Alaska, here I come!

Well, my bags are packed and I'm ready to go! And if you read/heard that line sung in John Denver's voice, you're showing your age. :)

Regular readers know where I'm headed: Storyknife in Homer, Alaska. This writer's retreat is the dream of Dana Stabenow made real and I'm thrilled to be in the first group of writers to stay in the cabins and fulfill my own dream of having time away from real life to do nothing but live in the world inside my head and write down what I see.

You know those Internet memes that picture some remote cabin and say, "Would you stay here with no Internet, no video games, no TV for one million dollars?" My answer is always a resounding "YES!" Actually, I'd do it for free. So this opportunity to spend time with five other writers, each in our own cabin, is perfect. We'll meet up each day for dinner and companionship, which I've learned over the years IS actually something I enjoy (although for a cool mil? I'd forgo it for a month), but spend our days on our respective projects.

And, unlike other writer's residencies I've looked at, there is no teaching requirement, no word output goal, no demand on our time. This is our time to spend as we each need to. A true luxury.

As for me, I'm setting myself a word-count goal of 3-5000 words per day. Yes, that's putting some pressure on myself, but the key here is: I'm putting the pressure on myself. No one else is. No one else is making me do anything (except my own laundry and I'm good with that - I do some of my best thinking while folding underwear. Really!). I just can't envision myself flying all the way across the country, from the Finger Lakes to Cook Inlet, spending an entire month away from home, and spending money on airline tickets only to come home not having written much. I feel I HAVE to produce SOMETHING.

And I can't wait. I leave tomorrow morning. My hubby is mending well (his partial knee replacement has been a huge success) and my son is here to take care of him. I didn't bother planting much of a garden this year - only garlic down at the cabin (which is another whole mess and source of stress that is a story for another time. Suffice it to say, the cabin is NOT a restful place right now. Evcn in the best of years, it still requires maintenance - which I will not have to do in Alaska. Another reason to be grateful for Dana's dream made real!).

See you in a month!

Play safe and get vaccinated,

Diana

70 degrees!

So much for Puxatawny Phil - he said a short winter this year and, while it was mild, it has lingered here in the Finger Lakes. Last snow was only a week ago. With any luck, that will truly be the "last snow" of the season, although May is shaping up to be colder than normal.

Long-time readers know my husband and I bought a cabin over a decade ago and spent a great deal of time fixing and repairing. I've spent many a weekend (and longer in the summer) crafting novels while listening to the birds and basking in the solitude.

This year, however, I have no such need to get away from the hectic pace of life. No need for the quiet (the park across the street from our house is closed, so no kids screaming!). No need for the solitude (haven't been out of my house much the past six weeks...you?).

Our front porch (pic taken May 2019 - I forgot to take one
weekend but it hasn't changed!)

Still, my husband and I went down yesterday to open it up for the summer. We cleaned up fly wings (not too many yet...give it another week and the spiders will have made short work of all the flies who are just waking up), dusted and swept, and in general, reclaimed the house from the field mice that watch over it during the winter.

This morning, as we discussed what still needed to be done, my husband said something I found curious. He said, "It doesn't feel any different."

I had no idea what he was talking about. He clarified: "Out there, the world is different. Here it's the same as it always has been. I thought it would be different; since our lives have changed, this place would've changed. But it hasn't." (For the record, I'm paraphrasing.My husband doesn't speak in semicolons.)

I got what he meant, then. Our main purpose in both purchasing and visiting the cabin has been to "get away" from "normal" life. But right now, our whole life has gotten away from "normal" (there I go, putting it in quotes again!). We have solitude, we have quiet, we have no busy-ness at home and don't need to go to the cabin to get it. So does the cabin still have a purpose?

Short answer: yes.

