Debut Author Spotlight ... Diane Moody

THE TEACHER, THE COUNSELOR, & A SERIOUS CASE OF HOT FLASHES

MY LONG JOURNEY TO PUBLICATION

By Diane Moody

My journey as an author came late in life. Years ago, I got a degree from college, got married, had a couple kids, they grew up, and I suddenly realized God surely had something more in store for me than just waiting around for grandkids.

Though there was that “a-ha” moment way back in high school when my Creative Writing teacher said something like "you have quite a gift." Really? Me? Gifted? For a freckle-faced redhead who'd never stood out in anything, I was thrilled.

So why did it take me so long to follow up on Mrs. Bullock's accolades? Self-confidence issues? Procrastination? Beats me. My forties were rather stormy (and who doesn't love menopausal hell?). I thought I was losing my mind. I started seeing a counselor who recommended I try my hand at writing again. “Therapeutic,” he advised. I followed his suggestion and watched a forgotten passion reignite into a full-blown dream. Who knew hot flashes could lead to a whole new career?

The result? My first novel, The Runaway Pastor's Wife. My husband had been in the ministry for fifteen years. Oh so therapeutic, that story. Then came Blue Christmas, a story that morphed out of my daughter's teen years and her boy band affections. Originally written as "fan fiction," when we posted the story online, it received more than 80,000 hits and stuffed more than a thousand fan letters in my email. We dropped the “boy band” for the novel version and created a more mainstream rock band. Just so you know. Watch for it this fall in time for Christmas.

I never dreamed I'd write non-fiction, but God apparently had other ideas. My first published book, Confessions of a Prayer Slacker, evolved out of a personal prayer journey God took me on, teaching me about the absolute joy of a disciplined, daily prayer time. Don’t Ever Look Down: Surviving Cancer Together came next—a book I co-authored with my good friends Dick & Debbie Church about their brave journey through Deb’s breast cancer.

I’m currently having a blast working on a new series, The Teacup Novellas. The first, Tea With Emma, is a loosely-written modern day version of Jane Austen’s Emma. Set in Austin, Texas, of course. Coming soon to a Kindle near you!

THE RUNAWAY PASTOR'S WIFE

OBT Bookz, March 2011
436 pages

What could possibly drive a pastor’s wife to run away from home? After years of frustration from life in a church fishbowl, Annie McGregor walks away from it all and boards a plane for Colorado. She has no way of knowing her college sweetheart is headed to the same cabin in the Rockies, terrified and gravely wounded. Their unexpected reunion couldn’t have come at a worse time. Or could it? Bewildered that God would allow Michael Dean to walk back into her life, Annie pleads with Him to keep her heart true to her husband and her family. God answers her prayer, but in a way she would never expect. Written by a former pastor’s wife, Annie’s story provides a rare look inside the family life of those in the ministry, particularly the unique pressures on those who marry men of God.

Born in Texas and raised in Oklahoma, Diane Moody writes both fiction and non-fiction. Her first book, Confessions of a Prayer Slacker, released from Journey Press in August 2010. Don’t Ever Look Down: Surviving Cancer Together, co-authored with friends Dick & Debbie Church, releases April 1, 2011, and her debut novel, The Runaway Pastor's Wife, released in March of 2011. A graduate of Oklahoma State University and a former pastor’s wife, she and husband Ken now live in the rolling hills just outside of Nashville. Celebrating over thirty years together, they are the proud parents of two grown and extraordinary children, Hannah and Ben. When she’s not reading or writing, Diane enjoys an eclectic taste in music, movies, great coffee, the company of good friends, and the adoration of a peculiar little puppy named Darby.
http://www.dianemoody.net/