Miss Scarlet in the study with a knife?
No, that's just Diane.
National bestselling author Diane Vallere writes funny and fashionable character-based mysteries. After two decades in luxury retailing, she traded fashion accessories for accessories to murder. As past president of the national Sisters in Crime organization, she edited the Agatha-Award-winning essay collection PROMOPHOBIA: Taking the Mystery out of Promoting Crime Fiction. Diane started her own detective agency at age ten and has maintained a passion for shoes, clues, and clothes ever since.
FULL BIO:
Diane Vallere is a mystery writer with thirty titles to her name. Both her Material Witness Mysteries and Costume Shop Mysteries (published by Penguin Random House) were national bestsellers and Lefty-Award nominees for best humorous mystery. She also writes the Madison Night, Samantha Kidd, Sylvia Stryker, and Mermaid Sister mysteries for Polyester Press. She has contributed short stories to several anthologies, most recently MURDER-A-GO-GO’s: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Music of the Go-Go's (Down & Out Books).
Diane served as president of both local (Los Angeles) and national boards of Sisters in Crime and remains an active member. For her legacy project for the organization, she conceived of and edited the Agatha Award-winning essay collection PROMOPHOBIA: Taking the Mystery out of Promoting Crime Fiction, published in 2022.
Diane has attended Malice Domestic Mystery Convention, Bouchercon, Left Coast Crime, New England Crime Bake, Writers Police Academy, and Homicide School for Writers. She served as co-chair of California Crime Writers Conference. Her newsletter, The Weekly DiVa, has an active following, focusing on girl talk, book talk, and life talk.
Diane is a graduate of The College of William and Mary with a BA in Fine Arts and has spent over twenty years working in the retail fashion industry in buying, management, planning, and sales. As a buyer, she combined creative thinking with analytical analysis. She was responsible for writing the creative media campaigns for the clearance division of a major luxury retailer along with drafting and implementing the long-term strategic plan. She has worked as the assistant store manager for the original location of a 100-year-old luxury retailer, and in her career has worked closely with visual merchandising to imagine and execute theme events through displays, fashion trends, and shopping incentives.
Diane was born in eastern Pennsylvania but has lived in Dallas, Texas and Los Angeles, California. These days, she is back in eastern Pennsylvania, where she spends her days working on her next fun, fashionable mystery while munching on pretzels.
ENDORSEMENTS/WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING:
"an impressive cozy mystery from a promising author." -Mystery Tribune
"A really funny mystery with a chicklit feel." -Susan M. Boyer, USA Today Bestselling Author of Lowcountry Bordello
"Designer Dirty Laundry shows that even the toughest crime is no match for a sleuth in fishnet stockings who knows her way around the designer department. A delightful debut." -Kris Neri, Lefty Award-Nominated author of Revenge For Old Times' Sake
"Combining fashion and fatalities, Diane Vallere pens a winning debut mystery...a sleek and stylish read." -Ellen Byerrum, National Bestselling author of the Crime of Fashion mysteries
"Vallere once again brings her knowledgeable fashion skills to the forefront, along with comedy, mystery, and a saucy romance. Buyer, Beware did not disappoint!" -Chick Lit Plus
"Fashion is always at the forefront, but never at the cost of excellent writing, humorous dialogue, or a compelling story." -Kings River Life
"A captivating new mystery voice, Vallere has stitched together haute couture and murder in a stylish mystery. Dirty Laundry has never been so engrossing!" -Krista Davis, New York Times Bestselling Author of The Diva Runs Out of Thyme
"In Designer Dirty Laundry, author Diane Vallere stitches together a seamless mystery. Samantha Kidd is a witty heroine that you will root for as she fashions a fresh stylish start in her hometown of Ribbon, Pennsylvania." ~Avery Aames, Agatha Award-Winning Author of The Long Quiche Goodbye
"Samantha Kidd is an engaging amateur sleuth." -Mysterious Reviews
"It keeps you at the edge of your seat. I love the description of clothes in this book...if you love fashion, pick this up!" -Los Angeles Mamma Blog
"Diane Vallere takes the reader through this cozy mystery with her signature wit and humor." -Mary Marks, NY Journal of Books
"PILLOW STALK is an intricately plotted and well-written book, I really enjoyed the story. I can't imagine decorating a house in the style from Doris Day's movies but it makes fine reading." -Fresh Fiction
"If you are looking for an unconventional mystery with a snarky, no-nonsense main character, this is it. Madison is a strong leading lady who lands in lots of quirky situations. Instead of clashing, humor and danger meld perfectly, and there's a cliffhanger that will make your jaw drop." -RT Reviews
"A terrific mystery is always in fashion--and this one is sleek, chic and constantly surprising. Vallere's smart styling and wry humor combine for a fresh and original page-turner--it'll have you eagerly awaiting her next appealing adventure. I'm a fan!" -Hank Phillippi Ryan, Agatha, Anthony, Macavity, and Mary Higgins Clark Award-winning author of The Other Woman
"All of us who fell in love with Madison Night in PILLOW STALK will be rooting for her when the past comes back to haunt her in THAT TOUCH OF INK. The suspense is intense, the plot is hot and the style is to die for. A thoroughly entertaining entry in this enjoyable series." -Catriona McPherson, Agatha Award-winning author of the Dandy Gilver Mystery Series
"Diane Vallere has woven a multifaceted story disguised as a cozy little mystery that starts out rather predictably but soon draws the reader into Madison's mid-century modern fantasy world of fashion, movies, friendship, loyalty, and violence. Vallere s descriptions of the colors, textures and artifacts of the era bring back vivid memories for those of us who actually lived through it. Although we encounter all the usual subjects, there are plenty of surprises to keep us guessing all the way to the end. And what an ending! Ms. Vallere drops an atomic bomb in the last few pages that will make every reader want to read her next book just to witness the fallout." -NY Journal of Books
“An engaging new series with an intelligent, resourceful heroine.”—Sofie Kelly, New York Times bestselling author of the Magical Cats Mysteries
“There’s a new material girl in town…[A] resourceful and gutsy sleuth.”—Krista Davis,
New York Times bestselling author of the Domestic Diva Mysteries
“Vallere weaves a tapestry of finely knit characters, luxurious fabrics, and…murder.”—Janet Bolin, national bestselling author of the Threadville Mysteries
“With delightfully engaging characters and riveting mystery, it is a series I am looking to see more of!”
—Open Book Society