Timeless Principles for a Good Story: Author Interview with MaryAnn Diorio

Amazon shows you've published 50 books and you have 10 awards for your writing. That's quite an accomplishment. How many books did it take before you realized it could be a full time career?
Actually, it wasn't the number of books that caused me to realize that writing could be a full-time career. It was the call of God to write for Him. At the age of 30, I began to have a strong desire to write. This was unusual for me, as I was already established in a satisfying career as a college professor of Italian and French.

As the desire to write increased, I asked the Lord to confirm whether the desire was from Him or not. Through a series of what I call "providential circumstances," He clearly confirmed that the desire was from Him and that He had called me to write. And so began my writing journey. :)

How do you keep the writing fresh and create new characters that your readers can relate to after so many books?
I pray continually, asking the Holy Spirit to guide me and to give me the stories of His heart. When I write, I picture myself holding the Holy Spirit's hand with my right hand and holding the reader's hand with my left. I want to be a conduit of grace, hope, and encouragement between God and my reader. Through my characters, I want to remind my readers that in the midst of every trial, God is faithful and loves them.

You write contemporary romance, women's fiction, kids fiction books, and have several non-fiction titles. How do you decide what to write next?
Again, I pray and listen for the voice of the Holy Spirit. He tells me what He wants me to write next. Twice in my writing career, I had planned to begin a new novel when the Holy Spirit said He wanted me to write a short nonfiction book first. So I did. The first one was The Iron Saint and the second one was Prayer Power. The will of God is my guide in what I write next, and I discern His will through prayer, reading His Word, seeking counsel from fellow believers, and paying attention to circumstances.

Several of your books are historical fiction. What type of research do you do to make them believable? Can you share an "aha" moment when something surprised you in doing your story research?
I do various types of research to make my stories believable. I often center my stories around a major historical event--such as a blizzard or a major economic problem. This historical event provides the backdrop of the story, and the plot plays into the historical event.

To research I use books from my personal library, and I do extensive online research. My husband is a great asset in my research. For example, he loves to research if a certain item was used or was available during the time period of my story. As a retired physician, he took his medical gift for attention to detail and transferred it to helping me with research. I tease him that he's found a new career as my research assistant. :)

Another type of research stems from my own family history. In writing The Italian Chronicles Trilogy, based on a true incident in my great-great-grandmother's life, I consulted a professional Italian genealogist with whom the Lord miraculously connected me and who is from the same town as my ancestors! This was a major and miraculous "aha" moment for me. What were the odds of this happening? I clearly saw God's hand upon this trilogy and was deeply moved by His presence and goodness. The genealogist provided me with original family documents, such as birth and baptismal certificates, and other valuable information that brought historical authenticity to my stories.

What's the best encouragement you've had in your writing?
The best encouragement, without a doubt, has been reader feedback. When I receive comments from readers that a book I wrote drew them back to Christ or brought them closer to Christ, or gave them hope to go on, I rejoice and thank God for the great privilege of being used by Him to bless another human being. This is the reason I write. Life is hard, but beautiful. I want to show my readers that in Christ, we always have hope, no matter how ugly or messy or painful life gets. In Christ, we can see the beautiful side of life and know that the best is yet to be in Jesus!

What do you know now about writing you wished you had known sooner?
I wish I had known early on that there are timeless principles involved in structuring a good story and that I could learn and apply them. For a long while, I floundered because I thought that stories would spontaneously and effortlessly fall from my mind to the computer screen. A naïve belief, for sure! :) Not that God does not give us ideas. But I know now that adhering to these timeless principles of story structure results in strong, powerful stories that resonate with readers

What is the best writing advice you've received or could give?
Pray continually as you surrender your writing to God. He gave you the gift of writing in the first place, and He will bring it to maturity. Write with God and for God. As in all of life, everything begins and ends with God. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.

Are there any other points about writing you would like to add?
Yes. Have fun in the process! The journey of writing is more important than the destination. It is in the journey that we learn who God is and who we are in Him. And this, I believe, is the chief reason God has called us to write. To know Him more so that we can love Him more.

What is the next book coming out? Can you give me a short synopsis?
I am currently working on the first book of a new romantic suspense series called The South Philly Italians. Book 1 is titled VINNY. While it is still in the very early stages, the working premise so far is this: A young man sabotages his dream in order to follow in his father's footsteps. I am still fine-tuning this premise.