The lane leading to the cabin (the cabin's on the
right of where I'm standing to take the pic)

Longer answer: still yes, but with explanation. We live in a small town and have neighbors we still wave to, still talk to (while maintaining distance), still see. There are people who walk by on our sidewalk (some with masks, some without - but that's a different post for a different day), there are still cars that drive through our 4-way - some who even stop at the stop sign. So even though we are alone, we are not.

At the cabin, we are. Our nearest neighbor is a quarter-mile away and they weren't down this weekend. Our next nearest neighbor is over a mile in the opposite direction and we never see him - ever. Our only companions were the birds (one very horny woodpecker, an evening grosbeak, and a bluejay), the flowers (my yellow primrose are blossoming, as is the periwinkle), and ourselves.

So the cabin's original purpose: that of a way to remove ourselves from society for a short time, still holds. It's still a way to visit Mother Nature and to renew. It will remain a place for my husband to paint (which he did this morning) and a place for me to write (which I did not. Read a Nora Robert's novella instead).

New cover! You like?

On a totally different note: the Smashwords sale continues through May 20th. Well, actually, it continues through May 30th, but my prices will go up on May 21st. Currently, they are 60% off as part of the Authors Give Back special - and they will go to 30% off on May 21st. If you haven't already done so...head on over and pick up a title or two!

Watch this space for news coming later this week... (teaser!)...and in the meantime, check out the new cover for Remembered Love - one of the stories you can get for free from Smashwords.

Play safe - and stay safe - wear a mask!
Diana

Storyknife

Wouldn't it be wonderful if there were a place a writer could go where all her needs were tended to and all she had to do was write? Where her time would be uninterrupted by phone calls, doctor appointments, the need to buy groceries or to fill the gas tank? Where food magically appeared and she didn't have to prepare it?

What if I told you not only does such a place exist, but that I am lucky enough to be visiting it this summer?

Yep. Storyknife, a writer's retreat in Homer, Alaska, is opening this year for it's first year of in-house authors - and I'm going to be one of them. Six cabins, six authors at a time. I go in July and I am excited, thrilled...and just a wee bit nervous. Okay, a lot bit nervous, and I'll tell you why.

Because now the pressure is on to produce. Every single one of my excuses is gone. There are no rooms that need cleaning, no errands to run. I get my own breakfast, but lunch is delivered to my cabin and dinner is provided in the main house, prepared by a chef hired specifically to feed us. Internet service is spotty, so no games or emails, no Facebook or world news. My procrastination tools will all be stripped away.

I'm also a little nervous because this is the farthest away from home I've ever been by myself. I've flown to Alaska before, but was with family. This time I'm making all my connections myself with no extra set of eyes to help me navigate. Not terrifying, but a bit scary. And exciting. If I can do this, I can do anything!

Of course, Homer is in the Ring of Fire and there are several volcanoes in the vicinity. In fact, our welcome packet includes information on what to do when an earthquake hits, so I'm pretty sure those pretty snow-covered mountains are quite active. But those of you who know me, know that volcanoes and I have a history. This does not make me nervous, however, because I am resolute!!!! No broken bones this time!

I have to say, I love the name of this place. Storyknife. Stories both cut away at the human condition, exposing truths non-fiction cannot express, and we, as authors, cut away at our writing, crafting sentences that sing, and stories that soar. Excellent metaphor for a place where writers gather and work.

Expect to hear more as we get closer to July,

Play safe,
Diana

Finally re-released!

It has taken some time, but I finally have the last of my Ellora's Cave titles reformatted and available! Yay!!!

Services Rendered features Lauren and John, two veterans of the United States military, both of whom are adjusting to civilian life. A Civil War re-enactment introduces them and the sparks start to fly as the two discover love. One of my favorite books to write, I'm so glad this is finally available again!

Services Rendered takes place in the same world as Secret Submission, Submission Revealed, and Diamond Submission and features some of the same characters. One doesn't need to read the previous books, however, as Services Rendered can be read independently.

