Hello, friends!
Well, now that I’m back in the United States, I’m hoping to get back to the literary side of my blog: chronicling the journeys of women (historical or literary ones). So for this edition of the Compass Rose Queen, I’m very excited to introduce a novel written by my friend, Diana! It will be coming out soon, and for now, the cover of the book has been officially released by the publisher.
Several years ago, I was lucky enough to join a critique group of four women who are professional writers (and later added another friend of mine). We would meet once a month to read ten pages of our writing and have it critiqued by the group. I learned a lot from them. And got to read their novels, ten pages at a time! The group is still going, though I have moved on to other locations. But they are still one of the most encouraging groups of ladies I know. I really enjoyed getting to know Diana through her writing and her friendship. I’ll let the author bio below tell you more about her.
Diana’s book is an historical novel, about a girl for whom everything changes all at once. She has a new family, a new home (if I remember right- it’s been a while since I first joined the critique group!), and must embark on a journey of faith as she discovers people on a secret sojourn next door. Here is the official blurb for the book:
After her mother’s Mennonite church-arranged marriage to her recently deceased father’s bitter brother, thirteen-year-old Susanna Stutzman faces a crisis of faith. Everything seems to be going wrong in her life. As if her new father’s nasty temper isn’t enough, Cousin Mary, now her stepsister, hates her, as does her new teacher. When Susanna’s discovery of a strange nighttime visitor at her mysterious neighbor’s home leads to the unveiling of secrets, Susanna is forced to make a choice between her conscience and her community.
And here is the official author bio (I believe both the blurb and the author bio can be found on LEAP’s website):
Diana has been a voracious reader since age nine when she discovered The Chronicles of Narnia after a librarian handed her the first book in the series. She didn’t really want to read it, but she took it to be polite and then couldn’t put it down. She always has three or four books on her bedside table and a sizable stack waiting to be read in her home library. She collects Newbery and Caldecott award-winning books and is running out of bookshelf space in her home.
She credits hay fever for her interest in writing stories. Unable to play outside without misery from the age of ten, she spent half of every summer vacation inside reading and writing stories until the pollen count dwindled. Her stories always included a nice girl, a mean girl, and a love interest. She was less interested in story-telling than she was in living vicariously through her protagonist, who always put the mean girl in her place and got the guy.
During the school year, Diana serves as a high school English teacher and academic support coordinator. She originally chose to teach older students because she thought they would be able to manage their own bodily fluids better than little kids would. She’s discovered she was mostly right about that, and as a bonus, she finds teenagers a blast to spend her days with.
She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband Alan and youngest son Isaac. Her adult son Mitchell lives only a four-hour drive away, but Diana wishes it was four minutes instead. She has two cats. Her Maine Coon named Mister Mistoffelees weighs twenty pounds. He is as sweet as he is huge. The other is a feisty Siamese-mix named Sabrina.
If you want to know more about the book or Diana’s writing, here is her website: dianablackstone.com
And now what you’ve been waiting for: the official cover, revealed!
When Sparrows Fall
The Compass Rose Queen 