Diane Strong's Blog
January 21, 2013
I am running a free promotion of The Rescue today only on Amazon. I haven't advertised this book much and it's never been free. Go snag a copy and see what you think. Please share this link and help me give away more copies. http://amzn.to/RMzh5b
Grab it before midnight because the free promo ends then.
Grab it before midnight because the free promo ends then.
December 28, 2012
A lot has happened since my last blog post here in August. Truth be told, I don't get a lot of traffic here. My real blog is at dianestrong.wordpress.com
If you would like to hear about my latest release and giveaway info please check this out:
The Running Suspense Continues (giveaway too) http://wp.me/p2wcEn-6l via @DianeIStrong
If you would like to hear about my latest release and giveaway info please check this out:
The Running Suspense Continues (giveaway too) http://wp.me/p2wcEn-6l via @DianeIStrong
August 2, 2012
If you like Stephen King style suspense, then this series is for you.
The stories are stand-alone. You can read them in any order. Each one is completely different except for the fact that the lead character is a runner. The stories are 10,000 words (1/6 the length of a full novel).
The first story in the series, The Run, is now available free on Smashwords. You can find it here:
http://bit.ly/OH0lC3
The Run: Cora is a runner and mother of two whose husband is working out of town on business. Always a protective mother, Cora has never left her children alone. That is until a well-intentioned friend encourages her to. This is a story that will leave you questioning your parenting skills and wanting to read more great running adventures by Diane Strong.
#2 is Falcon Point http://bit.ly/Of5FuC
Claire is 17 and spending the summer with her rich mother and step-father in Falcon Point. She has her eye on a boy, this could be the summer he finally notices her. But someone has his eye on her too. A perfect summer becomes an unforgettable one. You may never want to run alone again.
My new release (my favorite so far) is
The Other Way http://bit.ly/OeYuoO
Isaac Fisher was not born a runner, he was born Amish. After getting a girl pregnant while exploring rumspringa at sixteen, he left the Amish community and ventured to the new world to become the girl’s husband. Now, four years and two children later, Isaac can’t help but sneak back home on his long runs for a feel of his past life and the taste of an old lover.
I hope you get The Run for free and enjoy it enough to go out and purchase the rest of the series. Thank you.
Diane Strong
The Other Way
The Run
Falcon Point
The stories are stand-alone. You can read them in any order. Each one is completely different except for the fact that the lead character is a runner. The stories are 10,000 words (1/6 the length of a full novel).
The first story in the series, The Run, is now available free on Smashwords. You can find it here:
http://bit.ly/OH0lC3
The Run: Cora is a runner and mother of two whose husband is working out of town on business. Always a protective mother, Cora has never left her children alone. That is until a well-intentioned friend encourages her to. This is a story that will leave you questioning your parenting skills and wanting to read more great running adventures by Diane Strong.
#2 is Falcon Point http://bit.ly/Of5FuC
Claire is 17 and spending the summer with her rich mother and step-father in Falcon Point. She has her eye on a boy, this could be the summer he finally notices her. But someone has his eye on her too. A perfect summer becomes an unforgettable one. You may never want to run alone again.
My new release (my favorite so far) is
The Other Way http://bit.ly/OeYuoO
Isaac Fisher was not born a runner, he was born Amish. After getting a girl pregnant while exploring rumspringa at sixteen, he left the Amish community and ventured to the new world to become the girl’s husband. Now, four years and two children later, Isaac can’t help but sneak back home on his long runs for a feel of his past life and the taste of an old lover.
I hope you get The Run for free and enjoy it enough to go out and purchase the rest of the series. Thank you.
Diane Strong
The Other Way
The Run
Falcon Point
July 22, 2012
Six Sentence Sunday features Falcon Point (The Running Suspense Series #2)
Posted on July 22, 2012
Falcon Point
Hear are my six sentences from Falcon Point:
He caressed her neck with his hands and moved his thumb over her lips gently. She clamped down hard on his thumb and he beat her with his free hand to make her let go. He yelled at her and slapped her hard, then took the knife and cut her just beneath her ear. She had felt the blood trickle down and it startled her in to submission.
He made her do things with her mouth she had never done. The smell of him made her retch.
Falcon Point
Posted on July 22, 2012
Falcon Point
Hear are my six sentences from Falcon Point:
He caressed her neck with his hands and moved his thumb over her lips gently. She clamped down hard on his thumb and he beat her with his free hand to make her let go. He yelled at her and slapped her hard, then took the knife and cut her just beneath her ear. She had felt the blood trickle down and it startled her in to submission.
