INTERVIEW WITH DIANE ELLIOTT

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About the BOOK

This is a novel about running—running away from the present, running after the past, and running toward the future, simultaneously. Through the heroine’s mad dash for liberation, understanding, and hope, readers are swept into a multi-generational tale of the harm we inflict on each other, the secrets that stunt self-awareness, and the healing power of letting go

Disenchanted farmer’s wife and poet Franniemarie leaves her husband pinned under a tractor and sets off on a bipolar rollercoaster journey to connect with a cousin she's been kept from knowing all of her life. On this journey she discovers her family history and in the process finds herself.

JDBOOKS has the privilege of an interview with author Diane Elliott

What are your goals for this book?

Readership & film: I wrote this because:

I, along with about 2.6 million other American adults, live with her affliction. I was drawn to her story because I wanted to share this personality in all her glory and tragedy because she's bright, thoughtful and represents millions who are no less than she. More important is our need to be able to talk about ourselves with openness and honesty. This is the only way any of us can rise above our limitations. To know thy self is not enough. No matter what our afflictions we must share ourselves with each other in order to grow.

What are your FIVE key messages or themes you want audiences to remember about you and/or your book?

Are these themes relevant to current news topics, society, the world, or life in general? Family non-function is normal.

If you could give your younger self some advice about the writing process, what would it be?

Don't be afraid to use real people for your models when you start. By the end they are quite changed.

What time do you usually start writing and what do you find the hardest part of the writing process?

In the morning and stopping is the hardest part.

How has writing changed you?

I started writing when I was eight, therefore I don't know.

What do you like to do when you are not writing?

Gardening, we work 1/8 of an acre.