To the future!

Yesterday my daughter and I went to see Austenland, a movie that centers around the question, “What if there were a real place where you could step into Regency England and live the life of Austen’s heroines?”

The movie was fun and filled with plenty of Austen references (as you’d expect). The heroes were dashing with just enough mystery to keep the entire piece intriguing. Jane, the intrepid hero reminded me at times more of Jane Eyre, a Bronte heroine rather than an Austen one, but it didn’t bother me in the least.

But it did get me to thinking.

Jane Austen wrote only six major novels (can you name them? See below to see if you’re right!). Yet here we are, 194 years after her death, still entranced by the world she created. Even the Bronte sisters (Charlotte, Emily and Anne) keep hold of our reading interest and they only have one major work each (Match ‘em up! Who wrote what? See below for the answers).

No, I’m not going to ask what you think I’m going to ask. Reams of papers have been written on all four of these women with plenty of analysts giving their thoughts as to why the stories have endured. To me it’s actually pretty simple: good stories and memorable characters.

And that’s what the Scribes write as well. From Tara Nina’s McKinnons to Ruby Storm’s hunky heroes in love, from Tielle St. Clare’s dragons to Cait Miller’s stories of magic, Lynn LaFleur’s wonderful seductions, Arianna Hart’s sexy heroes and my own tales of Dominance and submission, we tell stories. Good stories.

Now, in two hundred years will someone write a fictional getaway based on our books? Why not? After all, a girl can dream!

Answers:

Jane Austen: In publishing order: Sense and Sensiblity, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey, and Persuasion

Charlotte Bronte: Jane Eyre

Emily Bronte: Wuthering Heights

Anne Bronte: Agnes Grey

Writing outside our genre

When Nora Roberts wanted to write a detective novel, she and her publisher decided to write under the name J.D. Robb. They figured regular readers of Ms. Roberts' romance novels wouldn't like it if they picked up her newest novel and discovered it wasn't romance, but something else entirely.

More recently, J.K. Rowling wrote a mystery and created a new name, not to see if she could sell using a different name, but to "brand" her writing. Rowling writes young adult (specifically one particular series), Robert Galbraith writes crime novels. Same person, two different names.

The point here isn't the branding, however, it's the fact that authors have many stories inside us. The genre that makes us famous isn't necessarily the genre we want to write in for the rest of our lives. In fact, most of us would tell you the story dictates the genre and sometimes we writers don't have a lot of say in the matter!

Which is why I have released a book of poetry.

Yes, you read that right: a book of poetry.

I've been reading poetry all my life. In fact, nursery rhymes are the first poems most of us learn by heart. My mom wrote poetry for special occasions - I still have the poem she wrote for my fourteenth birthday when they said yes to a school trip to New York City and my dad used to write couplets on our hard boiled eggs. I was the only kid at the table who had an egg everyone wanted to read before I cracked it!

So it probably shouldn't come as a surprise that I've been writing little pieces for years. I've never tried to publish any, however, until now. Diana's Little Book of Poems contains eighteen of my favorites and is now available for purchase!

In tribute to my mom, here's the poem I wrote about her (it's included in the collection):

Mom

I never thought much of my mother and the English language,

Except to note that her grammar wasn’t good,

Neither was her spelling.

But then one day as we drove past a field of wheat, she made mention of the fact

And then said,

“I like to watch the wind dance across the tops.”

My mother is a poet.

(May 26, 1995)

Once you've read the poems, please consider leaving a review. Thanks and play safe!

Diana

Restless

Restless.

That’s the perfect word to describe me these past few days.

I can’t sit still. My hands are always looking for something to do. I wander around the house only to end up exactly where I started.

I have a dozen things that need doing and not one that I want to do. Usually I suck it up and just go do it because the chore ain’t goin’ anywhere.

But once in a while, I just get, well, restless.