He made her do things with her mouth she had never done. The smell of him made her retch.
Falcon Point
July 20, 2012
I will give a coupon for a free download of either of the first to stories in the Running Suspense Series to the first three people who request it.
The Run:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...
Falcon Point:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...The RunFalcon Point
The Run:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...
Falcon Point:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...The RunFalcon Point
July 18, 2012
Just released: The Running Suspense Series
Posted on July 18, 2012
Before I say anything else I would just like to say thank you for reading my blogs.
I am doing a series of stories, all around 10,000 words, called ‘The Running Suspense Series’. Each story is completely different but all feature a runner as the main character. Each is available for just $.99 on Amazon.
The series does NOT need to be read in any particular order, though if you pay close attention, one character from The Run is in Falcon Point.
The first story: The Run http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008L5IRM4
Cora is a runner and mother of two whose husband is working out of town on business. Always a protective mother, Cora has never left her children alone. That is until a well-intentioned friend encourages her to. This is a story that will leave you questioning your parenting skills and wanting to read more great running adventures by Diane Strong.
The second: Falcon Point https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...
This one is for mature audiences and I would rate it R if it were a movie.
Claire is 17 and spending the summer with her rich mother and step-father in Falcon Point. She has her eye on a boy, this could be the summer he finally notices her. But someone has his eye on her too. A perfect summer becomes an unforgettable one. You may never want to run alone again.
The third is not released yet but will be available by August (maybe sooner)
The Rescue:
Luke is a single man with a pet cat. He is just shy of retirement and about to take the ride of a lifetime on a train headed west. He is prepared for two weeks of adventure. When a pause to take leak during a run turns into more than a quick stop, his plans change dramatically. Luke quickly discovers he doesn’t have to venture far from home for the adventure of a lifetime.
Please check them out!The RunFalcon Point
Posted on July 18, 2012
Before I say anything else I would just like to say thank you for reading my blogs.
I am doing a series of stories, all around 10,000 words, called ‘The Running Suspense Series’. Each story is completely different but all feature a runner as the main character. Each is available for just $.99 on Amazon.
The series does NOT need to be read in any particular order, though if you pay close attention, one character from The Run is in Falcon Point.
The first story: The Run http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008L5IRM4
Cora is a runner and mother of two whose husband is working out of town on business. Always a protective mother, Cora has never left her children alone. That is until a well-intentioned friend encourages her to. This is a story that will leave you questioning your parenting skills and wanting to read more great running adventures by Diane Strong.
The second: Falcon Point https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...
This one is for mature audiences and I would rate it R if it were a movie.
Claire is 17 and spending the summer with her rich mother and step-father in Falcon Point. She has her eye on a boy, this could be the summer he finally notices her. But someone has his eye on her too. A perfect summer becomes an unforgettable one. You may never want to run alone again.
The third is not released yet but will be available by August (maybe sooner)
The Rescue:
Luke is a single man with a pet cat. He is just shy of retirement and about to take the ride of a lifetime on a train headed west. He is prepared for two weeks of adventure. When a pause to take leak during a run turns into more than a quick stop, his plans change dramatically. Luke quickly discovers he doesn’t have to venture far from home for the adventure of a lifetime.
Please check them out!The RunFalcon Point
July 6, 2012
My New Normal
We have all seen them. You know, the mechanic with permanently stained arms, black grease under his fingernails, grease smears on his face. He is not ashamed of himself, this is his normal.
The same goes for the horse professional. She has a little poop on her boots, a slight scent of ammonia from the stall she cleaned this morning. She has horse hair on her bum and sweaty horse hair on her calves. This is her normal and she is darn proud of it.
With the thermometer edging into the upper 90s and the heat index well over 100, I am afraid I have a new normal.
I overheard a sweet little old lady proclaim, “I am not leaving my air conditioning tomorrow, I won’t even get dressed … it’s going to be over a hundred!” But I am simply not an inside person. I would go insane even if I could stay home hiding from the heat all day.
Besides, I haven’t the luxury. I have errands to run and since it takes my car’s air conditioner a good 15 minutes to warm up before it starts cooling us down, I often opt not to even turn it on. So I drive with the windows open, blowing yesterday’s napkin around the interior of my car and last week’s dog hair in my face. I embrace the sensation of the breeze not cooling me but instead preventing the sweat from dripping down my face. Until I come to a stoplight, and the dripping commences.
