DIANE VALLERE

I like to listen to personal growth podcasts. I see this less of an admission of a weakness than a statement of fact; I have never claimed to be perfect and I like to think of myself as constantly striving to improve. The theme of personal growth trickles into my fiction, most present in the characters of Madison Night and Samantha Kidd, but really, it's in all of my series. The way I see it, if someone finds a dead body and ends up solving the related murder mystery, there's

A few weeks ago, a conversation exploded in a Gilmore Girls Fan Group on Facebook. It started by someone posting how much they hated the recent Netflix revival of the show along with a list of things they felt never would have happened. I'm a Gilmore Girls fan. I came late to the party but have been through the entire seven seasons twice in less than a year, so I have that shiny new enthusiasm for the series that happens to us all when we discover something new. Which explain

It's that time of year: goal setting time. And truth: I love goals! I love the feeling of setting challenges, tasks, mapping a road plan for getting somewhere that I am not. I love thinking "what else could I do?" and stretching to see if it's achieveable. BUT. I don't always achieve what I set out to do. Sometimes I bite off more than I can chew, sometimes I feel like my feet are being held underwater, and sometimes I get frustrated by the lack of control I have over what

Lately I've been thinking about what it means to be a strong woman. I like to think that I am one, but I don't think it's the first thing people think when they meet me. It could be the exclamation point use on social media or the bright color palette I wear or the tone of the books that I write or my generally positive disposition. Or it could be my shoes. Who knows? Being a work-in-progress, I can admit that I'm only strong part of the time. There are difficult conversation

When I started blogging again, I did so for the main reason of holding myself accountable for personal growth in a public forum. This wasn't because I thought my life was all that interesting, but because a) that way I can't be lazy or lie, and b) maybe my efforts will inspire somebody else to identify their own areas for self-improvement. This particular post deals with my need for a non-writing hobby in order to be a well-rounded person. When I worked full time, writing wa

I have a fear of flying. When I was a retail buyer I traveled regularly, and I wrote my first book during flights to and from market week. The distraction helped but it was a temporary solution; I wanted to write so instead of dreading flights, I anticipated them. (Okay, there was a little dread. I'm not going to lie.) Last year one of my friends and I were brainstorming ideas to promote my various series. I said I was limited to events that I could drive to because of the ex

I love hearing about people who actively try to improve themselves. I think about personal growth a lot, and while there are times when I'm relatively happy with who I am and where I am, there are also times when I realize how much opportunity there is for me to improve. I'm self-critical in many aspects, I have an ingrained sense of competition that often pits my accomplishments against those of others, and I sometimes feel I'm destined for a life of mediocrity. That is th