Shopping sometimes helps. So does taking a ride around one of the lakes (There are eleven Finger Lakes. Can you name them? Bonus points for adding in the five Great Lakes. First one to list all fifteen (correctly) in the comments wins a free download of Remembered Love – a short story I’ll be re-releasing soon).

But what mostly helps when I get in this mood? Reading a good book. Read one yesterday and one today. Both romances, one new, one old. Have to admit, I liked the new one better, even though the old one was still pretty good.  The new one was Lorraine Heath’s Lord of Wicked Intentions. Yes, I’m a sucker for a good Regency. Wouldn’t ever write one, myself. I’d goof up some piece of etiquette and the Regency readers would hand me my head. Minus the platter. I’ll stick with reading them.

And the old one – Jane Austen’s Persuasion. I’d read it about ten years ago or so, but it was on my Nexus (free download from Kindle) and I was out of other reading material—and still restless. A good read and I love Anne Elliot. Too much of the story is told, however, not shown and I wanted to watch (and hear) dialogue, not be told about it.

So how about you? What do you do when you can’t seem to settle down and the chores are a chore to do? What settles your restlessness?

Play safe!

Diana

(edited to correct the number of Finger Lakes. Thanks, Virginia! Good catch.)

Cleaning - and Keeping

My parents are getting on in years and Mom’s thoughts have recently turned to cleaning out the house. She wants us kids to have certain things before the two of them pass on. One, she wants the joy of seeing us get the stuff we can use/like/want and two, they’re going to downsize soon and this will be less she has to pack/get rid of later.

The problem is, I’m at the same stage. I’ve been going through our own attic and consolidating and donating “stuff” for the past year. My husband and I have been married for thirty-two years (come this June) and we’ve managed to amass FAR too many possessions over the years.

Some of what I’ve kept is for my kids’ places, when they get them. When Steven and I first married, we decorated with a combination of Early Garage Sale and Parent’s Attic. It was great! Mismatched table lamps, a gaudy couch that didn’t match anything, a kitchen table that had seen several generations of newlyweds – they all found a home with us. When our kids leave us, many of those same items will move on a generation further.

Which is why I came home from my parents’ cleaning with a trunk full. Some 1000-piece puzzles we’ll make and pass on, a table that my mom remembers being her mother’s, more than one bottle of liquor (unopened and old...but then, whiskey never goes bad, right?)...all things we’ll use or use up and a few things we’ll pass on to our kids when they leave.

Because, no matter how old we get, sentiment gets us – and more stuff comes into the house.

Sigh.

Play safe!

Diana

Of power outages and new releases...

Normally, this is Tara Nina's turn to blog but Sandy went and put her big foot into it and Tara and I have switched places in the line-up.

First of all, Tara's fine. Many of you know she lives in New Jersey. Yes, she's one of many without power but, luckily she does not live along the coast so she still has a house. She and her husband also have a generator, so she's warm, dry and tells us she has plenty of food.

What she is running out of is gasoline for the generator. We've all seen the lines snaking around corners and doubling back on itself as people wait for their turn at the pump. :(

Since there's no way to mail her a gallon of gas, please consider donating to the American Red Cross or the Salvation Army, two organizations that are helping so many people right now.They're bringing hot meals to to those who need it, providing shelter for those who have no homes, and yes, helping to coordinate getting fuel to those who have run out. Donate blood if you can to keep the supply levels up, donate money or time if you have it. The aftermath is often worse than the storm itself.

And in the midst of all this, the newest Sweet Spot story released this week! Nothing like curling up inside with a good, hot read to keep you warm. TIED TO HOME centers around Matt Carter and Wisteria Penny Lane (can you tell her parents were hippies?). After several years apart, their interest kindles when they realize they both like their sex on the kinky side - the BDSM kinky side. :)

Here's an excerpt to whet your appetite:

TIED TO HOME by Diana Hunter
All Rights Reserved

Matt Carter sauntered in, taking a moment to look around. Wisteria Penny Lane. She’d taken a lot of heat for her name when they were kids. Hippie parents who didn’t have a clue the teasing they’d saddled onto their only child. He wondered if they still had that commune outside of town.

