#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with Diane Kelly
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I’d like to welcome the fabulous Diane Kelly to the blog today for #ThisorThatThursday.
Hardest thing about being a writer: Having to live a real life when all I want to do is disappear into my stories 24/7.
Easiest thing about being a writer: Coming up with story ideas. I have more than I’ll ever be able to write! I seem to find inspiration everywhere.
Things you need for your writing sessions: Cats to keep me company.
Things that hamper your writing: Cats keeping me company.
Words that describe you: Creative. Open-minded. Animal lover. Caring/compassionate. Organized (even if it doesn’t look like it). Hardworking.
Words that describe you, but you wish they didn’t: Impatient. Overextended. Easily distracted.
Favorite music or song: My all-time favorite song is “Drift Away” by Dobie Gray. I love 70’s and 80’s music – the songs of my formative years.
Music that drives you crazy: Jazz. To me, it’s too random and nerve-wracking.
Things you’d walk a mile for: A stray animal that needs help.
Things that make you want to run screaming from the room: The sound of someone chewing, especially crunchy foods.
Things you always put in your books: Pets.
Things you never put in your books: Sexual violence.
The nicest thing a reader said to you: In a review for Death, Taxes, and Sweet Potato Fries, which involves human smuggling/illegal immigration and young women escaping a desperate and violent situation, a reader said I handled the sensitive subject well. I appreciated that a lot.
The craziest thing a reader said to you: When I still had a day job, a coworker read my first book and later came into my office, closed the door, and told me she didn’t like it. She didn’t have a sense of humor and was definitely not my target audience. I was surprised she was so blunt, especially since she knew I’d been working hard for years to get published, but I know no book will be everyone’s cup of tea and I appreciate her keeping me humble.
Besides writing, what’s the most creative thing you’ve done: Being a mother. Parenthood puts a person in all kinds of situations where they have to think on their feet and come up with creative solutions to problems they never could have anticipated.
A project that didn’t quite turn out the way you planned it: My children. Ha-ha! They are definitely their own people which, truthfully, is exactly who I want them to be.
Some real-life story that made it to one of your books: When my son was a baby, I fed him too many orange baby foods and his skin turned orange. I used this in Death, Taxes, and Sweet Potato Fries, where I had my main character eat too many sweet potato fries and turn orange.
Something in your story that readers think is about you, but it’s not: The sex scenes in my Death and Taxes series. My sister told me she pictured me and my husband when she read the scenes. I was horrified! My main characters might share some of my traits or values (or not), but they are NOT me.
Your favorite movie as a child: Tie between Pippi Longstocking and Charlotte’s Web. The first because the thought of being independent and self-sufficient seemed fun, and the latter because it was about compassion for animals.
A TV show or movie that kept you awake at night as a kid (or as an adult): “The Blair Witch Project.” That movie scared me to death! It felt so realistic.
About Diane:
Diane Kelly writes funny mysteries featuring feisty female lead characters and their furry, four-footed sidekicks. Diane is the author of over three dozen novels and novellas, including the Death and Taxes white-collar crime series, the Paw Enforcement K-9 series, the House Flipper mystery series, the Busted female motorcycle cop series, the Southern Homebrew moonshine series, and the Mountain Lodge Mysteries series. When not writing, Diane enjoys volunteering at her local animal shelter, playing with her cats, or hiking with her dog in the beautiful woods of her home state of North Carolina. Learn more about Diane and her books at DianeKelly.com.
Let’s Be Social:
website: https://www.dianekelly.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DianeKellyBooks
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dianekellybooks/
Twitter/X: https://x.com/DianeKellyBooks
