~ The Borrowed Book ~: Dianna T. Benson

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Thursday, March 19, 2015

Writing Challenges, by Author Dianna T. Benson

Persephone’s Fugitive

Book Two, Cayman Islands Trilogy

Dianna T. Benson

*** SPOILER ALERT *** Reading Persephone’s Fugitive (including the book blurb) before The Hidden Son (Book One in the Cayman Islands Trilogy) will ruin the ending of The Hidden Son. However, both books are standalones.

When a routine 911 call turns deadly, Paramedic Sara Dyer finds herself held at gunpoint by Jason Keegan, an injured psych-ward patient charged with murder. The situation spirals out of Sara’s control when the confrontation becomes a tense standoff between Keegan and the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service.

As Keegan’s hostage, Sara fights to save them both before he blows them up. She realizes his warning to the Cayman police is no empty threat since he’d rather die than spend the rest of his life in a prison cell. Sara soon discovers Keegan is just as determined to survive as she is - provided he can escape Grand Cayman and disappear forever. As she struggles to trust in God’s protection, help from an atheist turns her struggle into a lure away from her faith.

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Dianna T. Benson is the award-winning and international bestselling author of The Hidden Son and Final Trimester. Persephone’s Fugitive is her third release. An EMT and a HazMat and FEMA Operative since 2005, Dianna authentically implements her medical and rescue experience and knowledge into all her suspense novels. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and their three children. www.diannatbenson.com

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As with any career, life as a novelist has its thrilling peaks and dark valleys. In dealing with the valleys, self-doubt in myself as a writer often creeps in and I question my career choice. A publishing industry career is notorious for extreme highs and lows – Example: A glowing review on the same day with nothing but a blinking cursor or awful written pages going nowhere.

For me, one of the biggest challenges as an author is bouncing back and forth from the business side of writing to actually writing my fiction. So I’ve learned never to write on the days I have a radio/TV interview, a book signing, a speaking engagement, or any other type of marketing task. Whenever possible, I bunch my marketing together in the same week(s) and take time off writing. When I’m not releasing a new book, thus buried in marketing, then I dig in and focus on writing. Every writer is different and needs to find their way – what works for one writer, won’t work for another.

Once my first book was released in 2013, the pressure was intense from readers/fans, all the kind reviews, etc. I realized it was imperative to produce the same caliber of book or better the second time. With every book, it’s expected to write just as good a book, if not better. That pressure mixed in and compounded with the stress from the severe medical issues my son, daughter, and husband were battling. However, I forced myself to push through, encouraging myself to write. The tactic backfired on me, causing me to hit writer burnout. I recently recovered from being burnt out by allowing myself time to have fun in life, enjoy reading and watching movies, spending time in nature; basically, I healed from writer burnout by being gentle to myself. My zeal never disappeared – I truly wanted to write, but resistance inside me locked up my creativity and buried my muse. Knowing my love to write is still so strong in spite of all of this, I was determined to fully heal from burnout and never allow myself to reach that point again by knowing the warning signs and refusing to ever ignore them.

The life of a writer is a lonely one – we spend so much of our time writing about people for people yet we’re all alone. I’ve learned to appreciate the writer’s world by seeing the work force (not working from home) as a place where I’d need to deal with commuting, the negatives of co-workers, pointless rules, rigid daily hours/schedules, office politics, etc. Life is all about how we view it, isn’t it?

Yes, God gave me the gift to story-tell via the written word, but I chose this career, and apparently it chose me back. The statics are mind-boggling – 1% of people who say they want to write actually start writing; 1% of people who start writing actually finish a book; 1% of those people actually submit their manuscript; 1% of the people who submit are ever offered a publishing contract. So I beat those staggering odds and have published three books to date with my fourth scheduled to release next year. If I can achieve that, than I can overcome any challenge as a writer. What about you? What are your challenges as a writer and how do you push through and continue?

Dianna's latest release, Persephone's Fugitive, is available on Amazon and at Books-A-Million and Barnes and Noble.

Unbelievable Real Life, Believable Fiction: Author Dianna T. Benson, EMT

Have you ever thought: “That’s so unrealistic,” while watching a movie or reading a book? The following will sound like unbelievable fiction yet it’s actually what occurred to my young family of five.

