This Week’s Author: Diana Dawn

Book Spotlight:

“A mix of fairy tales and modernism with romance, adventure, and magic…a perfect fit!”

Snow found herself falling into another world…literally…as she ran from her evil stepmother who was trying to kill her. And now, a new world full of romance and mystery and magic awaited her. But, she is still hunted…still in constant fear for her life from that witch. Searching for her “prince and protector” among the handsome strangers in this mystical remote village, she finds new friends among its residents, both historical and present-day folks. It’s a mysterious woods where once you fall into it, you can’t leave. This was her new home, a world of magic and new family and friends and…romance.

A new twist on a fairy tale retelling and re-imagining romance adventure…‘Fallen Snow’ is the first book in the Whispering Willows series.”…a captivating fairy tale and fantasy book featuring the theme of romance!”–Five Star Review

About The Author:

Diana Dawn is a writer and author of the book series, Whispering Willows. As a lover of fairy tales and romance, Diana has focused her writing on romantic fiction, with an occasional hint of classic fables. She has been a lifelong writer and first began creating stories in grade school. When she isn’t glued to her computer or lost in her next fantasy story, Diana enjoys taking vacations with her husband and three children. You can find all about what is happening with my books at https://dianadawnbooks.com/

Upcoming book highlights:

Releasing Feb. 8th, I have a story “A Taste of Love” in the Valentine’s boxed set “With Every Beat of My Heart”. Available for pre-order now https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09K7P1RMQ

Releasing Feb. 13th, I have a stand-alone Valentine’s short story “Valentine’s Crush” as a part of a Holiday series. Available for pre-order now. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09DTT8C8J

Releasing May 3rd, I have a story, “Dragon Hearts Beating” in the YA dragon-themed boxed set “Dracos”. Available for pre-order now. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09HX31P21

Please check out my series Whispering Willows! The first two books are free to download either on my website or online. Plus, you can find more info on the rest of the series on my website or my Amazon page.

https://books2read.com/u/m2Ze8r

https://dianadawnbooks.com/

Interview With Diana Dawn:

Tell us about the books you’ve published so far. Can you tell us about some of your upcoming novels?

My largest endeavor has been my series, Whispering Willows. It started back in the late 1990s. I was part of a small online writing club. I decided to write my story around what would happen to Snow White if she “fell” into another world. It was a “shared world”. We all would write a chapter a week or so. I wrote there for several years on this same series. The writing club finally shut down in 2009. I didn’t do anything with my work for the next 10 years. Then, recently in 2019, I decided to not let all of that time and dedication go to waste, so I made the leap to self-publish my chapters into a book series. I have books one through eleven published so far and plan to wrap up the series on book twelve this year. However, I have a lot of other projects in the pipeline, so I hope I can get book twelve done this year! I am part of many multi-author boxed sets from this year on through 2025! Most recent are two stories for Valentines. One is a contemporary romantic suspense story coming out as a stand-alone book in a Holiday themed series by Indie/Pendent Book Services. It’s called “Valentine’s Crush” about two high school teachers who fall for each other but at the same time have to deal with a student’s deadly crush on one of them. Also, I have a story coming out in a Valentine’s themed multi-author boxed set titled “With Every Beat of My Heart”. My individual story is called “A Taste of Love” about a contestant on a reality cooking show with a crush on a celebrity chef. And in May, I will be part of a multi-author YA dragon-themed boxed set called “Dracos”. My story is titled “Dragon Hearts Beating”. This set is a collection of YA stories about dragons ranging from shifters to romance to adventure and beyond. And since it’s YA, it’s a clean read. All of my stories are clean and suitable for YA.

What was the moment you knew you wanted to be an author?

I started writing stories and stage plays when I was in elementary school. I really enjoyed re-writing endings to shows that I wanted to change, as well as writing new ideas that I had in my head. As a child, first, I would “act them out” with my dolls, then I finally moved on to just writing them on paper. Then in high school, I would type them on the computer. Hence, the author in me was born.

What are some things you do to overcome doubts about your writing?

I have my husband read everything first. He always has some good feedback. Then sometimes I have my mom or dad read them, but that’s usually when I’m finished. I try to get my best friend to read stuff, but she’s just too busy! LOL! My husband is my biggest asset. He says I’m my own worst critic. (Aren’t we all!) For example, lately, I’ve been stuck on this one story more than any other project I’ve worked on for different reasons. My husband says I’m too hard on myself and the project is going fine. I even went to an outside editor source for feedback. It didn’t really help, and instead I came to the conclusion that my husband was right and I just need to go with my gut when I have doubts.

Have any actual life experiences reflected in your writing?

They say “write what you know”. I have found this to be true. I have a lot of stories that are historical romance, which I love to write. Well, I had some ideas that were contemporary romance that I wanted to try my hand at. I was surprised at how easy they were to write. It was like the words went right from my brain to the paper with little effort. Whether it was dialogue or scene descriptions, I couldn’t figure out why it was so easy. Then I realized it was because it was what I KNEW. I discovered it was much easier to write contemporary romance, because conversations, surroundings, everything is what we live with now, every day. That isn’t to say I am going to stop writing historical stories, but I’m certainly not going to shy away from contemporary romance, either.

Who was your easiest character to write about and why? What was your hardest and why?

Snow White has been my easiest character. She is the main character in my series, Whispering Willows. Since I have always loved the character of Snow White, I found that writing about her innocence, sweetness, and naïve charm was a breeze for me. It was easy to take her and weave a world around her, adding characters and adventures into her life. My hardest character is probably the one I am writing now. It’s not just the character, but as I mentioned, it’s been a challenge to finish the whole story. I had an idea in my head that took place in the 1700s, that I now have to convert to a post-apocalyptic story (for various reasons). You’d be surprised how difficult it is to convert the character styles, dialect, period attire, time era scenery, etc.

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