He’d seen the ropes, of course. And the marks around her breasts. She’d been tied up pretty well. Who knew when they lost their virginity together in the barn on her parent’s farm that the girl would grow up to have kinky tastes? Or that he’d grow up to have them as well?

Now she stood, defiant and proud, her wrists held out before her in challenge. She’d  thrown a book at his head the last time he’d seen her, as he recalled. If Brian had told him whose lock he was going to fix, he doubted he’d have come.

“Let me see what I can do. Have a seat.”

There was a small chest on the floor in front of the window and he gestured to it.

“I’d rather stand.”

“I’m sure you would. But I need steady hands and that’s easier to do when I’m kneeling.” He smirked. “And you always did want me down on one knee, as I recall.”

“You bastard. Get the fuck out of my house.”

He drew back in mock astonishment. “Wisteria Lane, such language!”

“I don’t want you here. Tell Brian he sent the wrong man.”

Matt studied her face. A war went on there. One moment she seemed fully in control, the next she was a breath away from breaking down into full-blown panic mode. Fascinated, he watched the control side take over again. When she spoke this time, her voice was more leveled.

“Go away, Carter. I meant what I said the last time I saw you.”

“Yeah, I remember. That you never wanted to see me again. Well, here I am. And you’re stuck and I can get you free.” He held up the small case of tools. “Picking locks is something I do.”

Wisteria sat down hard on the chest, her wrists still held out before her. “Turned to a life of crime?” She sounded bitter and Matt recognized she felt defeated.

“Worked with a security firm for a while,” he explained as he knelt down before her and opened the case. He pulled out a dark blue roll of felt and unfolded it as he spoke. “They had a master locksmith as part of their crew and he taught me a few things.”

“Security firms are supposed to keep people out, not get them in.”

He snorted. “You’d be surprised at how often people lock themselves out of their own systems. First thing they taught me was how to break into a car with a slimjim.” Carefully, he reached for her hands. “Now, let me see.”

She said nothing to him as he examined the problem. The first piece caught in the lock of the handcuffs came out easily enough with a small tweezers. The second proved more difficult and he had to twist around to work the lock from her side of it. That put him uncomfortably close and her perfume distracted him.

Pretending his shoulder didn’t touch hers was another distraction. And that string bikini wasn’t helping. He remembered those breasts, how soft they felt in his hands, how he could make her purr by licking her nipple…

The piece sprang free and with a twist, he opened the handcuffs, totally shocked by the feeling of disappointment that washed over him. What was he thinking? Wiste wanted no part of him. And, if he was honest with himself, admittedly not one of his strong points, he didn’t really want a complication in his life right now. He’d just left one in the desert of Las Vegas, he didn’t need to pick up another one here in Connecticut.

“Yes!”

Her exaltation was immediate. He didn’t say a word, only putting his tools away, re-rolling the felt and putting it back in its case. Wisteria jumped up and brushed past him as if he didn’t exist.

“Em, he did it. Emily? Em!”

But Matt knew Emily had left. He’d heard her sneak down the stairs before he’d even gotten his tools out. For reasons of her own, Emily Baker had left them alone.

Like it? TIED TO HOME comes in all ebook formats. You can find the links to what you like here. If you prefer a hardcopy, the paperback is coming soon.

Please consider a donation to the Red Cross or Salvation Army!

Diana

To Romanticon...or not

Many of the Scribes will be away from their desks next weekend, attending Ellora’s Cave’s yearly meet up of authors and readers: Romanticon. Cait, Ruby, Lynn, and Tara will all be there, holding a workshop on “The Nuts and Bolts of M/M Erotica” – with an emphasis on the nuts and bolts :). Don’tcha just want to be a fly on the wall in THAT talk!

Of course, it won’t be all fun and games in Ohio this year. Many of you know that one of EC’s top models, Angelo, was killed last week. There is a tribute planned for him on Friday night. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family. Tina Engler wrote a fitting eulogy for the Romanticon website.