On a totally different note, I've been very remiss in keeping this blog up-to-date. Last year was a hard year for me. My mom passed away in January 2019 and that really set me back. While she'd been ill for quite some time, one is never ready when Death comes claim someone you love.

Different people handle grief different ways. How did I handle myself this past year? By cleaning.

Yep, you read that right. Cleaning.

First I helped my Dad clean out Mom's closets. Then I helped him move to a different assisted care place (and a much better one than where he was before!). That entailed a LOT more cleaning and winnowing. During both of these activities, I scrapbooked a lot of the documents my mom had saved over the years and created a notebook that tells the story of her life. Not sure what I'm going to do with it yet, but it helped me come to grips with not having her around. We used to talk for an hour (or more) on the phone once a week or so - more often for less time in the last few months of her life - and creating the notebook helped me with that.

Of course, I also taught classes, went on a glorious vacation with my daughter, spent a lot of time at the cabin with my husband, and learned a new video game from my son (Destiny 2, anyone?), so I lived my life as well as grieved my mom's passing.

What I did not do much of, was write. I needed to find my equilibrium - and took the year to do it.

Now, however, we have a new year, and a bunch of new news. If you haven't read my newsletter, I'll post an update here in a few days. So much to tell!

In the meantime, play safe!
Diana

My Summer Vacation

It's been too long! Ya gotta love summer, though. This is the time, for me anyway, where creativity renews. I spend long hours reading, playing games, traveling, cleaning out old boxes of stuff, and soaking up the warmth. It rarely gets too hot for me here in the Finger Lakes and on the few days it does, well, that's why we invented air conditioning.

Mostly though, I prefer to be outside on the front porch (which has had a MAJOR overhaul this summer. After 100+ years, the railings had rotted too far to be saved and needed replacing, as did the front foot of the decking. Last summer I kept a plant stand over the section that, if you stepped on it, you'd go through. This summer it's beautiful and new and shiny!). Out there, in our outdoor living room, I can read a book, play puzzle games on my tablet or phone, visit with neighbors, and listen to the cicadas singing in the trees. I can just...be.

I did get some traveling in...went on a cruise with my daughter, who works for Celebrity Cruises. She's a production manager and her last cruise of her current contract was the Independence Day cruise. Spent Canada Day docked in Halifax and the Fourth of July in Boston Harbor. The best part of the trip, though? Watching my daughter work in a professional capacity. I'm so proud of her! She's cool, efficient, and people went out of their way to tell me how much they loved having her as a boss. Made my mamma's heart swell with pride, it did!

You would think, with all this time just existing, that I'd have read a great many books on that porch. Well, you'd be wrong. Being in the moment means exactly that - being in the present moment, not in someone else's world. Not even in a world I create. So my reading has dropped off. Most years, this is the time I start forgetting to record what I read so I never end up with a full year's worth of reading. This year, I did better.

So here are the books I read for June and July (since I haven't posted any of them!). You'll see I finished off the Pink Carnation series, then went nuts with the genres.

JUNE
By Lauren Willig:
     The Temptation of the Night Jasmine
     The Betrayal of the Blood Lily
     The Orchid Affair
     The Garden Intrigue
     The Passion of the Purple Plumeria
     The Mark of the Midnight Manzanilla
     The Lure of the Moonflower

(Sidenote: I read all those at the cabin before I left on my cruise. Can you tell I enjoy those books? Read the entire series straight through over a six-week period!)

JULY
A Christmas Promise by Thomas Kincade (yes, the painter) and Katherine Spencer
Murder at The Breakers by Alyssa Maxwell (I picked up her book AT The Breakers, which we visited on an excursion)
Captain Quirk by Dennis William Hauck (a not-very-flattering biography of William Shatner)
Born of Legend by Sherrylin Kenyon (probably not the best book to read as my 1st Kenyon book. I was lost most of the time)

I also read two romances during this month, but those I did forget to write down and I can't even remember the authors. I know I tried a Fern Michaels on the ship, but honestly? The editing was so bad, I just couldn't get past the first chapter. Sorry, Ms. Michaels, but I passed it on.