And I refuse to let the heat and humidity get in the way of my morning run or bike ride despite the lack of actual oxygen in the air due to the moisture content. It isn’t apparent how hot I am until I stop moving and sweat drips from my shorts into a puddle on the ground and it sprays from my arms with every move I make. I know not to sit down, just go straight to the shower. Sitting is just plain messy.
So I find myself with a constant layer of sticky sweat over my body. I don’t even bother to wipe my sweat mustache because I know my arm is just as sweaty and it will only extend the mustache rather than remove it.
I quit trying to cross my legs while I sit on the front porch. When I cross my right leg over my left knee it just slides right off … pointless. My clothes are always slightly damp and my hair, well, I don’t want to talk about my hair. It just goes up into a knot in back of my head and I try to forget it’s there. My new normal has no room for style.
Am I ashamed? Well, it depends. When I am among the company of my kids or husband the answer is no. They are almost as sweaty as me; especially my son, who it seems inherited my overactive sweat glands. But as I leave the thickness of the outside air and enter the freezing air of a store or restaurant, and the sweat suddenly evaporates, leaving a shiny crystalline layer on my skin and my clothes start to dry and salt forms on my upper lip and I start to shiver visibly … I might feel a little ashamed.
It wouldn’t be so bad, but it seems that the other patrons are from another planet, possibly a planet with outdoor air conditioning. Their hair is all fancy and hanging down, near their face like it doesn’t bother them. They have pants on. They are wearing jewelry and even make-up. … Really? I just feel a little out of sorts, like an intruder … like an alien visitor to their planet.
But this is my new normal. And as usual I don’t fit in. So I am gonna grab that grease monkey from the car shop and lasso that little cowgirl and we’re gonna hold hands. We’re gonna band together and celebrate. Because it may not be your normal, and that’s OK. But it is our normal.
We have all seen them. You know, the mechanic with permanently stained arms, black grease under his fingernails, grease smears on his face. He is not ashamed of himself, this is his normal.
The same goes for the horse professional. She has a little poop on her boots, a slight scent of ammonia from the stall she cleaned this morning. She has horse hair on her bum and sweaty horse hair on her calves. This is her normal and she is darn proud of it.
With the thermometer edging into the upper 90s and the heat index well over 100, I am afraid I have a new normal.
I overheard a sweet little old lady proclaim, “I am not leaving my air conditioning tomorrow, I won’t even get dressed … it’s going to be over a hundred!” But I am simply not an inside person. I would go insane even if I could stay home hiding from the heat all day.
Besides, I haven’t the luxury. I have errands to run and since it takes my car’s air conditioner a good 15 minutes to warm up before it starts cooling us down, I often opt not to even turn it on. So I drive with the windows open, blowing yesterday’s napkin around the interior of my car and last week’s dog hair in my face. I embrace the sensation of the breeze not cooling me but instead preventing the sweat from dripping down my face. Until I come to a stoplight, and the dripping commences.
And I refuse to let the heat and humidity get in the way of my morning run or bike ride despite the lack of actual oxygen in the air due to the moisture content. It isn’t apparent how hot I am until I stop moving and sweat drips from my shorts into a puddle on the ground and it sprays from my arms with every move I make. I know not to sit down, just go straight to the shower. Sitting is just plain messy.
So I find myself with a constant layer of sticky sweat over my body. I don’t even bother to wipe my sweat mustache because I know my arm is just as sweaty and it will only extend the mustache rather than remove it.
I quit trying to cross my legs while I sit on the front porch. When I cross my right leg over my left knee it just slides right off … pointless. My clothes are always slightly damp and my hair, well, I don’t want to talk about my hair. It just goes up into a knot in back of my head and I try to forget it’s there. My new normal has no room for style.
Am I ashamed? Well, it depends. When I am among the company of my kids or husband the answer is no. They are almost as sweaty as me; especially my son, who it seems inherited my overactive sweat glands. But as I leave the thickness of the outside air and enter the freezing air of a store or restaurant, and the sweat suddenly evaporates, leaving a shiny crystalline layer on my skin and my clothes start to dry and salt forms on my upper lip and I start to shiver visibly … I might feel a little ashamed.
