Thursday Thirteen--Diane Farr

So I was on the train going to see my dying Mom, and I'd grabbed a book to read from the stack of TBR. I'd recently discovered Romancelandia but I still was ripping covers off. This cover was absolutely ick. (sorry, Diane) The book, though. Oh, I loved it. I read it, then read it again on the trip back.

If you go to conferences, you'll hear a fair number of inspiring speeches (because rioters are feeling defensive about the genre. [Screw that]) from writers all about the nurturing quality of romance.

They tell stories about letters from fans who talk about how romance helped them through horrid times. Diane Farr would have gotten one of those letters from me if I'd gotten off my lazy ass and written it.

And then I found another of her books (Fair Game) and loved it, and then another that I loved. She's on my autobuy list, and every time I make lists of favorites or moaning about Authors who should write more, more, more, she's on them. So okay? Are we getting this?

I have an altar set up dedicated to her. She can do the short Regency and she can do the longer Regency set, too. Only one of her books isn't on my keeper shelf, but I still liked it and was glad I bought it. Well, so? Get it???
Diane. Farr. Rocks.


(another from my keeper shelf: Fortune Hunter--a redeemed rake book that I actually believed.)

THIRTEEN THINGS YOU (PROBABLY) DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT DIANE FARR: (written by DF)

1. Diane is only a second-generation American on her mother’s side, so if she bothered to fill out the proper paperwork she could officially become a citizen of Ireland. Or so her cousins tell her.

2. She can’t swim. I guess that proves she’s not a witch.

3. Her first love was acting, not writing. In fact, if she hadn’t let her union membership lapse when she left L.A., that other Diane Farr … the TV star one … would have had to choose another name, because the acting unions don’t allow more one than person to “own” a name. Alas, she did let her membership lapse, and is now the reluctant recipient of way too much fan mail not intended for her.

4. When she was twelve, the Library Association published one of her poems in its monthly magazine … without attributing it to “Diane Farr, age 12.” In other words, they didn’t realize the poem had been written by a kid. In her darkest moments of self-doubt, she reminds herself of this.

5. Jobs Diane has held: Shakespearian actress, truck driver, Hollywood production assistant, newspaper columnist, community theater director, legal secretary, playwright, bank teller, lyricist, voiceover artist, employment counselor, tag announcer, shipping clerk, switchboard operator, proofreader, cookware salesperson, knife demonstrator, member of a traveling theatrical troupe, member of another traveling theatrical troupe, member of way too many traveling theatrical troupes, contact lens beveller and – oh yeah – novelist.

6. Diane drinks way too much coffee, especially when writing.

7. Coffee – or even tea – drunk after 3:00 p.m. prevents Diane from sleeping at night. However, no amount of coffee – or tea – can keep her from napping in the afternoon if she has a chance. Go figure.

8. Diane is the world’s worst housekeeper, but her bathtub is always clean.

9. She suffers from permanent and debilitating writer’s block. That she manages to produce anything at all, let alone full-length books (eventually), is a minor miracle. Often she sits and stares at her computer screen for hours on end, drinking coffee and swearing under her breath. Then she goes off and takes a nap. When she wakes up, she is either able to write … or she isn’t. If she isn’t, she takes a bath: hot, with bubbles. When she emerges, she is either able to write … or she isn’t. If she isn’t, she goes for a walk in the woods near her house. When she returns, she is either able to write … or she isn’t. And so on.

10. Diane took the Myers-Briggs personality test online (yeah, okay, she was bored) and learned that she is an INFP. This meant absolutely nothing to her, so she clicked on the link for “suggested careers for INFP types” (or words to that effect). Career suggestion number one was “novelist.” Career suggestion number two was “actor.” This spooked her so badly that she hasn’t returned to the site since.

11. She has a list of places she wants to visit before she dies, each destination written on its own index card. Every so often she takes the cards out, shuffles them, and tries to calculate how many places she’ll have to visit this year in order to meet her goal. Then she looks at her budget. Then she decides she’s going to have to live longer.

12. Diane’s favorite foods: crème brulee, French toast, her sister Linda’s peach cobbler, her sister Doreen’s pecan pie, and the crab and macadamia nut wontons at the Hula Grill in Ka’anapali Beach, Maui.

13. She is DEEPLY AND SINCERELY GRATEFUL to each and every person who has ever bought one of her books. Especially those who, having done so, urged others to do the same. And most especially those who purchased her books new … since if everyone patronized used bookstores, authors would eventually wither up and blow away (Diane among them).