Tielle, Cat and I, however, aren't attending this year. For various reasons, life has conspired to keep us home. One of these days we’re going to an event where all seven of us can be in the same place at the same time! To date, we have never done that. All our conversations are done through email with our brainstorming sessions for The Sweet Spot series taking place on a private wiki we've put together for our use.

But isn’t that wonderful, too? That seven people, all living in different parts of the world, can form a group, work together on various projects, and become friends, all while rarely seeing each other face-to-face? I’ve met all the Scribes – eaten dinner or shared drinks and conversation with every one of them. Just never at the same time in the same place.

I can tell you one thing...if we ever DO manage a group-wide, face-to-face meeting? The country that hosts us will never be the same! Some among us are party-ers who love to dance, others are quiet and don’t say much except for an occasional zinger that keeps us laughing long into the night.

I’ll miss getting to see the four at Romanticon and am making a resolution now: Before the end of another year, we’re all getting together in one big group. We’ll swap news about our families, talk about writing and tell dirty jokes till the sun comes up and goes down again. We’ll laugh and cry, rail at the world then solve all its problems. And we will act like what we have become: Scribe Sisters.

Love ya, Ladies! Have a great time at Romanticon; we'll leave the lights on for you :)

Diana

When real life gets in the way

Robbie Burns was right. "The best laid plans o' mice and men oft' gang agley..."

And boy, did I have it all planned out. Because of an illness in my husband's family, he and I cancelled our trip to Maine and Nova Scotia, a trip initially planned for last week and this. Spending those two weeks at our cabin in the mountains of southern New York was our second option and I made a list of all the local places we hadn't been yet. We'd stay at the cabin and do smaller day trips in between trips home to check on his mom in the hospital. This way, he could also get a good deal of painting time in and I could finish my Sweet Spot novel that releases in November. A good compromise, right?

And then life happened. We had to come home not once, but twice, because my husband got an interview for a directing job (he directs live theatre). We had to come home three more times because of an ill relative who needed care 24/7 for a few days. The silver lining was a chance to do a load of laundry, but really? It's hard to vacation, write or paint when you keep coming home!

So, after six days, we totaled one day of vacation and five days of life getting in the way. I wrote less than 3000 words all week and my husband painted only two paintings worth talking about (and one we're just going to pretend doesn't exist. Love you, honey!). We were so busy traveling back and forth, there just hasn't been a lot of down time.

The one day trip we managed was to Corning, NY. We've been to the Corning Glass Factory nearly every year since the kids were little. It's a wonderful place, but we've been there a lot, so we skipped that this time and went to the Rockwell Museum of Western Art, a huge collection of western American art. What makes it unique is it's location -- in the East! Three floors of incredible paintings, sculptures and historical artifacts. My favorites were the pieces by Frederick Remington and N.C. Wyeth. Afterward, we ate lunch at an excellent bistro at the end of Market Street, then shopped the entire street before heading back to the cabin. And yes, I did, at least, get a start on my Christmas shopping!

What this is the long way of saying is that...I'm behind on my novel. I'd hoped to have it finished before we left, but I got stuck on a plot point (I'm past it now). My second self-imposed deadline was to be done by the end of these two weeks. Now I'm hoping to be done before September first. I want the first draft done before I have to start back at school. With five classes and five preps this year (and two study halls to babysit), I'm worried about not having enough mental capacity left at the end of the day to do anything more than edit.

So yeah. Life gets in the way sometimes. Okay, most of the time. We're going to try again this week, hoping to salvage a few days for relaxation and creativity. Maybe finishing a novel isn't such a crazy dream after all...

Play safe,
Diana

A little murder with your dinner?

I've been writing erotic romance for nine years. In that time I've published 8 short stories, 5 novellas and 6 full-length novels. In each one I have explored some aspect of the D/s lifestyle, from the extreme Master/slave relationship to a simple power exchange between a married couple looking to spice up their love life.