It wouldn’t be so bad, but it seems that the other patrons are from another planet, possibly a planet with outdoor air conditioning. Their hair is all fancy and hanging down, near their face like it doesn’t bother them. They have pants on. They are wearing jewelry and even make-up. … Really? I just feel a little out of sorts, like an intruder … like an alien visitor to their planet.
But this is my new normal. And as usual I don’t fit in. So I am gonna grab that grease monkey from the car shop and lasso that little cowgirl and we’re gonna hold hands. We’re gonna band together and celebrate. Because it may not be your normal, and that’s OK. But it is our normal.
July 3, 2012
As a part of the Indie-Pendence Day Blog I am interviewing the Kentucky Indie Author Hallee Bridgeman.
Where did the idea for the book/series come from? I heard it went through a big change along the way…but you don’t have to talk about that.
I’m not really a book planner. I get a general idea, kind of like an abstract idea, then I start writing and the story forms. I had a thought of a woman who had to work two jobs to support her family, who was exhausted and angry, but I didn’t know anything about Robin or the story until it unfolded. I really, really, got excited when the plot became clear to me and the story just took off from there.
How long have you been writing?
I started writing in 1999. I spent great chunks of time not writing, though. I wrote for a couple of years, then shelved everything and didn’t pick it back up again until 2009.
What other books are in the series?
Emerald Fire is the story of the middle sister, Maxine.
Topaz Heat is the story of the youngest sister, Sarah.
What do you find challenging about writing? What comes easily?
Laying out the bones of the story is easy for me. I write very quickly and can see the scenes in my head. I don’t worry about style or rules, I just write and write and get the story out. The hard part is going back through and fleshing it out, adding better descriptions, more thoughts, more feelings. Because I can see it so clearly in my head, I have a hard time distinguishing what the reader will know, not know, and will assume and tend to put too little rather than too much. This is where my husband is such a great value to me. He helps me edit the work and really makes it shine.
You write romance, where’s the sex! How do you set your guidelines?
We have strict guidelines in our home for our entertainment consumption. One of those is that there cannot be any premarital or extramarital sex (unless it’s historically accurate), nor can there be any gratuitous sex or sexuality (in the case of historic accuracy and/or married sex). Because we don’t consume it, I don’t write it. In my next book, the couple will be married rather early in the story, and they will be very much in love and have a very healthy sex life. The reader will just not be a part of it. That said, reviewers have called scenes with these books as “toe curlers”, so I’ve managed to incorporate the love and longing of romance without crossing any personal boundaries.
How do you classify your books? How does it differ from traditional romance/ Christian romance?
My books are classified as “edgy”, because I tend to write very real stories with real life in them. When the typical “Christian romance” is thought of, it’s very nice, very gentle. My books aren’t typically like that. However, unlike a lot of “edgy” Christian authors, my intent is not to toe any kind of line or even cross a line. If my characters sin, their sins aren’t going to be glorified. But, chances are, readers will be able to relate to them.
Are any of the characters in Sapphire Ice based on you? Who do you most relate to? Robin?
I don’t think so. I’ve never thought of it. I’m not certain any female character I’ve ever written could really be based on me, though I’m sure we all share some elements.
Is your husband really Tony?
How funny you should ask that. I wrote these books a couple of years before I met my husband. But, like I said, he helps me write and he definitely helps me write male point of view and he helped me edit this book. His sister had a hard time getting into this particular book, because she said that Tony was like reading about her little brother. So, it’s likely that a lot of my husband is in Tony, though that wasn’t my intent going into it.
Will we see Derrick again?
Derrick is the hero in book 3
What about Robin’s dad?
Only in a mention in the epilogue.
If you would like to find out more about Hallee Bridgeman you can find her and her books on the links below.
Blog – Facebook – Twitter — Google+
Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Goodreads
Sapphire Ice
Where did the idea for the book/series come from? I heard it went through a big change along the way…but you don’t have to talk about that.
I’m not really a book planner. I get a general idea, kind of like an abstract idea, then I start writing and the story forms. I had a thought of a woman who had to work two jobs to support her family, who was exhausted and angry, but I didn’t know anything about Robin or the story until it unfolded. I really, really, got excited when the plot became clear to me and the story just took off from there.
How long have you been writing?
I started writing in 1999. I spent great chunks of time not writing, though. I wrote for a couple of years, then shelved everything and didn’t pick it back up again until 2009.
What other books are in the series?
Emerald Fire is the story of the middle sister, Maxine.
