Authors After Dark Author Spotlight Interview - Diana Castilleja

Please welcome Diana Castilleja as part of The Qwillery's Authors After Dark Author Spotlight Interviews.

TQ:  What inspired you to become a writer?

Diana:  Honestly, boredom. I was a stay at home mom with a two year-old toddler. I had a small mobile crafts business (think small city fairs and events), tent and everything. I'd pack the kid, enlist my BFF for company and spend the day hanging out. Unfortunately, we moved and sold the van I used, which left me at home. All day. Every day.

When I was younger, I had a job where I was pretty much left alone. I read. A lot. One of the books I read was by Jo Beverly, and I got it in my head I could write one like it. Uh... Yeah. No. Suffice it to say, the only thing that taught me was I couldn't write historical.

Fast forward to being at home with said child. Add one computer and hours alone. I went back to stuff I'd tinkered with and actually *gasp* finished something. Then I finished another. Then I wrote one from the word go. And I never looked back.

TQ:  What is the most challenging thing for you about writing?

Diana:  Getting hung up or blocked. Oftentimes, I get interrupted and I won't be able to get back into the stream. It's not like watching a movie. I can't just take it off "pause" and start again. It's hard for those around me to really get that.

TQ:  What writing achievement are you most proud of?

Diana:  Oh wow... Um, really, just being here, doing what I love. Nothing gets to me more than a note that someone read my stories, whether they loved or hated it. Regardless of how they reacted, they felt something that made them react to either the characters or the story. That tells me I'm doing my job right.

TQ:  What one thing should everyone know about your writing?

Diana:  Don't always think you know what's coming. I do my best to not write the same story twice, or to write "cookie-cutter" type stories. Not saying I'm perfect. I know I've written some bombs. We all have those struggles. I just hope I can continue to write entertaining stories. Happy endings are my ultimate goal.

TQ:  Please tell us about your latest and upcoming works.

Diana:  Right now, my latest and upcoming are both under my pseudonym, Diana DeRicci. TOUGHER TO LOVE is by Diana DeRicci, through Purple Sword Publications. There's nothing tougher than trying to love a man who hides from the world, and himself. When a small town cop meets that man, there's fireworks that no one could have expected, or kept under wraps.

Upcoming is GLITTER. For those who have read THE CHARLIE FACTOR and/or DOING LOVE RIGHT, this is Josh and Laurence's story, and how they came together. Funny how though they weren't planned, friends' stories happen.

TQ:  Thank you for joining us at The Qwillery.

Diana:  Thanks so much for having me! I enjoyed being here today.


About Diana

With more than a dozen ebooks currently to her credit and her first print book released in 2008, Diana Castilleja has kept busy since she started writing professionally in late 2004. Diana currently resides in central Texas with her husband and son. When not focusing her energy on her family and her writing, she loves to travel and haunt bookstores. She's lived in several states across the south and midwest, as well as traveling to Mexico. With moving every year or changing schools since the fourth grade to her sophomore year, she learned reading was a fast escape. The freedom to read about anything and everything has fueled her adult imagination. She also enjoys romance, horses, and yes, still loves to read. Right now, she's probably attacking her keyboard writing her next book. If she's not, she should be!

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