myself. It’s quiet and peaceful. During other seasons, I enjoy reading.”

The pool sounds lovely—a perfect respite. Since you’re an accomplished author, what advice would you give to aspiring writers?

“It’s been a long road to publication for my books. Getting published hasn’t been easy. I made it with self-discipline, faith in my writing, family support, and determination. If you are an aspiring writer wanting to be published, hang in there. You have to continue to write and to believe in yourself. Writing is not a career for the weak. When it comes to rejections, you have to be persistent and develop a thick skin. Remember this is a subjective business so don’t get discouraged.”

Perfect advice. I don’t think anyone could have said it better. Do you have anything else you’d like to tell us?

“I have a Christmas contest on my blog. If you leave a comment on this post, your name is entered for my two drawings. The first drawing is Nov. 14th. The second one will be Dec. 8th. For each drawing, I’ll give away a signed copy of one of my Christmas releases to the winner, a $10 GC from one of my publishers, and a beautiful angel ornament. More details are on my blog. http://www.dianecraver.com/blog
Buy books for your Christmas gifts! Both my Christmas releases will be in paperback. Or if you prefer eBooks for your own reading enjoyment, all my books are in electronic formats.”
BUY LINK for Marrying Mallory:
http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-51/Marrying-Mallory/Detail.bok

BUY LINK for A Christmas Gift:
http://www.whimsicalpublications.com/newreleases.html

Diane’s Website:
http://www.dianecraver.com/

“Thank you, Celia, for having me on your fantastic blog!”

And thank you, Diane. I know readers will love your books.

Celia Yeary-Romance...and a little bit 'o Texas
http://www.celiayeary.blogspot.com/
http://www.celiayeary.com/
New Releases
Texas Promise-eBook-Desert Breeze Publishing
Making the Turn-print & eBook-Wings ePress

Hello, Las Vegas!

Okay, I admit it--I have nothing writerly to say today. My husband took me to Sin City for my birthday, and while we're not the sort to go wild and crazy, we did have a wonderful time. Actually, we had lots of fun! Just the two of us.

Here I am in an Undisclosed Location. Want to guess where I am?

The Strip was super busy. Approximately one-half of all twenty-somethings in the U.S. and Japan descended upon the casinos with much exuberance and hilarity. Where do they get the money to play Blackjack and those other games I can never remember? Oh, that was a foolish question, wasn't it?

I love to walk through the Forum Shops, but only to window shop and stay cool. No way can I buy anything in there. It's all so pretty, though.

Water is everywhere around and in the casinos, forming water falls, small streams, pools, and shooting fountains. As we walked around--in 108 degree weather (what were we thinking?), we remarked that we often got a whiff of something that smelled a little too much like a sewer. It finally occurred to me that the water is Reclaimed Water--from the sewage plants. I'm glad they're not using fresh water for showing off.

And now......

A good-looking guy followed me around, eveywhere I went! I wondered, what does he see in me, anyway? He was very attentive, kind, generous, thoughtful, and sweet. I stopped him once and said, "Look, mister, I'm a Senior Citizen, I have silver hair (like it?), and I'm not exactly voluptuous. What's the deal, here?" He answered, "Honey, you've been out in the 108 degree weather too long. Let me take you back to the hotel. You need a cold drink and a nice nap in the air conditioning." Hmmm, he was right. That nap sure was nice.

Now we're back home and I'm my old self again. I found 243 messages, even though I had changed eight loops to Special Notice Only. I had galley corrections to make quickly, because I tripped off on a vacation without a computer. Another publisher needs my information sheets--as in yesterday! I have two releases Wednesday (I hope) and I have not done one thing to tell anyone about them. "Oh, well, I'll worry about that later, for tomorrow is another day."

   Celia Yeary

August 29, 2010