Diane Strong is Running Strong

October 01, 2012

Diane Strong is a runner. And she's taken her hobby, obsession, pleasure, to a new level. She's incorporated it into her writing. After I read her short story The Run I had to read the rest. The experience was so intense I had to ask her to be on my blog.

Welcome Diane please tell us about your experience as a writer.

I’ve always been a writer. I have scrapbooks going back to kindergarten with poems and stories I had written. I never considered myself a writer though. When I was in college, I entered writing contests and won them. But when they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, it was a horse trainer or a scientist or whatever. Writing is something I have always done and always planned to do. But I never considered myself a writer.

I became a horse trainer, and a scientist. They are both over-rated. When I had to write my Thesis it about killed me. The technical writing allows for absolutely NO creativity. When I found out that being a PhD meant writing grant applications for the rest of my life I said “Screw this!” (I may have actually used an F bomb but I’ll keep it clean for you).

I quit writing when I had kids. I simply didn’t have a muse. The kids swallowed every bit of ‘me’ I had to give. Then when my second child was about 3 months old my dog, CD, died, I was moved to write. But the muse died after one sitting.

It wasn’t until my mother died in 2009 that my muse returned to me. I spilled my guts out on a novel that I wrote in 4 months (Out and Back). It was my first novel. I was so happy to have completed it and it felt so good to have worked through my grief, so I hurried and published it. I look back now and realize I should have paid someone to edit it and have since sent it to an editor. The new version should be available in November, but the original is still available.

I started writing a column for The Georgetown News Graphic in 2010. I am ‘The Back Roads Traveler’ and write 700 word columns about my adventures while biking and running in the remote areas of Northern Scott County. I packaged a dozen of the columns together and they are a free download on Smashwords: Newspaper Bundle

My current project is the Running Suspense Series. It is a group of short suspense stories, all about 10,000 words. Each story is a stand-alone, but they all have one thing in common: their main character is a runner.

I am having so much fun with this. The first story The Run is pretty intense but still tame. After a comment from a friend I decided it was time for me to step out of the familiar, so I wrote Falcon Point. The next two just keep getting more and more intense. I am really stretching my mind to develop unforgettable characters and stories that will knock your socks off. I’m having a blast doing it too!

Here is the description for the first four shorts:

The Run (The Running Suspense Series #1)

(This is a 10,000 word short story/ approx. 43 pages)

Cora is a runner and mother of two whose husband is working out of town on business. Always a protective mother, Cora has never left her children alone. That is until a well-intentioned friend encourages her to. This is a story that will leave you questioning your parenting skills and wanting to read more great running adventures by Diane Strong.

Falcon Point (The Running Suspense Series #2)

(This is a 10,000 word short story/ approx. 34 pages)

Claire is 17 and spending the summer with her rich mother and step-father in Falcon Point. She has her eye on a boy, this could be the summer he finally notices her. But someone has his eye on her too. A perfect summer becomes an unforgettable one. You may never want to run alone again.

The Other Way (The Running Suspense Series #3)

(This is a 10,000 word short story/ approx. 34 pages)

Isaac Fisher was not born a runner, he was born Amish. After getting a girl pregnant while exploring rumspringa at sixteen, he left the Amish community and ventured to the new world to become the girl’s husband. Now, four years and two children later, Isaac can’t help but sneak back home on his long runs for a feel of his past life and the taste of an old lover.

The Rescue (The Running Suspense Series #4)

(This is a 10,000 word short story/ approx. 34 pages)
Luke is a single widower with a pet cat. He is just shy of retirement and about to take the ride of a lifetime on a train headed west. He is prepared for two weeks of adventure. When a pause to take leak during a run turns into more than a quick stop, his plans change dramatically. Luke quickly discovers he doesn’t have to venture far from home for the adventure of a lifetime.

The above links are for Amazon, The Running Suspense Series

Here is the entire running suspense series link on Nook

My Blog: The Running Commentary

My website is under construction (and the builder just had a baby) but it will be: dianestrong.com

I've been expanding my reading choices of late. And I found Diane's series suspenseful and unusual step outside my normal reading. If you're looking to experience something intense and different check her out. I'm so pleased she could join me on my blog!!

Teresa J. Reasor