Diane Slocum has been a newspaper reporter and editor and authored a historical book. As a freelance writer, she regularly contributes to magazines and newspapers. She writes features on authors and a column for writers and readers in Lifestyle magazine. She is assigned to write interviews of first-time novelists and bestselling authors for Authorlink.
Insights Into Diane
If I were to pick one type of book that I most like to read it would probably be historical novels. I appreciate the research that goes into recreating a world from our past and populating it with characters both historical and fictional.
I don’t really have a favorite author. Since I’m usually reading debut authors for my interviews, I rarely have repeats. Maybe that is also my reading quirk. The same way I dish up my plate at a potluck – take a little taste of everything.
The first peeve that comes to mind about the writing world is form rejections that say “It’s not right for us at this time.” I know agents, editors, etc. are overwhelmed with reading submissions, but something triggered the rejection. I would rather get a rejection that said “boring,” “weak lead,” “got to page 2,” than “it’s not right for us at this time.” Of course, I would hope that the reader really did think it was brilliant but just not what she needed then, but then one word to say why, what was in her mind, would help.
What foods do I like? As I said, I sample everything at a potluck. Maybe fruit? I live in Fresno County. We grow almost everything. Fresh and local is the best. My food quirk is probably raw potatoes. I could be lured into a trap by a trail of raw potato slices. So far, I’ve never enjoyed tasting liver or kidneys. I also don’t want to eat food that should be accompanied by a fire hose because it’s spicy hot.
In my leisure time, I go camping and hiking. I keep a journal. I watch TV shows like Poldark, Victoria and Mercy Street. I run, but that’s not exactly leisure, neither is growing my vegetables. And, of course, I read.
Of all the people in the world, who I would most like to have dinner with, is another hard choice. But right now, I’ll choose Jimmy Carter. I have great respect for his character and all he does to help people, even continuing into his very advanced years.
Grief Is the Thing with Feathers, Max Porter, Graywolf Press – A father and his sons try to live through their grief after the death of their wife and mother.
Goodnight, Beautiful Women, Anna Noyes, Grove Press – Joni’s husband drowns in a quarry, a dad fears for his daughter when another girl is raped, ten-year-old Collette learns of her sister’s affair with an older neighbor – Noyes’ debut collection follows women through times of change and discovery.
The Atomic Weight of Love, Elizabeth J. Church, Algonquin Books) - Meridian loved studying birds and hoped to get her Masters in ornithology. She also loved Alden, a brilliant professor of physics.
Born on a Tuesday, Elnathan John, - When Dantala leaves his Quranic studies and falls in with a street gang, he experiences firsthand the violence of Nigerian politics.
The Alaskan Laundry, Brendan Jones, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt - Grieving her mother’s death and her father’s rejection, Tara leaves her Philadelphia home for an uncertain Alaskan future with only a promised job in a fish hatchery.
The Queen of the Night, Alexander Chee, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt –Tragedy throws a young Minnesota farm girl with an incredible voice and equestrian skills in with a circus bound for Europe.
The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend, Katrina Bivald, Sourcebooks – Sara and Amy are pen pals – Amy in small town Iowa, Sara in Sweden. Across the seas, they share their love of books and Amy’s stories of the inhabitants of Broken Wheel.
This is Why I Came, Mary Rakow, Counterpoint – A woman waits to go into confessional after decades of being away. She carries a small volume of Bible stories as she has embellished them, filling in the blanks.
Esther, Rebecca Kanner, Howard Books - Esther is a teenage Jewish orphan when she is rounded up by King Xerxes’ Immortals and brought to the royal harem.
Mrs. Engels, Gavin McCrea--Lizzie Burns and her sister, Mary, were textile factory workers in Manchester when the owner’s son, Frederick, came on board. Of all the girls who were swooning over him, he chose Mary