AUTHOR INTERVIEW: DIANE McGYVER

Introducing Diane McGyver, author of nine books and one short story collection. Her main genre of interest is traditional fantasy, but she’s also written a few romance novels.

You write short stories and full-length novels. Which form do you love most?

While short stories are quick to write and deliver immediate satisfaction, I prefer the long story, one that rambles on for more than 100,000 words. An intimate relationship with characters has a chance to develop and by the end of the novel, I feel as if I’ve known them all my life.

Of all the books you’ve written, which satisfied you the most?

Book 4 in the Castle Keepers series, Healing Stones. I can’t fully explain why. I believe when I started this series, the events that occurred in this book were the ones that were driving me forward. I needed to see how these events unfolded. I wasn’t disappointed.

With nine books published, if a reader could read only one, which would it be? Why?

This is a hard one. While I’d love to say one of my fantasy novels, it would only lead them to know only part of the full story. So I’m going to say Northern Survival. It’s a face-paced adventure that brings two characters together who would have otherwise never met or tolerated each other. I also love the hiking in the vast wilderness part of it, and the reminiscing of TV shows I loved in the 70s and 80s.

What is the title of your most recently published book? What is it about?

Northern Survival. It was released this week. The book is about Olive, who is vacationing in Summer Beaver, Ontario, to do research for her next book and to get a little hiking in on wild, unfamiliar trails. When she is called home unexpectedly, she boards a chartered plane that crashes soon after takeoff. She and the man who chartered the plane are the only survivors. Together, they battle the elements, the terrain, hunger and each other’s wit and sarcasm in an attempt to escape the wilderness before it consumes them.

What’s the title of the book you’re currently writing? What is it about, and when will it be available?

I’m writing Gathered Stones, book 5 in the Castle Keepers series. This particular book in the series focusses on Bronwyn Darrow’s sister and Tam Mulryan’s mate, Rhiannon. So far in the series, she’s been a character in the background. Not anymore. The release date is early 2021.

Rumour has it you create your own covers. How do you do it?

I use a program called InkScape. I’m relatively new to it, but I love organising all the pieces to a cover and seeing what develops. Many of the images I use are from Pixabay, a website that offers amazing images for free and/or a donation.