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58PAGE iana Francis grew up on a ranch and spent many a pleasurable hour on horseback . When she wasn ’ t riding , she could be seen with an armful of books . She read every one of her mom ’ s books and made regular trips to the library . As a result , she had exposure to many different writing styles , which is one of the things she believes makes a good writer .
While she was in school , Diana never thought she could write — though she started writing what she calls really bad poetry while she was in high school . She began college as an agricultural marketer because , as she says , “ I was good at math .”
She didn ’ t really like her chosen course of study . She took a creative writing class and really liked it , so she took another one . “ That class turned into a cut-throat , destructive thing ,” Diana said . But she didn ’ t give up on her love for reading or writing .
At that time , Diana had been reading science fiction and horror books . When her latest roommate moved in , she had lots of romance books . Diana would grab a stack of books and read them because they were there . “ They were formulaic , but some of them were pretty good ,” she said . “ I thought I could do this , so the bug bit me .”
PUTTING THE FUN IN FICTION
AN INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR DIANA PHARAOH FRANCIS
By Sue Eller
She graduated from college and got a job doing paste-up and layout for a newspaper . One of the things she did was run printed copy through a waxer and arrange the pieces on a grid sheet . She also had to cut out color parts . At lunchtime , she would get in her car , drive to the nearest Taco Bell for a diet soda , and sit in her car and write by hand on the romance novel she was working on .
She still has the manuscript . According to Diana , it wasn ’ t good . Still , it taught her how to start and finish a book — go through from the beginning to the end , develop the characters and plot , and tell a complete story .
Diana decided she wanted to learn more , so she went back to school to get her Master ’ s degree . She had classes with really good teachers and learned a lot about genre writing and writing
58 ART CHOWDER MAGAZINE