So what are you all doing for your summers?

Play safe,
Diana

CABIN FEVER is back!

After a nearly four-year hiatus, Cabin Fever is once again available in both ebook and print formats. It's now available on both Smashwords and Amazon - so pick up this long-lost treasure today!

What's it about? 

Isabel knew she was in trouble. Did all men take one look at her well-endowed breasts and think sex? No way was she going to make out in a tiny MG on some God-forsaken mountain with a date she never wanted to see again.

Daniel needed to forget a case gone bad and a relationship gone sour. Taking a leave of absence, he heads for a mountain retreat to deal with the guilt. The last thing he wants is company.

Forced together by a winter storm, neither gets what they want…but both get something better.

Click on the picture for a short excerpt and purchasing information or go directly to Smashwords or Amazon and download your copy now. Want the book in print? You can get that, too!

Want more Diana Hunter books? Check out this page and find all her books. 

Play safe!

Diana

P.S. Watch this space for the next re-release, Services Rendered, coming at the end of March!

Another one bites the dust!

My apologies to Queen... but I just killed another character.

This is getting to be a habit. Either that or my protagonists are going to get a complex.

Funny thing is, it was easier this time.

Granted, I didn't know this character as well as I knew the other, although this character is equally pivotal. Without his/her death, the plot stalls and the protagonists remain comfortably where they are. So not a gratuitous death but a necessary one.

Spending time away from my "normal" life has helped to jump-start this story again. The Companion (AKA The Work of My Heart) requires me to go in-world -- and stay there. When I wrote my erotic romances, I could write anywhere - and did. Mostly in the privacy of my car while my kids were at dance classes and basketball practices, but in winter that car got cold so I'd head across the street to the local pizza parlor and blissfully write while sipping Pepsi and enjoying a slice.

Because The Companion is a fantasy, however, it requires more concentration to "live" in the world. I have a binder (purple, of course) filled with notes. There are tabs for "Characters", "World Details," the "Timeline" - which is probably THE MOST IMPORTANT TAB! - and "Maps" - which are crudely-drawn approximations where the various towns are so I don't forget where I put them.

So why is "Timeline" the MOST IMPORTANT? Because without it, I'd lose track of who is doing what. There are two direct plot lines and at least two that are referenced but we only see when the direct plots intersect with them. Not only is it important to keep the two main plots on track, but I have to make sure I don't have Event D in one of the referenced plots happening AFTER I referenced it in one of the main plots.

I also have a file box with tabs for the two different countries (Splithome and Renthome). Because color-coding always worked for me in school, the people are on white cards, the named animals on white with pink borders, the places are on orange cards and the greetings on green ones (the divider cards are purple :) ).

These two, the binder and the file box, work together as my Story Bible (SB) and enable me to pick up the threads and continue my weaving after I've been away for a while. It is far easier, however, to simply stay in the world and update the SB as I go. I get far more words written that way.

To wit: I've spent ten days at my cabin in two five-day stints in the last few weeks and have written over 12,000 new words on The Companion.

12K words? That's as much as some of my novellas (This one and this one and these)!

I moved the plot forward by leaps and bounds - and I killed two characters along the way. I've added description and figured out What Happens Next (because I'm a pantser, I don't always know this. I have a big, general synopsis that I wrote years ago, so I know the BIG pieces, but how these guys get from piece to piece? Yeah, they're telling me that as I go). Did I know both these characters were going to "bite the dust?" The first one, yes, the second, no. But it happened and now the protagonists have to deal with it.

BTW, if you want to read two brief excerpts, you can go here. The painting on that page is one I have hanging next to my desk and believe me, I look at it often in my descriptions of the Stone Mountains.

I'll leave you with this earworm... Play safe!

I've been quiet of late...

