AAD Meet and Greet: Authora Diana Castilleja Interview + Giveaway

Happy Monday Everyone!!! Today I have a wonderful Guest that I had the opportunity to meet at AAD2010 last year! She is funny, sweet, and someone you are sure gonna want to meet and hang out with at AADPhilly! And Tomorrow is her birthday!!! So help me give a warm welcome and a HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Diana Castilleja!

Diana Castilleja

With more than half a dozen ebooks currently to her credit and her first print book released in 2008, Diana Castilleja has kept busy since she started writing professionally in late 2004. Diana currently resides in central Texas with her husband and son. When not focusing her energy on her family and her writing, she loves to travel and haunt bookstores. She's lived in several states across the south and midwest, as well as traveling to Mexico. With moving every year or changing schools since the fourth grade to her sophomore year, she learned reading was a fast escape. The freedom to read about anything and everything has fueled her adult imagination. She also enjoys romance, horses, and yes, still loves to read. Right now, she's probably attacking her keyboard writing her next book. If she's not, she should be!


Diana DeRicci

Diana DeRicci is the sexy, flirty pen name of Diana Castilleja. A romance author at heart, DeRicci’s writing takes you into a saucier spectrum of sensuality and sexual adventure, where a happily-ever-after is still the key to any story. Diana lives in Central Texas with her husband, one son and a feisty little Chihuahua named Rascal. You can catch the latest news on all of Diana DeRicci’s writing and books on her website Listed above. Feel free to drop Diana an email. She’d love to hear from you.


About You
JJBC~Do you have any hobbies?
DC~I like to hang out with my BFF, Kathy in San Antonio, haunt book stores, and a new addiction is Cityville.
JJBC~ *raises hand* damn Cityville.........LOL

JJBC~What do you like to read?
DC~Just about anything paranormal, though my reading is cyclical. I read in spurts, sometimes for days straight. I love emotional love stories, regardless of if the characters are het or M/M. It's the story that matters to me. I also enjoy contemporary and suspense or adventure. About the only thing I won't read is horror. Just can't. Sorry Mr. Koontz. :)


JJBC~Can you tell us some of your favorite books you've read?
DC~Hm... Now that could take a while. Recently I've read some really good Christmas theme books. The Christmas Throwaway by RJ Scott was a keeper. Comfort read books, ones I go back to over and over the Dark Series by Christine Feehan and I know it's corny, but my own. If I write a book I personally don't want to read, then I've done something wrong.
JJBC~ I really like your outlook on reading your own work!You don't seem to hear that alot.


JJBC~Who are some of your favorite authors?
DC~*pulls out list*
Christine Feehan
Selena Illyria
Judy Christenberry
G.A.Hauser
Willa Okati
Carol Lynne
Vicki Lewis-Thompson
Linda Mooney
Lynn Lorenz


JJBC~If you can meet any author in person dead or alive, who would it be and why him/her?
DC~I'm not sure, to be honest. Earlier in my writing, I wanted to meet Vicki Lewis-Thompson until I was frothing--and I got to! Loved it. She's a lovely, generous lady who has answered numerous questions when I'm sure she has much better things to do. Joey W. Hill was another who was charming and wonderful to meet. I worship her mind, I think.


AAD

JJBC~What part of AAD are you most looking forward to?
DC~Definitely seeing everyone again whom I've met and those I haven't. There's no way to walk away from AAD without new friends and faces to people you talk to all the time online. There's nothing better than sitting at a table and discovering J. Hali Steele is sitting across from you, or Jennifer Armintrout. It's impossible to not be blown away at the ease you meet and talk with these people.
JJBC~ I completly agree! I think my tounge is still tied from getting the chance to meet you all last year! It was total squeeeeee moments for me!


JJBC~What do you hope to walk away with from AAD?
DC~Aside from the mountain of free books? Just having a chance to learn what makes reader's tick, what makes writer's imaginations run wild. And the energy is contagious. Even if you don't write a word, if all you do is read, you get this energy. Believe me, once you go, you'll be back.


JJBC~Have you ever been to AAD before? If so what was your favorite part?
DC~2011 makes my third year. I was there from the beginning, like many who call this conference their "home" con. The one they won't miss. It's reader-focused. It's not intense in the sense that if you don't make that one thing, you'll feel like you missed the whole reason for being there. There's always someone to talk to, an author to hang out with and pick their brain, and did you hear? Larissa Ione is the MOC! Way cool. Haven't seen her since 2007.
JJBC~ OMG I can't wait to meet Larissa! She was one of the authors that took me into romance reading!


JJBC~Are you on any panels? If so can you tell us which ones to look for you on?
DC~Let's see.... Where am I this year.....
Otherworldly Heroes
Sweet Romance
Secret sauce: Authors tell their fave little craft tricks.
The digital revolution
Choosing a Publisher
Several Names, one person: Multiple pen names

And I'm sharing these panels with some wonderful authors! Like Rosemary Laurey, K.A. Laity, Z.A. Maxfield, Michele Bardsley, Ethan Day, Alexandra Ivey and so many others.... It's going to be mayhem... hehehe!!


Your Writing:

JJBC~How did you first get into writing? Has it always been your dream?
DC~In all seriousness, it was boredom. The first attempt was in my early 20s. I worked at a pay-toll booth in an exterior lot at the airport. Lots of alone time. I started with some really bad mimicking of a historical I had read and loved (stil have it too). Then life happened and I put away. Fast forward about ten years. I was home alone, with a 2-year-old toddler. Again, the onset of boredom. So cracked open ye ol' historical and realized something from the onset.

