WRITER

Award-Winning Novelist

I have written all my life: poetry, lyrics, scripts for TV (“Love Boat”), film reviews (see below).  But it is as a novelist that I think some of my best work was done.

Interesting how that came about: In 1990, I was recovering from a relationship mishap when a friend recommended I read a romance novel, something I had never done before.  It will make you feel better, she assured me, as they always have a “happy ending.” In the spirit of “Can’t hurt, right?” I read it. And then I read another. I soon began devouring romance novels, one a day, two days if it was really long. Some of them were simply awful, most ranged from fair-to-good, and some were outstanding examples of fine writing, with complex characters and creative and unpredictable story-lines. At the end of the year, I had read 300 of them. Yes. 300. I LOVE to read, and I gulp down good books the same way we gulp down a favorite meal.  I was now an official fan of the genre!

So I said to myself, “I can write one of these,” and I did. (I had already written for television, so I was not a novice). I sold that first one, “Sultry Whispers,” to the Loveswept Romance line of a huge publisher, Bantam Books. Over the next many years, the publishers changed, but I sold 18 more, and had a lovely time writing all of them. Along the way, I won some awards, went to a bunch of conventions, made lifelong friends and taught workshops. I also became an active board member and then President of Romance Writers of America.

I stopped writing them only because I no longer had any stories in me to tell. Nothing dramatic happened, no writers’ block or burn-out or lack of interest; I just stopped wanting to do it anymore. But I treasure the time I spent on them and some of them actually hold up pretty well today, if I may say so myself. Which I just did.

They run the gamut from straight romance to comedic romance to romantic suspense (mystery/thrillers with a love story.) You can find most of them as used paperbacks but I plan in the near future to release each of them as an e-book and will also record them myself! In the printable list below, I’ve starred (*) the books that will eventually be available as I publish each one.

The written word:  nothing can take its place.

Did you know that I have written for television and am currently a film reviewer? And that I’ve published nineteen romances novels? No? Well now you do!

AWARDS

The Golden Quill
The Orange Rose
The Aspen Gold
Finalist for Romance Writers of America RITA Awards
The Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence

ROMANCE NOVELS
Rotten Tomatoes

TOMATOMETER-APPROVED CRITIC

 

RECENT FILM REVIEWS
Diane is a film critic with The Malibu Times. Enjoy some of her recent film reviews below.