By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills Curious about what it’s like to live with a writer? This week I decided to have my husband interviewed for his perspective. I admit waiting for his answers caused my heart to head into overdrive. How honest would he be? Would I have to eliminate him in my next novel? But his answers were fun to

By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills As a novelist, one of my jobs is to show character change and growth. This is a process that takes the entire book to accomplish. A character is challenged by life, and he/she can choose to open the door to solve a problem or slam it shut. A hero or heroine grabs hold of life and

By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills Stress is nothing we plan or calendar. It doesn’t even ask our permission, as though the gray clouds rolling our way are something we want. We respond per our personality, how we were raised, and life experiences. Some of us do a better job than others. October ushers us into the holidays—Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New

By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills A perfectionist is seldom satisfied with her performance, and she’s rarely pleased with other’s accomplishments either. Some say it’s the way the person is wired, or how the person was raised, educated, and a host of other reasons, which are really excuses for an attempt to step out of the human DNA. None of us are

By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills Last week, I was a guest at a book club of a special group of ladies who read my books and encourage me. These ladies are grandmothers and great grandmothers, full of life and dear friends. If you suffer from Ophidiophobia, read no further. As a kickoff to the evening, one of the ladies prepared a

By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills New York City is a beautiful city filled with wonder, adventure, entertainment, many cultures, and the real estate that goes straight up. Visiting New York is always a treat, and this 8 day trip exceeded my expectations. My destination was ThrillerFest, a comprehensive learning and networking with writers working on all levels of their career. When

By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills Every person on the planet is creative. We’re all born with gifts and talents. These are unique to who we are and how we can use them to better serve the world. Too many people believe they aren’t creative when, in truth, our creativity is begging to be explored. We don’t have to be eccentric, bizarre,

By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills Congratulations to Renee from PA and Carolyn from CA who were randomly selected in the Valentine’s Giveaway last week. I’m a little jealous of those yummy chocolates. Today is a celebration of love. We want to focus on all the wonderful attributes of love and feeling loved. The more friends we have, the more love spills

By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills Most writers read and write in the same genre.  Professionally speaking, that’s the way it should be. If I’m not as excited about the romantic suspense story I’m writing as the one I’m reading, then quality suffers. This applies to all genres, and not just my chosen one of romantic suspense. Here are the five reasons

By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills Monday, January 16 was Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It was a time to celebrate, remember, and choose to always practice diversity. Some days we are good at spreading our wings and making friends with those different from us, and some days we are not. And the varying reasons we do or don’t are common to