I can't write historical. (Trust me. You'd be thanking me NOT to go there.) Instead, I finished a story that I'd started at that long ago time, aside from the train wreck of pirates and jolly Rogers. And couldn't stop. It was fun. It wasn't changing diapers, and Blue's Clues was easy to tune out. I started another. I went with what I'd been reading a lot of, contemporary romantic suspense, and thereby started Ice Cream In The Snow. And as they say, the rest is history.


JJBC~What genre do you write?
DC~Primarily paranormal, but I write what I'm inspired by more often than not and lately that's been a lot of M/M romance.


JJBC~Do you have any must haves when you sit down to write?
DC~Other than simply being left alone for a while, not really. I'm a SAHM (Stay At Home Mom) and there's never a real division between home and work. My "office" literally sits right inside our front door in what the home builders stupidly call a "front dining room". Obviously they missed the real reason for such a space.


JJBC~Can you tell us how a typical writing day for you is?
DC~Usually I'm here from the time the boy goes to school until after he's in bed. I write. I promote. I do odds and ends like the checkbook and guiltily, I play games. I'm not a Wii girl or gamer so I play Cityville or Gemcraft as the mood strikes, usually to break my train of thought and step back from what I'm working on at the moment, to look at it again with a fresh eye or mind. Most days, I can write around 5k words. Some are less, or even none if I have things to do. Good days are higher, but it all averages out. (5k is roughly twenty pages of writing.)

JJBC~What is one thing you think sets you apart from other authors?
DC~Maybe my diversity. Honestly, you got me on that one. I've also found different genres have different voices or writing styles for me. So hopefully if one book doesn't hit a nerve the next in a different genre will.


Your Books:

JJBC~Can you share with us anything you are currently working on?
DC~Right now, I have a M/M contemporary that I'm working on. It's a small town man whose had some life changes happen. He's become legal guardian of his teenage niece, and unfortunately he's unquestionably attracted to the cop who's been helping him. There's a murderer on the loose and his fear of discovery by the town where he was born and raised has him so deep in the closet, he's essentially hiding behind the shoe boxes.

It's going to take a strong willed cop and an entire town to break through his walls. And he might just find what he's always longed for.

JJBC~Can you share with us your first book ever published?
DC~That would be Ice Cream In The Snow. Published in May of 2006, it was the very first foray into epublishing. It was released back to me and is currently available through Purple Sword Publishing and online retailers. It is also available in print.

http://purplesword.com/zencart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=7&products_id=66

https://www.createspace.com/3487295

A past she never knew, a debt never paid. Will it cost her life, and her heart?

Jessica Harden has lived her adult life raising and protecting her son. Except her surprises have been lying in wait. With the inheritance of her own business, her ordered life begins to experience the darker side of her ex-husband's history, involving secrets and money. And someone in the shadows knows about both.

JJBC~Can your share with us your most recent release, or a soon to be release?
DC~Okay, I can do that. The most recent was a December release, Xavier's Way.

http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-xavier039sway-499574-145.html

http://www.etopia-press.net/shopping/pgm-more_information.php?id=7&=SID

Nailing an embezzler got him so much more than money…

Xavier De Los Santos is on the brink of financial ruin. Stratler Homes has lost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and Xavier’s best vendors are refusing to work with him. Worse, he knows who’s responsible: his embezzling ex-fiancée, Lindsey.


Jordan Belten is the accounting half of Belten and Belten, the prestigious law and accounting firm whose new client is pure gorgeous male on a stick. Jordan is more than pleased to audit Gorgeous’s records, and find out if it’s indeed the man’s ex-fiancée who’s brought a strong man like Xavier to his knees.

Ex-fiancé. Xavier isn’t gay. Jordan didn’t have a prayer...


JJBC~ Can you share with us some of your upcoming work?
DC~Upcoming, I have Beneath The Shield, also a M/M contemporary through MLR press. I also have, under the Castilleja name, Wolf Brother's Legacy: Resurrection. Both of these are in edits and should be out in the near future.

JJBC~What has been your favorite book you have written so far? Why is this one your favorite?
DC~That's like asking which child is a favorite.... Just not possible in my writing. Usually the one I'm working on is my favorite, though some are headstrong and stubborn and I curse them regularly.


JJBC~Is there anything else you would like to share with us today?
DC~This has been a wonderful interview and thank you so much for letting me come and share my day with all the JoJo readers. :)
JJBC~ Your welcome hun, and I would love to have to back on JoJos Book Corner Anytime!


JJBC~Where can readers find you?
DC~
www.twitter.com/dianacastilleja
www.facebook.com/dianacastilleja
http://www.dianacastilleja.com/
http://www.dianadericci.com/
http://www.dravenscrossing.com/ (There's also a Yahoo group and facebook for this series.)


JJBC~Can you share with us a link to your book list?
DC~Easiest and most concise:
http://allromanceebooks.com/storeSearch.html?ref=product&searchBy=author&qString=Diana+Castilleja

http://allromanceebooks.com/storeSearch.html?ref=product&searchBy=author&qString=Diana+DeRicci

*~* Giveaway *~*

Now Don't go away! Diana Is stopping by today to chat with you all ,with a chance to win: 

A  $10 GC to ARe

DC~Hm.... Since this is my birthday week gig, how about You guys share with us your craziest birthday memory. Good, bad or ugly. One random will be chosen for a $10 credit to All Romance Ebooks.

*Deets: Winner will be chosen on the 18th and must be claimed by midnight EST of the 19th or a new winner will be picked. Winners will have to check this comments section for the winner. To keep emails from being picked up by spiders DO NOT post them in the comments.

Thank you all for stopping by today!

and

HAPPY

BIRTHDAY

 DIANA!!!