Today I'm talking to my good friend, DiAne Gates. She writes books for teens, but guess what? I like 'em too. They make a grown woman laugh and remember, no matter your age, YOU can read 'em!
DiAne, Why did you choose to write YA. (Young Adult).
Years ago, I spent an
epic time in what my mother called “my gypsy lifestyle.” I toured Florida,
Georgia and the Carolinas doing weekend art shows. Every smart artist knew they
had to have a sure item to sell, and at that time I was concerned with the
color books being offered our children—I didn’t like them! So, I drew and
marketed a color book of my own characters and Christian principles that became
an overwhelming success.
The color book morphed
into a four book devotional series for young families, which led to a rodeo
adventure series about two Texas families and their teen daughters. I felt
there were many issues teens face today that parents either refuse or are in
the dark about and fail to discuss with their young adults. The rest is
history. Book Two of this series—TWISTED—will
be released Friday, July 14th, and Book Three—UNTIED—is my WIP.
What's a WIP?
Hahahaha. I guess I should say my Work in Progress. We writers abbreviate things.
Did you participate in a rodeo as a kid? Rope an animal? Ever date a rodeo guy?
I’m giggling again as I attempt
to answer this question, Gay. This ole Florida, citified, beach-bum, gal,
didn’t know squat about rodeo until we were transferred to Texas and I had two
pre-teen kiddos. But God had a plan, when I didn’t. Coming from an art
background, I found a small art gallery in Old Town Spring, Texas, and became a
gallery artist in residence. But I needed to contribute some real bucks to the
family income. The thought of leaving my children and going to the big city of
Houston for more lucrative employment wasn’t on my radar.
One Monday afternoon,
after crying out to God about our need, that voice in my soul—you all know the
one—I heard go to the gallery. “But
nobody’s there today, God,” I whispered. And again, heard go to the gallery. I obeyed.
Upon arriving at our big
ole house gallery, in the deserted town, I said, “Okay, Lord. I’m here. Now
what?” Seconds later there was a loud banging on the door downstairs. Scared
the snot outta me! I lifted the upstairs window to find a young woman who’d
been a customer. “Thank goodness you’re here,” she replied. Short of the story,
she needed a painting for a gift, and I silently thanked the Lord for the extra
funds. I told her my plight that I would be leaving the gallery to look for a
real job and her face lit up like Christmas lights. “Why don’t you come to work
for me? I’m a wallpaper sub-contractor for a home builder and I need help.”
Having no knowledge of
what I was getting into, I said yes—sure seemed like a better deal than leaving
my children. She had children too. We put our kids on the school bus, went to
work, and quit in time to be home before they were. And I thanked God for His
provision.
Fast forward a year or
two. Friend decided to go back to nursing and I was asked to hang paper for
another home builder and had to hire a helper. God provided another young
mother—this one a
bone fide cowgirl and barrel racer and I learned all about
rodeo. She and her family invited us to attend one in which she was performing,
and again, the rest is history—I fell in love with the sport of rodeo and the
cowboy and cowgirl athletes. God orchestrates each and every relationship in
our lives—He knew one day this experience would evolve into a story I pray
glorifies Him.
Wow! Now that's a story for sore ears. I'm needing answers from God right now. I'm hoping for one as fast as He gave you!
How many children, grandchildren do you have? Do they rodeo?
We have two children—a
grown, Air Force fighter pilot, son who would rather pull “G’s” and punch holes
in the clouds than ride an earth-bound beast. The other a daughter who loved
animals and my partner-in-paste taught her to ride. She loved rodeo, but her
mama and daddy couldn’t afford a horse, nor did we have a place to put one.
As for our daughter’s
children, again a girl and boy—the girl loves horses but preferred English
riding and show-jumping. Her younger brother, now driving age, prefers a sleek,
clean car. And would probably throw-up if he had to step over or shovel a pile
of horse poop!
So would I! And shoveling the stuff would be worse, at least as far as I'm concerned.
How about giving us an overview of the book?
TWISTED
picks up where ROPED leaves off, and UNTIED will be a continuation of these
two families’ stories, so how about I give you a cliff-note version of what the
characters have told me so far?
While the series zeroes
on the two, teen girls, their families play an important role in this tale that
began with competition between the grandfathers and fathers. Jodie Lea Fairgate
and her family knew nothing of the love of God, for generations, and could care
less—as long as they won, regardless of the cost. Crissy Crosby comes from a
Christian family and she has a papa who shares the wisdom of God with his only
granddaughter as she struggles to understand why the Fairgates seem to be
determined to ruin her family as she must learn to control her renegade temper.
ROPED
begins
and ends in the rodeo arena. But not before dark secrets from the Fairgates
ooze into the dim shadows of the barn on rodeo night. We all know there are
always consequences to actions and TWISTED
rips the lid off past and ongoing choices of Fairgates past and present that
plunge everyone involved into life-threatening danger. And Jodie Lea finds
herself no longer victorious, but a victim. UNTIED?
I’ll only tell you, you never saw this twist coming!
Would you provide a scene from Twisted?
“Any reason the kids can’t hear this, Jim?” Daddy nodded toward
Chun and me.
“No, as a matter of fact I’d like them to hear. Maybe
they’ll remember something we’ve missed.” The sheriff pushed his hat back,
looked at me, and smiled.
Chun’s eyes met mine. “Any idea what this is all about,” he
whispered.
A squishy feeling swirled in my stomach. He knows what we did, flashed through my
mind. Nah. He couldn’t, my
confident-self answered.
Chun leaned close as we sat down and insisted, “Now. We have
got to tell them. Tonight.”
I shook my head. “No. Not tonight.” I might puke.
Chun poked an elbow into my side. “What’s going on, you two?” Papa stared at me like I’d been
tried and convicted before I’d even been charged.
“Nothing, Papa.” I brushed Chun’s arm away. “Kid stuff.”
Chun snorted and turned away.
We settled around the kitchen table and waited for Sheriff
Jim to speak.
He took his time, like he was trying out words in his head
before he let them loose on the rest of us. “The rangers will be here first
thing in the morning to sift through this mess for evidence. I know you’re
anxious to clear the mess and rebuild, but don’t touch a thing ’til they’re
finished. You kids hear me? Not one thing.” Sheriff Jim glanced at me and Chun
again.
A finger of guilt poked my conscience. What was he trying to
say? I glanced at Chun and he tipped his head toward the stairs and mouthed, now.”
Whoa! You roped me in and I'm tied down to this story. I can hardly wait to read all of it. Thanks for visiting with me. I enjoyed it, especially your art gallery story. God leads us in paths we don't expect, doesn't He?
DiAne is giving away her beautiful photographs. Aren't these lovely?
Ta Da! Here's the book. It's a must read! It's officially releasing tomorrow, but you can preorder it NOW!
Thanks DiAne for dropping by. I always enjoy our visits.
You can see DiAne and how lovely she is and read more about her on her Amazon page.
You can also get in touch with DiAne at these links.
oogle: https://www.facebook.com/pages/DiAne-Gates/375473495831603