Author of A Woman Called Sage
This month I'm talking with DiAnn
Mills, an award-winning author of fifty books in print who has sold 1.5
million copies. DiAnn has given me a copy of her novel, A Woman Called Sage, which
I will have a drawing for April 25.
JO: Welcome, DiAnn. Please
tell us a little about yourself.
DIANN: My husband and I live in
Houston, TX. We have four adult sons and two grandchildren--a little girl and a
chubby baby boy. No pets! We travel so much that it wouldn't be fair to a dog.
My husband and I work at home together in the same room, and we're still
married! :) We've worked this way for about 14 years. If he's on a call, I
simply pick up my laptop and go to another room. We do respect each other's
work ethics. My husband helps me tremendously with the business aspect of
writing. We're a great team. He reads my final manuscript before whisking it
off to the publisher.
JO: What do you
enjoying doing when you're not writing?
DIANN:
Reading.
Playing with the grandchildren. Cooking. Visiting with friends. Did I say play
with the grandchildren?
JO: Can you tell us any
fun thing about you that might surprise our readers?
DIANN: Hmm. I'm a bit of a daredevil
when it comes to researching my novels. I went to Sudan to research When
the Nile Runs Red, and I rode the line with the Border Patrol to
research Sworn to Protect. For A Woman Called Sage, I didn't do
anything exciting except hike in the Rocky Mountains. But I did look for wild
animals! :)
JO: How did you get involved in writing?
DIANN:
I
knew God wanted me to write, but I couldn't muster the courage to get started.
But then my husband challenged me with a "Quit your job. See if you can
get anything published." I took him up on it!
JO: Where do you write?
Do you have a dedicated office or a corner or nook in a room?
DIANN: Although I have a dedicated
office that I share with my husband, I often prefer a different room in the
house that doesn't have paperwork staring me in the face.
JO: Please tell us
about A Woman Called Sage.
DIANN:
They
took away everything she loved ... now, she's out for revenge. Sage Morrow had
it all: life on a beautiful Colorado ranch, a husband who adored her, and a
baby on the way. Until five ruthless gunmen rode up to their ranch and changed
her life forever. Now Sage is a bounty hunter bent on retribution. Accompanied
only by her majestic hawk, she travels throughout the Rocky Mountains in search
of injustice, determined to stamp it out wherever it's found. The stakes are
raised when two young boys are kidnapped and Sage is forced to work with
Marshall Parker Timmons to rescue them. But Sage may ultimately get more than
she bargained for. In this exciting historical romance set in the late 1800s,
murder, intrigue, kidnapping, and questions of faith will keep you in suspense
until the final pages.
A
Woman Called Sage is set in the Colorado Rockies in the 1880s. The hero
is Marshal Parker Timmons, and Sage doesn't even like lawmen.
JO: What takeaway value
do you hope readers receive after reading your novel?
DIANN:
Life's
lessons are the hardest to learn, but God is faithful.
JO: Where did you get
the idea for A Woman Called Sage?
DIANN:
While
hiking in the Rocky Mountains. I like strong women protagonists who are in
nontraditional roles, and these women are not out to replace a man but to
merely fulfill a job.
JO: Did you do
extensive research for this book?
DIANN:
I
studied about Ute Indians. Read lots of books about the area. And I made two
hiking trips into the area of the Colorado Rockies where the novel is set.
JO: How long have you
been writing? When did you sell your first book?
DIANN:
I've
been writing all of my life but only seriously since 1996. My first book was
released in 1998.
JO: How do you find
time to write?
DIANN:
I
make the time to write. I'm disciplined and scheduled--maybe to a fault. :)
This is my job and my ministry.
JO: What are you
working on now?
DIANN:
A
suspense novel set in 1935 in the high desert area of New Mexico.
JO: What advice would
you give to writers just starting out?
DIANN:
1)
Pray; 2) Read in the genre that you want to write; 3) Read the how-to-write
books and read them again; 4) Attend writer's conferences and participate; and 5)
Write everyday.
JO: Please tell our
readers where they can get A Woman Called Sage.
DIANN:
Any
place where books are sold.
JO: Where can our
readers find you?
DIANN:
www.diannmills.com
DiAnn, thank you for spending time with us
and for this interesting interview. Thank you for the copy of A
Woman Called Sage, which one of our readers will win in the drawing on
April 25.
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