Dianne Harman - An Author Interview in the HBS Author's Spotlight

Today our blog puts the Spotlight on Author Dianne Harman. She is Award Winning Bestseller author.

Author Genre: Romance and Literary Fiction

Website: Dianne Harman Author
Author's Blog: Dianne Harman Author
Twitter: @DianneDHarman
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Author Description:
Dianne Harman draws her stories and characters from a diverse business and personal background. She owned a national antique and art appraisal business for many years, leaving that industry and opening two yoga centers where she taught yoga and certified yoga instructors. Dianne has traveled extensively throughout the world, most recently dividing her time between Huntington Beach, California and Sacramento, California, where her husband was a Senator. An avid reader, Dianne brings the richness of her life experiences to her novels, Blue Coyote Motel and Tea Party Teddy.

An Award Winning Bestseller, Blue Coyote Motel was selected as a quarterfinalist in Amazon's Breakthrough Novel Award contest and Goodreads Psychological Thriller of the Month Book.

Her second novel, Tea Party Teddy, is a multicultural romance set against the political background of California. It is the story of Nina, who husband succumbs to the power of his office. Bigoted and biased, the ultimate irony occurs when she becomes romantically involved with the founder of the Republicans for Latinos and in the process, discovers herself.


SPOTLIGHT Questions and Answers with the Author

First things first. Let’s start with what’s next. Rumor has it that you have another book on the horizon called Coyote in Provence. Can you tell us the timeline for its release and give us a little tease?



Since this is first things first, I want to tell you how much I appreciate this!

Now to your questions. That’s true. It should be published within the next three weeks. It continues the story of Maria and how she falls in love with a Los Angeles Police Detective while she’s hiding from law enforcement. It brings in art, food, Afghanistan orphans, female genital mutilation, and the anti-aging drug. I know, one wonders how that can be woven into a story. Read it and see!

You have a great following on twitter. How important have your social media relationships been? Do you see a carry over to your writing success?

I made the decision to market my books through social media and it’s worked out well. I didn’t want to spend time trying to sell a couple of copies or put them on consignment at local bookstore or other stores. When I published Blue Coyote Motel, I didn’t even have a facebook account. Now I’m very active on twitter, facebook, and google+. I’m a believer in social media

Do you do book signings, interviews, speaking and personal appearances? If so, when and where is the next place where your readers can see you? Where can they keep up with your personal contacts online?

I’ve done all of them and am available. I’ve also done telephone interviews for book clubs that are out of my area. Please feel free to contact me at dianne@dianneharman.com

You have great covers. How does your book cover creation process work? Do you hand over the basic theme or do you have more of a hands-on approach? Do you get your readers involved in its development?

Thanks. I have a great graphic artist. Mine is very hands-on. I probably make ten or so changes to each cover until I get it the way I think most depicts the book. I tell her the basic story and give her a rough idea of what I have in mind, but the final cover is often quite different from what we started out with. It takes time, but I think it pays off. I show the cover ideas to several people and get their input as well.

What writer support groups do you belong to? Do they help with the writing, marketing and the publishing process?

I don’t belong to any writer support groups. I suppose the closest thing to that would be a group in facebook, Author Social Media Support Group. They’ve helped me immensely in areas other than actually writing.

Between your book writing, blogging, marketing, family and all the other things that can get in your way, how do you manage your time? Do you have a set schedule or do your sort of play it by ear?

I’m very fortunate not to have to work outside the home. My children are grown. My husband just retired and has taken over most of the household work, so it frees me. I’m generally at the computer around 8:00 or so in the morning and am there most of the day, doing marketing and writing. Often I’ll answer a lot of email and do some social marketing in bed with a cup of coffee on my iPad.

Has the advent of ebooks changed anything in your writing, getting the book to your readers and the relationship with your readers and fans?

I didn’t write before ebooks, so I’ve known nothing other than that.

What has been your experience in giving your books away free? Have you been involved in any other type of giveaways and how did that work out? What was your main goal in doing this? Did you run into any obstacles?

I have done Giveaways on Goodreads and I think it’s been good exposure. I have never given my books away on Amazon. I did an Advance Review Copy event for Coyote in Provence where people who sign up agree to post a review on Amazon and Goodreads in exchange for a free copy of the book. I think all those avenues give exposure.

What is your method of getting reviews for your novels? Do you seek professional reviews, use social media or do you rely on your reading audience to supply them?

Prior to Coyote in Provence, I relied on the reading audience. I’ve never sought professional reviews, but because Blue Coyote Motel was a quarterfinalist in Amazon’s Breakthrough Novel Award contest, a Goodreads Psychological Thriller Book of the Month, and just yesterday it was announced that it was an October Book of the Month for e-thriller, reviews have come in steadily.

How let’s switch to an easier question. I lived in Huntington Beach for 16 years or so. My favorite place to eat was Duke’s at the Pier downtown. Do you have a favorite eating place? Did you grow up there?

I didn’t know that! Actually, my husband was on the City Council and negotiated with Duke’s to come to Huntington Beach. Small world! I’m a big Italian food fan and Cucina Alessa just up Main Street is one of my favorites. I grew up in the Midwest, but have lived here for forty years, and certainly consider this my home.



Author's Book List
Tea Party Teddy - The Teddy Saga
All Teddy ever wanted was to be a California State Legislator. When he puts his marriage and his reputation on the line to get there, will he survive as his world unravels?

Nina Randall is the perfect political wife, but what happens when she finally admits her husband, Tea Party Teddy, cares more about politics than her? Will she be able to resist the romantic advances of Teddy's handsome rival, Bob Silva, the founder of Republicans for Latinos? And after Teddy has told her that all of the problems in California are caused by illegal immigrants, can Bob convince her that the Republican Party needs to bring more Latinos into the Party?

Will Nina stand by Teddy? And why did the Family Values Forever organization strip Teddy of his Legislator of the Year Award? Was he set up? Was the FBI involved? Did he really have an affair with the mysterious woman pictured in the newspapers?


Order the Book From: Amazon - Barnes and Noble
Blue Coyote Motel
Would you take an anti-aging hormone? What if you could keep your youth? If someone you knew was terrified of aging, and you'd invented the hormone, would you give it to them? Even if it meant discovery would cause you to lose your chance of winning the Nobel Prize?

An Award Winning Best Seller, Blue Coyote Motel was chosen as a quarter finalist in Amazon's Breakthrough Novel Award contest in the mystery/thriller category as well as a Goodreads Psychological Thriller Book of the Month.

Blue Coyote Motel is a suspenseful love story which begins in the barrios of Southern California and spans the globe in such diverse locations as Provence, South America, and the Himalayas. The beautiful Latina, Maria, and her husband, Jeffrey, a scientist fired from a prestigious laboratory, struggle to build a new life in a remote Southern California desert area as owners of the motel.

Along with the anti-aging hormone, Jeffrey invents a "feel-good" wonder drug to help Maria with her depression. As Jeffrey becomes insane, he begins to experiment with the wonder drug. Six wayward travelers, including an alcoholic priest, a couple who own gold mines in Brazil, a depressed widow, a struggling salesman, and a Native American pediatrician, find themselves spending the night at the small motel. The next morning they wake up feeling better than ever. Has Jeffrey's miracle drug delivered? Or is the nightmare of addiction only beginning?


Order the Book From: Amazon
Author Recommended by: HBSystems Publications
Publisher of ebooks, writing industry blogger and the sponsor of the following blogs:
eBook Author’s Corner and HBS Mystery Reader’s Circle
Check out the index of other Spotlight authors. Spotlight Index.