Haven't said much here recently...partly because I got out of the habit. Writing each week is something I enjoy doing, but when life got in the way and I stopped, it was hard to start up again. I've composed several posts in my head, but when I sit down at the computer, poof! They're gone and I can't remember what I wanted to share.

August was a relaxing month for me after the harried six months that preceded it. My husband and I took a wonderful four-day trip to Lancaster, PA, which is only a six hour drive for us (well, five and a half, but we stopped a few times. One needs ice cream on a sunny afternoon, after all!). We stayed at the After Eight Bed and Breakfast, which I heartily recommend. Luxury and incredible breakfasts! Robert is a gracious host and an entertaining storyteller. We feel we made a friend. :)

And then we took two weeks at our cabin after not being there the entire summer. That alone, should make you realize just how stressful these past months have been. Before this year, we'd spend twenty days out of thirty at the cabin from May through October. This year, I think we spent four days TOTAL from May through the middle of August. It was wonderful to go and get away from everything. To recharge...to "sharpen the saw" as Steven Covey put it.

Of course, not having been there most of a year, everything that was going to break, did. The rider mower (a second-hand one) threw a rod. The shower, which hadn't been used since last year, apparently had some water left in the hose over the winter and the ice cracked it open. We had a propane leak that needed finding and fixing. The back door needed replacing. The mice think they own the cabin (we caught three of the little buggers but there are still more who are too clever by far!).

But we didn't mind. Repairs are a part of home ownership and it was actually kind of fun to do them. Felt more like caretaking than chores.

I also finished TRAINING TWO while I was there. Just needed time to do it and I was writing between 4-6 thousand words a day. This is a Mystic Shade title and will be released soon, so watch for it! It's a Jack Kariola Slaves book - so you know it's going to be hot, hot, hot!

Normally I start school at this time of the year - and I have. Finger Lakes Community College called and offered me a position as an adjunct, teaching two classes. I said yes, figuring it would help, not only financially, but would also help me transition out of a full-time job. I'm only 57 - I'm not ready for the rocking chair yet! So I'm teaching ENG 101 - Freshman Composition I and ENG 102 - Introduction to Literature. And I'm having fun doing it.

Looking ahead...life is a little calmer this autumn than it has been for the past year (the waters were already roiling by this time last year, but didn't come to full swells until April - and then took their time settling back down). I'll be starting up the writing workshops soon...revising some of the older ones and adding a whole bunch of new ones. I'm chomping at the bit to get going again on my fantasy novel...but am currently re-reading Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series - gearing up to read her latest one. And I'm thinking of getting Starz so I can see the series. I've watched the freebie and Dougal is exactly as I pictured him. Jamie seems a little young, but then, he was early on. And Claire is growing on me. I was amazed at how much dialogue was taken directly from the book...but that's a post for later. :)

We'll all have to get in the habit of posting again...me writing them and you reading them! For now,

Play safe!
Diana

New cover and catching up

New Cover

In case you haven't seen it yet, Cabin Fever has a new cover. Ellora's Cave is getting rid of their old Poser covers (finally!). While I liked the layout of the original, this cover has a much sexier look, don't you think?

This story was a challenge to write because it only had the two main characters and, for the most part, a single setting. In order to keep everything straight in the cabin itself (where all the furnishings were, where the doors were), I drew myself a map of the interior layout.

I also had to do a day-by-day plotting as I wrote, in order to keep my timeline believable. Because the internals didn't change (the characters or the setting), it was easy to become lost in time and think only a day had gone by when it had been over a week. I'm a pantster when writing the first draft, but for this book I found I needed to keep a running record in order to keep their stories straight.

A few reviewers have taken exception to the ghost couple that make several appearances in the book. Their complaint was that they weren't needed; they distracted from the main story.

I don't know about that.  I kinda liked the idea of lovers separated by distance and tradition who finally get together through their grandchildren. What do you think? Should I have just bagged that part of the story and concentrated only on Daniel and Isabella?

