Meet my Sci-Fi Author Friend, Diane Burton…

Well, she’s not ONLY Sci-Fi. (Although I love her sci-fi books, even though that’s not my favorite genre) I had the pleasure of reading and contracting one of her suspense books, One Red Shoe, for The Wild Rose Press. And it is fabulous! The release date for One Red Shoe is January 10, 2014. Hopefully, Diane will join me on my blog again at that time. Well, enough about that. Meet Diane…

I’m Diane Burton and I’m a compulsive writer. My imagination has been working overtime since I was a kid. When I write, I can be anyone I want. I can be a petite, red-headed starship pilot who knows what she wants and goes after it (like Celara in The Pilot) or a tall, overweight repairperson who wisecracks her way out of scary situations (like Jessie in Switched and Switched Resolution) or a straight-laced starship mechanic who’s discovered she’s not an alien (like Veronese in Switched, Too and Switched Resolution). I can even be a schoolteacher (I was one, actually) facing the Big 3-0 and determined to have an adventure (like Daria in One Red Shoe). In my imagination, I can soar through outer space, visit alien planets, pilot a starship, and rescue a wounded spy from the ladies’ restroom in New York City. And if I could live in any time period, it would be when space travel is as common place as air travel.

Although I’ve lived in Missouri and Illinois, I’m such a dyed-in-the-wool Michigander that when asked where I live, I hold up my hand as if it’s a map and point. I love the Great Lakes and will soon be living close to Lake Michigan and my favorite sports team is the Detroit Tigers. I have two great kids who’ve grown into adults I’m so proud of. My daughter’s two children always make me smile when they come running and yelling “Nana! Papa!” My granddaughter has a super imagination. We write stories together—she tells me what to write then she illustrates. At almost six, she’s a budding novelist. (I’m not prejudiced or anything). At three and a half, my grandson has two speeds—fast and faster. He has a wicked grin that reminds me of his uncle (my son) and my husband.

I’ve been writing for over twenty years. In the past two, I’ve been having the time of my life. The best part about being a writer right now is getting my books to readers has become easier through self-publishing. Of course, having a freelance editor and cover artist who are friends really helps. The support of my RWA chapter (Mid-Michigan), friends, and readers make this journey so rewarding. My biggest supporter, though, is the fantastic guy I married forty years ago. We remain such good friends that we can spend four days in a car out to Arizona and another four days back and still talk to each other. Although he doesn’t usually read novels, he reads mine and he’s always willing to brainstorm plot lines.

I started writing the Switched series nearly fifteen years ago. It didn’t start as a series—just one stand-alone book, Switched—about twins separated before birth then raised on different planets. Readers clamored for the secondary characters’ story, which brought about Switched, Too. Published this May, Switched Resolution brings all the characters together to save one of them, a starship, and an alien world. While I was waiting for a publisher to recognize my brilliant writing (kidding), I wrote another science fiction romance set in another universe. The Pilot kicks off a new series about strong women on the frontier of space. I’m currently writing the next book in the Outer Rim series. It’s had three titles already. I think The Chameleon is the best title . . . so far. Meanwhile, as Alicia mentioned, a publisher has recognized my brilliant writing (only slightly kidding). The Wild Rose Press will release my romantic suspense, One Red Shoe, on January 10, 2014.

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