But in all that time, in all those stories, I've never tried a murder-mystery. Well, that's not actually true, I do have a partial mystery sitting on my laptop that I never finished (wrote myself into a corner at 20,000 words and there it sits). It's a hard genre to write in and more focused on plot than relationships. Murder-mysteries have more characters, plot twists and red herrings than I've ever dealt with until now.

So I approached Shooting Star with some trepidation. Could I actually manage all those characters? What about the false clues? Could I successfully hide the true killer until the reveal at the end? I was nervous and excited all through the writing of this novel.

Last week I took the plunge, releasing it as a self-published book. It's already available in all ebook formats and print is coming soon (found some formatting problems in the proof copy. Fixing those and hope to have print copies available shortly). The story involves not one, but two couples (okay, three) who run afoul of one very nasty person intent on killing.

As Sherlock would say, "The game's afoot!" Read the book and leave reviews (on the site or on your own blogs) and let me know if I successfully pulled it off! My next novel is one for the Sweet Spot series and I'm thinking there may be murder prowling the streets of Port Clef if Shooting Star is well-received.

Play safe!
Diana

Doing it

Readers, when you read a romance, do you ever picture someone you know at the hero or heroine? What about you writers - ever base a hero/heroine on a real-life person? I've admitted there are pieces of me in every heroine I write, but what I haven't admitted until now is that my heroes are often people I know, have met, or would like to meet someday.

Yep, the physical appearances of ALL my heroes are based on real-life people. I just find it easier to describe what they look like when I have a real model before me. Much like a painter uses a person as inspiration for his/her work, so do I. Friends, relatives, even celebrities find their doppelgangers in my stories. 

Phillip Townshend, for example (Secret Submission, Submission Revealed and Services Rendered), is a dead-ringer in looks for my own wonderful husband. Jim in Hooked could double for Richard Gere. My current work-in-progress (still unnamed - augh!) uses Hugh Jackman as a model. And the magnificent Dom in Sahara Heat, which releases this week, looks suspiciously like a friend of mine.

Yet the personalities of each character are uniquely their own. Each hero might have trace elements of personality from this person or that, but mostly the guy gets his own due. He stands on his own and owes nothing to nobody. He is his own person who knows what he wants and who he wants it from. And we love him for it.

So what about it? Do you put the image of a real-life person into your head when you read or write?

Play safe, 

Diana

What a week!

I'm late posting because I've been ill. But I'm feeling much better now and today my email brought me something worth celebrating!

You have perhaps read of PayPal's recent decision to stop allowing its services to be used by companies that sell certain kinds of erotica. If the companies did not censor their offerings, PayPal would no longer do business with them. 

Further information then came out that PayPal's change in their Terms of Service (TOS) was actually dictated to them by the credit card companies and banks who decided THEY didn't want to have dealings with certain kinds of erotica. It was the financial institutions who put PayPal in the middle and PayPal made a decision based on their own best business interests.

Enter Mark Coker of Smashwords. In my blog post on this earlier last week, I said that, "If I were an artist, I'd draw him as a knight standing before a pile of books, wielding a sword of words against bankers and investment firms who stand ready with lit matches."

Today I'd adapt that picture to one of him beating back the bankers and investment firms, the wind of his sword blowing out their matches because today, PayPal reversed it's decision. They will NOT be a part of censorship of legal fiction in any way.

Does that mean PayPal has put its own business in jeopardy because its standing up for what it has come to understand is right? You betcha. In Mark's words (from his public letter sent today): "This is a big, bold move by PayPal. It represents a watershed decision that protects the rights of writers to write, publish and distribute legal fiction. It also protects the rights of readers to purchase and enjoy all fiction in the privacy of their own imagination. It clarifies and rationalizes the role of financial services providers and pulls them out of the business of censoring legal fiction."