Thanks for sharing how your faith and family heritage shapes your writing. If you'd like to learn more about MaryAnn's books, here are some links to get you started. 
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/MaryAnn-L.-Diorio/author/B005FU4IAS
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6592603.MaryAnn_Diorio
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/maryanndioriobooks
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/drmaryanndiorio/
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/maryann-diorio

And here's a special tip for my readers... Subscribe to MaryAnn's newsletter and you'll receive a free novella titled Surrender to Love. So sign up now at  https://shop.maryanndiorio.com

Balancing Action and Banter: Author Interview with Elle E. Kay

You’ve now published several books, but what inspired you to write that first one? How long did it take you to write your first book that was published? How many rewrites did you do on it? 

My first book was non-fiction. It was about living with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, so my struggles with EDS inspired that one. My fiction debut seemingly came out of nowhere. I just sat down one night and started writing it. That book was a semi-finalist in the Genesis contest, so that gave me the courage to keep going. I don’t know if I would call my editing process ‘rewrites’ as most of the content remains the same, but that first book went through a couple of rounds of self-edits, went to my critique partner and then had two more rounds of edits with my editor, Patti.

How do you go about plotting your suspense stories? 

I usually have a germ of an idea that I start with. Oftentimes, it’s the setting. For example, with the Pennsylvania Parks series, I thought I’d write books that would take place in our beautiful state parks and I knew they would be romantic suspense, but I had no inkling what the characters would be like or what the suspense plots would be.

What type of research do you do for giving realism to time clock ticking events?

As for research, having written four historical novellas in addition to my contemporary novels, I can safely say, the historical fiction required far more research. It’s not that difficult to find answers to most of the questions that come up for current day stories. In one instance, I needed information about bomb-sniffing dogs and their handlers, and I was able to find most of what the story required from government websites and videos.

What’s the best encouragement you’ve had in your writing?

One part of a reader review for Midnight Offensive was a huge encouragement. It let me know that even though I write romantic thrillers, my faith is threaded through the story. The reviewer said, “As usual Elle’s faith and trust in an Almighty God shines through. The characters are challenged as to who they see as in control and causes them to examine their relationship with God. I always enjoy seeing how she introduces different scriptures to illustrate the need to put God in the center of everyday living no matter what the challenges are, she makes the Bible come alive.”

Marketing is the biggest key to getting sales. What is the best marketing source you’ve used that has produces more sales rather than just clicks?

Facebook ads are probably the most effective, but targeting is difficult for Christian authors. I wound up hiring them out after many years of doing them myself with little success. I also run ads with Amazon and BookBub with some success.

What do you know now about writing you wished you had known sooner?

There are a couple of things. I love writing banter, so my first several books were dialogue-heavy. Those first books might’ve benefited from more introspective moments to balance the action and conversations. It also would’ve been helpful to have grasped how to effectively write deep point-of-view sooner than I did.

What is the best writing advice you’ve received or could give?

Thomas Umstattd, Jr. suggests that the number one commandment is “love thy reader.” If you follow that commandment, you’ll write what your reader wants to read. He suggests finding your “Timothy,” an actual real-life person who represents your ideal reader. I chose a woman named Carol as she is a wonderful representative of my typical reader. If I remember to treat all my readers as I would treat her, the result is that readers will look forward to my newsletters and want to read my next release. If I don’t care about my readers, why should they care about me?

I’ve chosen to pray for my readers (if they share prayer requests), and I reply to most messages. It’s important for me to remember that my readers are people like me who have trials and triumphs, so I want to be there for them whenever I can.

What is the next book coming out? Can you give me a short synopsis?

Midnight Masquerade releases on October 8th. Here are some details.

When everyone wears a mask, who can you trust?
When CIA operative Dante Reyes discovers American women being trafficked overseas to fund terrorism, including his teammate's sister, he's forced into an uneasy partnership with HSI Agent Lisa Harper, a woman determined to prove herself capable of leading her first multi-agency task force.

Lisa has built her career on never depending on anyone, especially charming men who think they know better. But as their investigation uncovers a sophisticated network using dating apps to target military families, she finds her carefully constructed walls challenged by Dante's unwavering faith and protective instincts.

Racing against time to stop the final phase of the terrorist financing operation, Dante and Lisa must infiltrate an elegant charity masquerade ball where international buyers will gather for one last transaction. But the greatest danger isn't the enemies they can see. It's learning to trust each other when everything they've fought to protect hangs in the balance.

Sounds intriguing! If you'd like to learn more about this book and the other series she's written, here are some links to get you started. 

https://www.youtube.com/@ElleEKay7/ 

https://www.instagram.com/elleekay7/

https://www.facebook.com/ElleEKay7/

And here's a tip for my readers... sign up for her newsletter, and she'll send you a free eBook. Here's the link, so do it now. https://elleekay.com/newsletter-signup/