Diane Whiteside's Page at Ellora's Cave

Welcome to our spotlight of Diane Whiteside

Below is an interview I had with Diane Whiteside.

You will be able to read about Diane and get to know a little about her through this interview. At the bottom of the page is a book cover of one of her books and a list of books published and soon to be published. Click the title to find a review of that book.

THE INTERVIEW

CarolCastellanos: Hi, How are you?

Diane: I'm good today,Carol.

CarolCastellanos: What genres do you write?

Diane: I write paranormal books, such as THE HUNTER'S PREY about my Texas vampires. I also write contemporary sensual romances, such as THE SWITCH.

CarolCastellanos: What genres would you like to write?

Diane: I'd like to write historical romances and romantic suspense.

CarolCastellanos: Where do you get your ideas?

Diane:My ideas come from all over the place. THE HUNTER'S PREY came about when a dear friend asked me why there weren't any vampires in Texas? So I set out to give her some. THE SWITCH came from thinking about the friend of a friend. I wanted to give him the excitement and happiness he deserved in his private life but had never found.

CarolCastellanos: Do you pattern your characters after any real people?

Diane: All of my characters have elements of real people in them but they're more than just a thinly-disguised version of a real person. Don Rafael Perez, the master vampire in THE HUNTER'S PREY, just walked into my head one day and took up residence. I have no idea where he came from. A friend has likened him to a force of nature. Ethan Templeton and Steve Darling, Grania O'Malley and Jean-Marie St. Just are all unique people in their own right, although they only exist in THE HUNTER'S PREY. (For now.) Even Sean, the hero of THE SWITCH and the closest to a real person, is very different from the friend who inspired him. He is much more sensual, stubborn and unpredictible.

CarolCastellanos: What authors do you most admire?

Diane: I especially admire Linda Howard, Elizabeth Lowell, Jo Beverley, and Angela Knight

CarolCastellanos:What authors do you read?

Diane: I've read more authors than I have time to list here! My bookcases and closets are overflowing with just the keepers. LOL

CarolCastellanos: What genres do you read?

Diane: I've read all genres of romance, plus mystery and science fiction/fantasy. I've gotten much more selective about what I read since I started writing. Now I mostly read short things, usually novellas, categories, or the latest by a favorite author.

CarolCastellanos: What other genres do you see yourself writing?

Diane:I'd love to write romantic suspense and historical romance. I'd also like to write other kinds of paranormals, especially futuristics.

CarolCastellanos: What do you see yourself doing in 10 years?

Diane:I'd love to be writing full-time.

CarolCastellanos: Do you see yourself ever not writing?

Diane:I think I'll always be writing something. I just enjoy that form of creativity.

CarolCastellanos: What books do you have planned in the near future?

Diane: I'm working on THE SWITCH right now. It's a story of two very different people who meet in a Seattle bookstore and decide to enjoy a stolen week together. It's a rewrite of a book I originally wrote a year ago. I put it aside to work on my Texas vampires and let Sean become clearer. After I started rewriting it, I realised that it takes place in November 2001 and Beth, my heroine, is very affected by the events of September 11th.

CarolCastellanos: How did you get started writing?

Diane: I've written lots and lots of military specifications during my career as a military contractor. "The widget must… The widget shall…" I wanted to write a romance but wondered if I could pull off something so different from what I had been writing. Then I went to CR2000 in Seattle and met Susan Grant. She's an Air Force Academy graduate and a jet pilot so I understood very clearly what she'd written before she started writing romance. She inspired me to give fiction writing a try. So I wrote a short story, posted it and was hooked.

CarolCastellanos: What age were you when you started to write?

Diane:Seven, I think.

CarolCastellanos:When is your next book due?

Diane:THE SWITCH is due in January 2002. After that, I'm writing three Texas vampire books: BOND OF BLOOD (about Don Rafael and Grania), followed by Steve and Ethan's story, then Jean-Marie's romance.

CarolCastellanos: Was there any author or authors who helped you get your start in writing, or helped you break into the field?

Diane: Julie Woodcock, who writes as Angela Knight and Anastasia Day, is a dear friend and has been an incredible help. She is my mentor and my critique partner. I've learned to listen closely when she says "Well, you know, people will want to hear…"

CarolCastellanos: What do you feel makes your books unique or stand out from others in your genre?

