Diana Savastano began her writing career as a columnist and feature writer. She later became a food journalist and editor. In 1992, she established her own company, publishing two print magazines (The Collector Newsmagazine and Gourmet Fare). In addition, Diana was the creator and host of “Cooking with Grandma”. Her first book, On the Breath of Angels, was released in April 2008. Winds of Pood series (Under the Puddle and In the Blizzard) are her first middle-grade novels, followed by The Upside Down Inside Out Life of Maureen Kiernan (Book 1: The Magic Cello), The Princess Who Loved to Swim, and The Marker. Diana is a member of the Authors Guild and SCBWI. When she’s not roaming around Gardone Riviera (Lake Garda, Italy), she can be found in suburban Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband, Anthony.
Visit Diana at https://www.dianasavastano.com
Email Diana at savastano.diana7@gmail.com
Welcome to the amazing and sometimes daunting world of writing.
I’m not a person who’s usually at a loss for words—either in speech or on paper. In fact, I not only talk a lot, I write a lot. So, when I found my passion for writing, I embraced it.
Perhaps the best way I can describe my career is to say that I never thought of writing as a job. It’s a passion: creative, fun, interesting, crazy, a little heartbreaking (that comes in the form of rejections), but always thrilling.
How else would I be able to travel without ever leaving my office to a seaside village in England with two kids, a cat, and a mouse; a lakeside villa in Italy with a children’s book author turned detective; a cemetery in Mississippi with a Civil War ghost; a Scarlett Tea Party in Georgia with a teen uprooted from the Big Apple; and a splash into an undersea world where a princess is held captive by a witch.
Earlier in my career, I wrote newspaper and magazine columns and features. One of the best compliments I received from an editor was that I had a nose for news. But that nose soon got itchy, and I felt it was time to take my years of experience and start my own publishing company. I began with two print publications: The Collector Newsmagazine and Gourmet Fare magazine. By this time, the Internet domain name explosion was in full swing and both publications became e-zines with a global following.
I soon found there was enough room within my bookends to write books. And so it began with my first book about angels, followed by children’s adventures, and onto my latest novel—The Marker—a historical, murder mystery sprinkled with romance and paranormal activities.
Now, here’s the thing about writing: you’re never alone. Your characters are constantly talking, acting silly, and leading you around like you’re a trained seal. The plot goes up, circles around, and sometimes crashes to the ground in tiny slivers of nothingness. And all the while, you’re on a thrilling roller coaster ride where the imagination is in control, and you—the writer—are holding on for dear life.
When it came to writing The Marker, I found that there was no end to where my imagination could take me. The idea for the story began after I purchased a Civil War memorial grave marker at an antique shop. As soon as I held it, I felt a strong connection to its history, knowing that someday I would return it to the place from where it was taken. This extraordinary historical marker will be returned to its final resting place at the Natchez VA National Cemetery in Mississippi in December 2017.
What now? There’s plenty of room between my bookends for more novels, writing projects, and screenplays. The only thing I have to expand is the shelf they’ll all go on. I’m a writer; this is how I roll.
Buried Under Books 