Spring 2009, an off-duty cop barreled into our car, injuring our oldest daughter, our son, and myself. My husband and our youngest daughter escaped uninjured. The two kids (ages 15 and 12 at the time) quickly healed; I suffered shoulder and cervical injuries.

A few months following the car accident, my husband’s biopsy on an enlarged lymph node in his neck was negative, but a few months later he was diagnosed with head and neck cancer (the biopsy results were wrong). In 2009 and 2010 he endured two surgeries and radiation. During this same time, our son battled a mysterious illness, Lyme disease was suspected. For the love of playing hockey as a goalie, our son fought the pain and continued to play. Unfortunately, he suffered a shoulder separation during a game. In a sling for that injury, he had a MRI on a cyst the size of an orange; thankfully, it tested benign. After numerous appointments with various MDs, an infectious disease MD diagnosed him with Lyme’s and treated him for the disease. Also in 2010, I finally had surgery to repair the labral tear in my shoulder.

Fall 2011, our son suffered a severe concussion from head trauma in a hockey game. Fall 2012, he suffered a second concussion. Spring 2013, he suffered a third, yet this one in a car accident (another car hit the car he was a passenger in while being driven to school). December 2013, his neurologist cleared him to return to sporting activities. While snowboarding, he suffered his fourth concussion, yet this time he didn’t even hit his head. Simple jostling of his brain now causes a concussion, which ended his hockey career (he was drafted into Junior Hockey). It’s unknown how long he’ll suffer post-concussion syndrome.

Our oldest daughter was diagnosed with scoliosis in fifth grade and wore a full body brace for years. While swimming for Virginia Tech under a full scholarship, her scoliosis worsened. May 2012 she endured a five-hour surgery (13-inch spinal incision). Due to the rotation of her curvature, her rib cage was concaved in four inches (think: thoracic spine curved to the side and twisted inward). Two titanium rods and twelve screws now hold her spine straight in-line. Unbelievably (many patients are still in bed seven weeks post this surgery) she swam in the 2012 US Olympic Swim Team Trials for a spot on the US Olympic Swim Team that competed in London at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Understandably, she was unable to swim anywhere near her best at Trials and didn’t make the team. During the 2012-2013 college swim season, she pushed herself, especially at ACC and NCAA Championships—she won two ACC Championship Titles. Nerve damage, unfortunately, ended her swim career.

In August 2014, on our oldest daughter’s 21st birthday, I was bicycling in a crosswalk with a stop sign when a car ran the stop sign, failed to stop in the crosswalk, and struck me on my bicycle. I suffered injuries head to toe and I’m still healing.

Our youngest daughter was only nine years old in 2009, so young to watch all this happen to her family during her elementary and middle school years. During what seemed like endless years of medical battles, I called the five of us: “As the Bensons Turn” – it just all seemed so ridiculously unbelievable. Laughter, a positive attitude, and our faith, plus the love and support of family and friends sustained our strength. More than anything, God carried the five of us; He reminded me and my husband, Leo, we are well practiced in dealing with life’s mountains. When I was a junior in high school, my dad was killed in a bicycle accident and from that day on I was on my own. Leo’s brother committed suicide when I was pregnant with our oldest daughter; I went into labor at the funeral. Leo and I have lost three babies.

All that said (whew), next time you think something is unrealistic in fiction, ask yourself – “Is it really?” I weed what I see in EMS and what all I’ve experienced in life into my fiction, giving those trials purpose as well as turning them into a positive. The way I see it, our struggles in life strengthen our endurance and better our souls; I believe that is God’s point.

Learn more about Dianna at www.diannatbenson.com.

Her latest release, Persephone's Fugitive, is available at Amazon, Books-A-Million, and Barnes and Noble.

Meet Author Dianna T. Benson

Today we have the privilege of visiting with distinguished author Dianna Torscher Benson. She is a 2014 Selah Award winner, a 2011 Genesis Winner, a 2011 Genesis double Semi-Finalist, a 2010 Daphne de Maurier Finalist, and a 2007 Golden Palm Finalist. In 2012, she signed a nine-book contract with Ellechor Publishing House. She’s the author of The Hidden Son, her debut novel. Final Trimester is her second release.

After majoring in communications and a ten-year career as a travel agent, Dianna left the travel industry to earn her EMS degree. An EMT and a Haz-Mat and FEMA Operative since 2005, she loves the adrenaline rush of responding to medical emergencies and helping people in need.