Feel free to write a review that agrees with or disagrees with the others. And leave comments on EC's site about the cover, too! Let them know what you like.

Catching up

I've finished the still-unnamed Christmas story. It lacks only a title and a cover and will be released just after Thanksgiving. This is a self-published work that's unlike anything else I've ever written. Still erotic romance, still with a BDSM kink...just a very different type of storytelling. Look for it in November.

I'm also writing what I suspect will be a long short story or a short novella revisiting Phillip and Sarah Townshend from Secret Submission and Submission Revealed. This September marks the ten-year anniversary of Secret Submission's release and I thought it would be fun to take a look at those two ten years later. SPOILER ALERT: They got married at the end of Sub. Revealed...are they still married ten years out? I'm writing the story to find out!

On a personal note:

My parents have made the decision to sell the house and move into an apartment. They moved out of the house I grew up in nearly twenty years ago, so I have no attachment to the structure, but it's still hard watching them make tough decisions as to what they can take with them and what has to go. Some things will be passed to us kids (there are three of us; I have a brother and a sister). Other things will go to a charity. Still others will be sold off in a tag sale.

Why am I telling you this? Because sometimes real life gets in the way of one's writing. I'll be spending a lot of time with them, helping them pack, helping them make decisions, helping them move. I'm glad I finished the Christmas story early because my late-summer, early-autumn will be taken up by all this.

This is a good move for them. They're moving to an apartment complex designed for senior citizens. There will be people there to check up on them and there's a pull-cord in every room for emergencies. There isn't a yard to deal with or maintenance of a large house to tire them out. It's the right thing for them to do.

It's also a hard thing for them to do.

Play safe, everyone!
Diana

From Russia with love?

Здравствуйте и добро пожаловать !

Hello to my Russian readers! I've noticed a lot of traffic from Russia lately. In fact, you're surpassing my Canadian readers in terms of visits.

I'm off to my cabin for a few days to write. Last time I went (this past Monday and Tuesday), I wrote over 6000 words in one day, so here's hoping to lots more getting done between this afternoon and Wednesday. I'm actually working on two titles, Proud Bondage, a Sweet Spot erotica, and an as yet untitled Mystic Shade story (so you know it's going to be down and dirty sexy!).

Look for a new writing workshop on Tuesday...it's written and scheduled so it will post even though I'm where Internet access doesn't exist (don'tcha just love technology!).

In the meantime, don't forget to pick up copies of my two newest works: Shooting Star and A Night to Remember (click the titles for blurbs and excerpts and purchasing info!).

Play safe!

действовать наверняка, играть без риска 

Diana

PS. I used the Babylon translator. I hope I didn't just swear at anyone!

I spent yesterday at the cabin, normally a great place for peace and quiet. Over the past two years I've gotten a lot of writing done there. Not so yesterday. My husband and a friend of the family spent the day finishing the last of the bedrooms. Remember, when we bought this place not a single room was finished. Now three of the four bedrooms upstairs are completed and the fourth nearly so. The kitchen and the dining rooms were first done, but the plank floor went in this past spring, so those rooms are complete as well. The downstairs bedroom needed the least fixing, so that one was done first, followed by the bathroom. I think this bedroom is the first room he's done that he didn't need to buy a new tool for! :)

Anyway, they made it far too noisy to write -- so I read instead! Started and finished Judith McNaught's Remember When in one day, which should tell you something about the depth of thought needed to read it. Have to admit, I'm a sucker for books I can read all in one sitting. Not only are they entertaining, but I feel like I accomplished something at the end of the day!

Remember When is set in the contemporary world of corporate America, specifically, corporate Houston, Texas. She drew her characters well and even though I figured out some of the motivations before the hero and heroine did, the reveals were all well-done. I never felt cheated; the characters were true to themselves all throughout the book.

Play safe!
Diana (who needs to stop and do a count-up of the number of books she's read this year!)