So here's me beating the drum and recommending to all of you who purchase ebooks: Go to Smashwords. Visit the site and look at the offerings. Many of the Scribes have books there for sale, but so do thousands of other writers. Support this wonderful company that went to bat for our right to read what we want without censorship from Those Who Know Better. You won't be sorry...and you'll help send a message that solidifies PayPal's decision that they did the right thing.

Diana

Resolutions

I’m a pack rat. There. I admitted it. Admission is halfway to solving the problem, right? So by admitting it, doesn’t it rightfully follow that my house will unclutter itself? That all the dust bunnies will move out and there will no longer be piles of “stuff” all over the place?

Apparently not. When we moved into this house nearly eighteen years ago, we had more room (and rooms) than we knew what to do with. It’s an old Queen Anne Victorian with a balcony off one bedroom (which we turned into a study), a wrap-around porch (which we use as an outdoor living room in the summer, sans television) and lots and lots of space. At least for us. There are just the four of us and (usually) one cat at a time living in 2500 square feet. We came from a house that had 1600 square feet and it’s amazing what the addition of less than a thousand square feet can do to a place. Of course, we have a full attic and basement in this house and the other didn’t.

Storage space, nonexistent before, suddenly became available. So we stored stuff. And stored more stuff. And then got more stuff to store. The attic as well as the basement managed to collect unwanted toys, books the kids outgrew, memories and of course, Christmas decorations.

Recently, my daughter graduated from college, got a job and moved away. Again, one would think the house would be less full just by default. That the little decluttering fairies would come in the night, or at least to help with the move, and take some of the stuff away.

Again, you would be wrong. Yes, her room is emptier, but the rest of the house? Not so much.

What really did it was the re-thinking of the use of space. My husband has recently taken up painting (check out his paintings...I always knew there was a latent talent there. He just needed a little push). As a result, we are drowning in canvasses, paint tubes, and all the general detritus that goes along with selling prints of one’s paintings (do you have any idea how much room mailing tubes take up?). The study, which we shared, had become me tucked into a corner increasingly losing ground to my husband’s new career.

We also discovered we didn’t work well together. The clacking of my keyboard as I wrote disturbed his mental process. The music he wanted to play while he painted disturbed mine. I need to get up and walk around every once in a while and my steps jiggled his canvas (it’s an old house). Tensions built.

Family meeting time. We presented the problem to the kids and said we needed to find a new way of using the house so my husband could have his own studio. Without hesitation, my son gave up his room and volunteered to move into the tiniest of the bedrooms upstairs. At 9’x 6’ there’s barely enough room for a twin bed and a desk. But he worked out an agreement with my husband that his clothes could stay in the new “studio” and he’d live in what he now deemed his “man cave.”

Sometimes ya just gotta love your kids.

His solution ended up saving all our sanity in several ways. That room had become a catchall for my stuff. Taking a morning to clean it out gave me the opportunity to throw away stuff I’d been holding onto for far too long. His move and subsequent clean out gave my son the same opportunity. By the time the two of us were done with our respective rooms, we had six garbage bags for the Salvation Army and two for the trashman. We also filled two blue recycling bins.

And then my husband cleaned out his side of the study.

More for the Salvation Army, more for the garbageman, more for the recycling center.

I’m making a New Year’s Resolution to be less of a pack rat this year. When I come across something I haven’t used in a year’s time –and won’t use in the upcoming year—I’m tossing it. I’m re-thinking every purchase before I make it. Do I have something already that will do the same job? If I buy that blouse, what blouse am I sending away to make room? Can I get that book as an ebook on my Cruz? My resolution: nothing more comes in unless something of equal size goes out.

So how about you? How do you handle the clutter of living? I’m open to all suggestions! Help a gal out, here, will ya?

Diana

PS. Learning Curve has been re-released for the Kindle. If you don’t yet have a copy, be sure to pick up yours today!

Sometimes I think NaNoWriMo is designed simply as an exercise in frustration.

Nationa Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is a movement begun several years ago by a group of writers who vowed to write an entire novel of 50,000 words in one four-week period. The intent was to stop getting hung up on the editing and just let the novel flow out. Editing could happen later.

