Born: December 27 1943 in Abilene, Texas, USA
Some of her works include:
Bella at Midnight
The Chosen Prince
Joplin Wishing
The Silver Bowl
The Cup and the Crown
The Princess of Cortova
About:
Stanley is the author and/or illustrator of fifty books for children.
Many of her books have been honored as American Library Association Notable Books and she has twice received both the Boston Globe/Hornbook Award and the Society of Children's Book Writers' Golden Kite Award.
She was the recipient of the Washington Post/Children's Book Guild Award for the body of her work.
She has three grown children and lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico with her husband, Peter Vennema.
Some of her illustrations:
From Little Orphant Annie by James Whitcomb Riley.
From Birdsong Lullaby.
From The True Adventure of Daniel Hall
Q & A
Q. When did you first want to be a writer?
A. I always loved to write and especially loved creative assignments in school. I kept a notebook and wrote poems, stories, and opinion pieces in it. They were just for myself, not an assignment. But I didn’t think of writing as a potential career until I became a children’s book illustrator and began writing my own stories. Now I’m writing long fiction and think of myself primarily as an author.
Q. Do you base your characters on real life people?
A. Not consciously, but it’s impossible for an author not to bring personal experience into her writing. Often it’s not till a book is finished that I look at it and see how autobiographical it is, including people who were important or absent from my life.
Q. What is your writing weakness?
A. Plot. Like many writers, I think I know what the story will be but find it evolves as I write. I have tried making outlines, but they lack depth and are always abandoned. I guess that approach works for mystery and thriller writers, but not for character-driven books. I just explore as I go and some of the best scenes come to me at the end of the process when I really know my characters and themes.
Q. How do you deal with writers block?
A. I just keep thinking, often at night or early in the morning when I’m lying in bed awake. You can’t force ideas. If you try, they never work out.
Q. Lastly, do you have any advice for others who have just started writing?
A. Read. Read good quality books that have won awards. Avoid series that are churned out to sell more books. Read fiction and nonfiction, funny books and serious books, foreign books, old books. You can’t become a writer if you don’t know what good writing sounds like.
If you want to learn more about Diane and see more of her illustrations, check out her website.
Diane Stanley's Website
*whispers* I will be posting Ask The Authors every few weeks or so. Just so ya'll know
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