Dianna lives in North Carolina with her husband and their three children.

Hi, Dianna. Thank you for visiting with us at The Borrowed Book. Can you tell us how long you were writing before your first publication? How many manuscripts had you written by that time? Have you published any of your early works since? Do you plan to?

I started writing my first book in 1993. After completing five mainstream suspense novels, I signed with my first agent in 2007. Six agents offered me representation that spring; it was a difficult choice between them since all six are top-notch. In the fall of 2007, a film agent requested a screenplay of The Hidden Son after reading the book. In early 2009, just before I completed the script, the film agent suddenly retired due to health issues; I never pursued anything further with the script.

Later in 2009, I received a four-book mainstream contract offer, but turned it down to focus on my family since my husband was just diagnosed with head and neck cancer. During his surgeries and radiation treatments, I took care of our young family of five and read Christian fiction for comfort and support. While reading, I recognized various elements within my own writing that would be an ideal fit for the inspirational suspense genre. So, I continued to read a ton of Christian fiction. Then I wrote my first inspirational suspense.

In 2011, I won the Genesis in the mystery/suspense/thriller category. In 2012, I signed with a new agent; within days, I had a contract offer from B&H, a large traditional Christian publisher. That contract was pending for thirteen weeks due to the publishing house facing difficulties (less than a year later they discontinued their fiction department). During those thirteen weeks, my new agent let go of all the other interest in my writing. At that point, I decided to put my writing career on hold. Since EMS is a part time career for me (too intense for full time), I decided to earn my Masters in psychology to become a social worker in the field (not clinical) – Think: 911 EMS without the medical aspects.

But…due to my Genesis win, Ellechor Publishing House, a small traditional Christian publishing house, contacted me, requesting me to submit to them. Within days, they offered me a nine-book contract.

For details on what led me to start writing that first book in 1993, read my WRITING page on my website: www.diannatbenson.com

What’s your favorite setting for writing -- at home, in a coffee shop, on the front porch, sitting cross-legged on the living room couch, etc? Do you have a picture you’d like to share?

My favorite way to write is with paper and a pencil in a natural setting, like a forest, lake, the mountains or the beach. If a setting of nature isn’t feasible, I write in our bonus room (the room over our garage). This large space is my office. After I write scenes out on paper, I input it all into my laptop.

When working on a manuscript, what do you do when you get stuck?

When a scene just isn’t flowing, I hop on my bicycle, I go for a run or I go hiking. After that invigorating time in nature, typically my muse is eager to play and I find my flow again. If not, I don’t push it and I let it go for the day.

How did you come up with the idea for your latest release?

As an EMT and a Haz-Mat and FEMA Operative for a decade, I naturally integrate my firsthand medical and rescue experience and knowledge into my stories. The medical and EMS aspects I write are a combination of fiction and various elements I’ve handled working 911 scenes throughout the years. The idea for the killer’s character in Final Trimester brewed in my head the first month I worked in EMS based on an individual I encountered.

What do you wish you could do that you’ve never learned?

In addition to English, I wish I knew at least two other languages fluently. I know a little Spanish, enough to communicate at the basic level in a Spanish-speaking environment. But, I’d love to speak and read both Spanish and French fluently and add other languages, like German and Chinese.

Can you tell us a little bit about your new release? What's it about?

Paramedic Jodi Duncan recognizes the work of a serial killer before the Myrtle Beach PD even suspects a connection between the deaths of two pregnant women. Despite the vast differences in the two cases, Jodi urges Detective Nate Quigley to think outside the box. After digging deep into the separate investigations, Nate finds no evidence to support a serial killer theory, and he warns Jodi to back off police business, which only fuels her passion for the cases.

When a third pregnant woman is murdered, Nate is named lead detective on the case and works to link the deaths in order to unmask and stop the serial murderer, a disturbed man who believes God and the devil battle inside his head to bend him according to their wills. As he fights both voices, his interest fixates on Jodi when he discovers her obsession with ending his rampage.

Where can we go to buy your books?

They're available wherever books are sold. Here are the links to Final Trimester at the three largest booksellers:

Amazon.com

Barnes and Noble

Books-A-Million

Thank you for stopping by to chat with us, Dianna!

Readers, you can learn more about Dianna on her website.

AND, don't forget to stop by tomorrow, when you can enter to win a free copy of Final Trimester!