It was a wonderful idea and caught on with other authors. It spread through genre and age levels and now is a yearly, highly-anticipated event that authors from around the world choose to join. For the past three years I've participated, at least unofficially. I didn't sign up at the official site or join an offshoot group, but this year I've posted about my progress on my blog and Twitter stream. Needless to say, it ain't going so well for me.

I always start out with such high hopes. This year I wrote just over 9000 words the first week which kept me on par to complete 50K by December 1st. But the same problem came up that comes up every year. In my day job, I teach and grades are due by the end of the second week of November. That means I spend every "extra" moment the second week reading essays and senior papers. I worked late this year to get everything graded and came home exhausted. I didn't write but 2000 words the entire week.

Tried to catch up this week and had other RL issues get in the way so that I wrote not one single word on my manuscript. From 9000 to 2000 to 0. I'm more than halfway through the month and less than halfway to the target halfway point of 25,000 words.

The reality is what the reality is. I cannot add more hours in the day (I know, I've tried) and caffeine only gets me so far. I'm not offering these as excuses, but frustrations. Come retirement (2.5 more years, but who's counting?) and I can write 50K every month if I want. Right now, however, I am still squeezing writing time in the odd hours where I can.

I think it's safe to say I won't make the goal this year. I'm considerably further on my current wip, though, and that's always good. It's a full-length work with two couples I'm beginning to like--a lot. I'll be sorry when their story is finished because I enjoy spending time with them. I hope you will, too.

So, for those of you out there still aiming for that magic number -- good on ya! Keep going and I'm rooting for you from the sidelines. Get that novel out of you and onto the computer screen where you can work it in December. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!

As for me, I'll keep writing but I'm a little less hopeful about getting this novel completed before the end of the month.

Who am I?

I’m in the closet. Did you know that? Oh, you know Diana. Maybe you’ve even met her at one of the conventions or at a book signing. She’s friendly, enjoys the company of her fellow Scribes and all the readers and loves her Guinness.


But Diana is only one side of this author. You’ve probably figured out “Diana Hunter” is a pen name, a nom de plume, a pseudonym. When I sold my first book to Ellora’s Cave (Secret Submission), my husband wasn’t sure he wanted his family name dragged into the world of porn (oh, how much he’s learned in the past eight years!). Besides, I have a day job as a high school teacher and with the subject matter of my books better suited to 18 year olds and older, life could become difficult if I used my real name.

But then again, life has been sometimes difficult because of the separation of me and me. I have to constantly remember what Diana knows that I don’t. Or that I do and she doesn’t. And that’s another thing. I drive my kids nuts when I speak of myself in the third person (“Diana has a conference this weekend, so I’ll be leaving after school on Friday,” gave my daughter fits this past autumn.) There are times I’d love to come out of this cramped little space and rejoin the two parts of my life.

I can't even use the distintion "real life" vs "other life". BOTH lives are real, both are me, both are embodiements of my own personality. Who you see at the bookfairs and conferences is the same person you'd see if you came to visit me at school. There are things I'd love to discuss with you (readers) that I can't because my hand would tip and people would put two and two together and come up with my given name. So there are several frustrations to using a pen name.

I console myself with the fact that I have lots of company in my closet. Heck, many of our founding fathers wrote under pen names to protect their reputations (can you say “The Federalist Papers”?). Some writers hid their gender (George Elliot), some needed to save the family name (Moliere), and still others slanted their stories toward specific readers and so needed a name suitable for children’s books (Dr. Seuss).

In fact, when one starts looking at lists of pen names, I begin to realize just how crowded my closet is. Perhaps since I’m in such illustrious company, I should just settle in, stop complaining and get comfy. Hey, Saki – pass the pretzels!


PS. Be sure to check out the links above. You'll spend hours at Dr. Seuss's site just playing around and several hours more at Saki's site reading all the free stories! Play safe!