Topaz Heat is the story of the youngest sister, Sarah.
What do you find challenging about writing? What comes easily?
Laying out the bones of the story is easy for me. I write very quickly and can see the scenes in my head. I don’t worry about style or rules, I just write and write and get the story out. The hard part is going back through and fleshing it out, adding better descriptions, more thoughts, more feelings. Because I can see it so clearly in my head, I have a hard time distinguishing what the reader will know, not know, and will assume and tend to put too little rather than too much. This is where my husband is such a great value to me. He helps me edit the work and really makes it shine.
You write romance, where’s the sex! How do you set your guidelines?
We have strict guidelines in our home for our entertainment consumption. One of those is that there cannot be any premarital or extramarital sex (unless it’s historically accurate), nor can there be any gratuitous sex or sexuality (in the case of historic accuracy and/or married sex). Because we don’t consume it, I don’t write it. In my next book, the couple will be married rather early in the story, and they will be very much in love and have a very healthy sex life. The reader will just not be a part of it. That said, reviewers have called scenes with these books as “toe curlers”, so I’ve managed to incorporate the love and longing of romance without crossing any personal boundaries.
How do you classify your books? How does it differ from traditional romance/ Christian romance?
My books are classified as “edgy”, because I tend to write very real stories with real life in them. When the typical “Christian romance” is thought of, it’s very nice, very gentle. My books aren’t typically like that. However, unlike a lot of “edgy” Christian authors, my intent is not to toe any kind of line or even cross a line. If my characters sin, their sins aren’t going to be glorified. But, chances are, readers will be able to relate to them.
Are any of the characters in Sapphire Ice based on you? Who do you most relate to? Robin?
I don’t think so. I’ve never thought of it. I’m not certain any female character I’ve ever written could really be based on me, though I’m sure we all share some elements.
Is your husband really Tony?
How funny you should ask that. I wrote these books a couple of years before I met my husband. But, like I said, he helps me write and he definitely helps me write male point of view and he helped me edit this book. His sister had a hard time getting into this particular book, because she said that Tony was like reading about her little brother. So, it’s likely that a lot of my husband is in Tony, though that wasn’t my intent going into it.
Will we see Derrick again?
Derrick is the hero in book 3
What about Robin’s dad?
Only in a mention in the epilogue.
If you would like to find out more about Hallee Bridgeman you can find her and her books on the links below.
Blog – Facebook – Twitter — Google+
Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Goodreads
Sapphire Ice
June 24, 2012
My giveaway just ended last night. Congradulations to Falicia, Alana, Carol, Megan, and Marylynn.
I will be shipping the books out tomorrow.
I noticed that all the winners were female. That would make sense, most of the entries were female. There were some men who signed up for the book too.
In my experience, men love the book. They think it is very funny and have a completely different response than women do.
So here's the deal. I will give one more copy away to the first MALE that responds to this blog post with his address.
I hope that all the winners find time to write a review of the book. I love hearing the diffent responses and interpretations of it.
All right, tell your (boy) friends.
I will be shipping the books out tomorrow.
I noticed that all the winners were female. That would make sense, most of the entries were female. There were some men who signed up for the book too.
In my experience, men love the book. They think it is very funny and have a completely different response than women do.
So here's the deal. I will give one more copy away to the first MALE that responds to this blog post with his address.
I hope that all the winners find time to write a review of the book. I love hearing the diffent responses and interpretations of it.
All right, tell your (boy) friends.
My giveaway just ended last night. Congradulations to Falicia, Alana, Carol, Megan, and Marylynn.
I will be shipping the books out tomorrow.
I noticed that all the winners were female. That would make sense, most of the entries were female. There were some men who signed up for the book too.
In my experience, men love the book. They think it is very funny and have a completely different response than women do.
So here's the deal. I will give one more copy away to the first MALE that responds to this blog post with his address.
I hope that all the winners find time to write a review of the book. I love hearing the diffent responses and interpretations of it.
All right, tell your (boy) friends.
I will be shipping the books out tomorrow.
I noticed that all the winners were female. That would make sense, most of the entries were female. There were some men who signed up for the book too.
In my experience, men love the book. They think it is very funny and have a completely different response than women do.
So here's the deal. I will give one more copy away to the first MALE that responds to this blog post with his address.
I hope that all the winners find time to write a review of the book. I love hearing the diffent responses and interpretations of it.
All right, tell your (boy) friends.