Diane:I think my heroes stand out as being very much alpha males. And I try to provide a very sensual storytelling style for them to shine in.

CarolCastellanos: What made you choose the genres you write?

Diane:Frankly, I travel a lot for work. I'm usually on the road four nights a week and arrive home after midnight on the fifth. So I'm currently sticking to research that I can do from my laptop. This makes it easier to write contemporary romance than historicals.

CarolCastellanos: Do you have a special subgenre?

Diane:Vampires!

CarolCastellanos: Do you have a favorite place you like to write?

Diane: I have the Toy Room at home, so called because that's where all the toys live. Two computers, a color printer and a laser printer, two walls full of books, needlework and dressmaking supplies. Toys. It's got a big window right in front of my desk that looks out onto a cedar hedge. I've written a lot of sensual scenes while the moon rose over those trees. But actually I do most of my writing in hotel rooms and airports. Writing is a lovely way to escape.

CarolCastellanos: In what order do you write? For example starting beginning to end, combining parts, in random order or in development cycle?

Diane: I've written in all of those fashions. I'm anal enough that I much prefer to write starting beginning to end. However, I've got an unpublished book that's possibly the best thing I've ever written. I wrote it in random order, as the characters told it to me. I think it may be better because the characters kept surprising me, which kept the energy flowing. But I thought I was going to tear my hair out while I was writing it.

CarolCastellanos: Do you feel that the e-books afford authors a bit more freedom of expression in their books?

Diane: I believe that both publishers and authors of ebooks are aware that they're doing something different in just producing an ebook. They're risk takers, just by being in this business. So their higher level of comfort with danger gives authors more freedom in their books. I've found very few ebooks that could be described as just the same-old, same-old thing.

CarolCastellanos: What do you feel is, or isn't being done to promote authors?

Diane: In this business, it's the author's job to promote his/herself and his/her work. I admire any publisher who puts energy into promotion, because I'm afraid it's not typical. I particularly enjoy Ellora's Cave's efforts. That's one of the main reasons I approached Ellora's Cave.

CarolCastellanos: Do you feel that the marketing departments have their finger on the pulse of readers?

Diane: I believe that Ellora's Cave's marketing department knows very clearly what their readers want. I wish I could say that of more publishers' marketing departments.

CarolCastellanos: How do you feel about review rating systems?

Diane:I think that review rating systems suit some reviewers and some books very well. If I'm taking a quick look for a solid read in a well-known genre (like my weakness for Regencies), then I'm perfectly happy going to a major website that I trust and looking for highly-rated books. It's very likely that I'll be quite content to read one of their top picks. On the other hand, if I'm looking for something in a less well-known genre, I don't trust review rating systems. I haven't yet met a review rating system for erotica that predicted my tastes or anyone else's in that genre, for example

CarolCastellanos: Through what venues do you feel most of your books are being sold?

Diane: Since my books are ebooks, they're being sold on the web. I'm hoping to get into print some day.

CarolCastellanos: What do you feel is the best part of the publishing industry?

Diane: All those people gathered together talking about books. It's just so much fun being around other people who talk about characters in books as if they're alive.

CarolCastellanos: What do you feel needs to be changed about the industry?

Diane: I'm too new at this to make any suggestions. I'm still learning what works for me and my books, as opposed to what doesn't.

CarolCastellanos: Do you think small press and e-books will be the wave of the future?

Diane: I think small press and ebooks will take a greater share of the publishing pie. It seems to me that the big New York-based publishers and the big distributors have become too big and unwieldy, too dependent on guaranteed big sellers, to respond quickly to the tastes of smaller groups. I'd love to have my book sold to sixty percent of the reading public as some of the big publishers and distributors can do. But there's a lot of apples out there in that remaining forty percent to be found by small press and ebook publishers.

CarolCastellanos: Do you have anything further you would like to add?

Diane: I'd like to say thanks to all my readers. Your enjoyment of Don Rafael and his Texas vampires has really thrilled me. I hope you'll enjoy Sean and Beth's story in THE SWITCH.