Spotlight on Diane Alberts!

 

Hello, I am Diane Alberts, author of two books coming out with Decadent Publishing. Reclaimed is a full length paranormal novel, and Kill Me Tomorrow is my paranormal contribution to the popular 1NS series. I’m answering ten questions today, so you get to see a little piece of what goes inside each and every book of mine: Me.

What group did you hang out with in high school?  Honestly? None. I was a bit of a loner. I wasn’t an outcast, by any means. But I didn’t strictly fit into any one group. I had friends from the popular group, some from the musical side, others from drama, and some from the nerdy side. But, I always felt alone. No best friends to hang with every day, no one to tell my deepest secrets to. Not in high school, anyway. It’s probably why I hated high school, and left it as soon as I could without looking back. High school freaking sucks. If I could choose between walking over hot coals and high school, I’d choose the former. I used to eat my lunch in the bathroom, because I hated trying to pick which table I belonged in. Yes, seriously. Thank god for all the books I snuck into school to read during my hour lunch long solitude. 

Is there a writer you idolize? If so who?  Oh, you have no idea how hard this question is. There are so many authors I idolize and adore. To pick one? Hmm. Johanna Lindsey, Jude Devereaux, Eloisa James, Christina Dodd….Okay, okay. Julia Quinn. I can’t tell you how many times I crack up laughing out loud at her wit and dry humor. I don’t often laugh hysterically at books, but every time I picture her character Sebastian falling and screaming like a girl, and then admitting to his cousin that the girl who screamed was him, in front of a full room of ladies? Priceless entertainment.  I am devouring each and every one of her books. I would love to be her when I grow up. Whenever that is.

What book are you reading now?  I just finished Julia Quinn’s Ten Things I Love About You, and have started reading Decadent Publishing’s Of Light and Darkness, by Shayne Leighton. Both are unique in their own way, and both are absolutely excellent! Next up, is Jessica E. Subject’s Celestial Seduction.  Also, as I read for pleasure, I am editing/reading through an unpolished manuscript of mine about an aspiring angel, and the man who tempts her to fall from grace. I am hoping to polish it, get it read by a beta reader, and then submit it for publication. It’s a fun story to write/read. Also, in between edits for Reclaimed, but the next round should hit my inbox any day now.

What was the scariest moment of your life?  That would probably be when my youngest daughter was born. We got home from the hospital, and her first night home, at three days of age; she spiked a fever of 102 degrees. We rushed her to the doctor, and she was admitted to the hospital for a week. They did a spinal tap (I still cringe at the thought), took blood out of her little thigh, and all sorts of horrible things. They thought she had meningitis. I’ve never been more scared of anything as I was that week.  My precious baby was so new, and yet had gone through so much. I’m glad to say she is happy and healthy now, but she gave us quite the scare. As such, she was totally coddled and snuggled as a baby, so now she is as bad as she is cute…which is saying a lot. Trust me. There is a lot of Emmy in my character in my angel manuscript, a three-year-old girl named Maggie. But Maggie isn’t nearly as mischievous.

What is the hardest part of writing your books?  The way that I get so engrossed in them, that nothing else happens in my life. All I do, besides mundane tasks, is plot, edit, plan, picture, and repeat. Whether it is in physical form, on my computer, or as I lay in bed at night, tying to sleep.  My mind will not shut off, and I literally lay awake for hours in bed, unable to turn off the hum of the characters, or the plot. I could get out of bed and write, but at 3am in the morning, all I really want to do is sleep. So, instead I lay in bed, plotting and planning—and not sleeping. Then I get up at 5:30, after maybe 2 hours of sleep, and get it all out on paper. Repeat the cycle all throughout the day as I take my kids here, or there, and repeat again at night.  It’s relentless, mind consuming, and wonderful—all in one little neat package. With a hot, half naked man on the cover, of course.

Tell us about your favorite character from your books.   Oh, wow. That’s a hard one! That’s like asking me to pick my favorite kid. What would the others think if they saw I didn’t pick them? Okay, I’m going to say Elijah, from Reclaimed. He has the tortured past, with the shady details. He has done some pretty horrible things in his life, things he must live with for an eternity, and now he once again loses the thing he wants most. But even with all that despair and longing, you see his redeeming qualities shining through on every corner. He may think himself a monster, but he loves deeply, and fully, and he knows how to sacrifice himself, and his desires, for the greater good.   And a little secret: He was originally my hero. But, Isaac fought back, and took over the book, wanting his story to be told. He won.   But Elijah will get his story told soon—and it will be explosive.

Do you believe in ghosts?  Hmm. Yes. I do. We lived in Southern Maryland, where there was a civil war prison. We went to the park at night (by day it seems perfectly safe, despite the creepy old lighthouse) called  Point Lookout State Park. It has a confederate monument on it. I have two scary stories from that park, here is one:  My husband, who is not an easily scared man by any means, went there at night with a bunch of fellow Marines. He was standing at the monument looking up at it, and heard a voice whisper “Go away”. He turned around, and looked behind him, only to see no one there. Since he is not an easily scared man, he shrugged it off. A minute later, he heard someone moving beside him, and he turned to see  no one. Then a voice shouted directly in his ear: “GET OUT!” He ran.

Where do you dream of traveling to and why?  I would love to go on a tour of the continent. Abroad, that is. I’d hit up England, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and France. I am dying to see the history, as I am a sucker for history, and the old buildings. Imagine being in the Tower of London, where many a wife and enemy of King Henry VIII was cut down, and all the other noble traitors. And all the palaces, castles, rolling green hills.   Sigh. One day. One day I will go.

What was one of the most surprising things you learned while writing your books?  That I can write! For years, I wanted to try, but I kept telling myself I couldn’t do it. But really, all it takes is a blank page and a blinking cursor, and my fingers seem to do the rest. I don’t even have a plan as to what I’m going to write about when I first start. I sit and look at the screen, and it just comes. I love seeing these characters creeping out of the corner of my mind, demanding to have their story told.  They fight over who is next, even. Right now, I have Elijah (from Reclaimed), a historical hero who lost his wife in childbirth, and a jinn—all fighting for their stories to be told. Who will win?

What do you think makes a good story?  Passion, conflict, struggle, war, sex, love, and hatred. Throw them all together, and you have one hell of a book. I try to instill at least five of these in every book, if not all. And in more than one dose.  You have to fall in love with the characters, and hate them at times, as well. That takes all of the above mentioned—and a lot more.