Category Archives: Books

Books, Diane Solomon author, Fiction, Mark Carey, Mark Carey Author, mystery novel, Time travel, Uncategorized

Dream Traveler: new time travel mystery

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Hi all,

Mark and I have finished the time travel we’ve been working on for a year.  Back and forth from 2015 to 2027, with things changing, Alex and Jenna uncovering new clues, Alex exhausted from the time travel and living two days on one night’s sleep.

I guess I should give you clue of the story, huh?

Here is a rough cover, not finalized….

The back cover blurb:

Jenna McCowan has learned to live with her precognitive visions. Most she brushes aside, but one will not be ignored: a handwritten list of seven names. One belongs to her friend Daniel Bridges, who has just died.

Then a man appears in her vision.

Alex Burgess is a Boston journalist who practices lucid dreaming. One night, he dreams he is standing in a park, watching a woman hide something behind a loose brick in a wall. When he wakes and goes into that park, he finds a list of seven names, exactly where she tucked it.

The following night, it happens again. He finds himself in the park, but his time he meets Jenna, and they discover an impossible truth: she is living in 2015. He is living in 2026. Alex has somehow traveled eleven years into the past.

Then Alex discovers something even more disturbing. In 2026, five of the seven men on Jenna’s list are dead. They died within two weeks of one another. In 2015.

Jenna and Alex only have a few days to identify the men and prevent their deaths. Their first attempt succeeds. Then Alex wakes in 2026 to learn that the man they saved from an accident died anyway—stabbed later that same day.

As Jenna and Alex work to save the remaining men, they discover that the victims share a secret someone is desperate to keep hidden. The closer they get to the truth, the more dangerous their interference becomes.

Then their investigation puts Jenna in the sights of the killer.

STAY TUNED! 

Book Reviews, Books, Diane Solomon Homeopathy & Nutrition, Uncategorized

Where do creative ideas come from?

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Maybe ideas float around our combined consciousness, as a species, to be received by those with the best antennae! We are radio stations, attuned to pick up the frequencies of ideas. When I was very young, as a singer-songwriter in the UK, I had the chance to work with Tommy Boyce, the songwriter who had some terrific hits with the Monkees in the seventies.  He nailed it for me. He said, “In the middle of the night, if I get a song idea or lyric, I better get my butt out of bed and write it down, or it will go back up the chimney and come down Paul McCartney’s chimney.”

Has anyone read Dan Brown’s Secret of Secrets? Its a fun fast-paced thriller, but he manages to introduce this idea to larger audience. Secret of Secrets

If this interests you, check out the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS).  Very interesting site and it includes supporting research.

Articles, Books, Diane Solomon author, Diane Solomon Homeopathy & Nutrition, Homeopathy, Uncategorized

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, the neglected illness that affects millions

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Great article today from The Guardian, focusing on the dreadful treatment, or should I say lack of it, for those struggling with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/M.E.

This is the opening line: “I’ve spent my working life covering neglected issues. But few are neglected like the devastating chronic condition ME/CFS (myalgic encephalomyelitis, or chronic fatigue syndrome).” 

I can certainly agree with this statement, and suffered from CFS myself for almost eight years. I was ignored by various practitioners, given the side eye, was told I needed therapy or anti-depressants , or told to exercise my way out of it! This was in the nineties, and things are not substantially better. Now, with the very similar Long Covid syndrome, the problem is even more prevalent. And largely untreated. 

In my experience, orthodox medicine has little to offer the CFS patient. I recovered through the use of a homeopathic remedy, and studied to become a practitioner myself, in order to pay attention to this issue in a heartfelt way, for the people who came to see me with CFS, and of course, other issues.

I have since retired, and written a book on how to treat the illness with homeopathy.


Here is the link to the Guardian article   Abandoned, dismissed and gaslighted: there is no excuse for the way ME sufferers have been betrayed,  by

 
Books, Diane Solomon author, fantasy novels, Fiction, Mark Carey, Mark Carey Author, Middle grade books, Romantic suspense novels

Creativity… the reward for all that work. But is it work?

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Creativity Is Its Own Reward

by Diane Solomon

Ah, writing fiction. I write novels by myself and also with my brilliant husband, Mark Carey. The fiction-writing path is full of magical discovery. There are surprises, even revelations, as you let your characters drive the story, and say what they will. It is the utmost fun.

 

The joy of creativity drives me. It always has! I’ve been in the creative world for a long time, first singing and performing on stage and TV in the UK. Songwriting. Then screenwriting. Then non-fiction books. Then middle-grade fiction with The Ravenstone series. Then romantic suspense with Eva. And now a time travel mystery thriller called Dream Traveler, due out soon. Each genre is a learning curve; each is entirely, completely, absolutely different. 

What is creativity, exactly?

Creativity is the act of innovation and imagination. When you are creative, you are able to see the world in new ways, leaving traditional ideas or patterns behind. You’re not ruled by the usual interpretations of ideas. You think outside the box.

Is that off-putting? You don’t think you can come up with something new? It has all been done? But wait – it is how things are put together that can be new. And, here is the kicker: there is only one you, so no one will do things quite as you do. You are unique, as is your way of doing things.

Being creative is often a calling. Are you compelled to create, be it art, music, poetry, fiction? Then you must do it. You must do it to fulfill your passion in life.  Without it you may feel dead, unfulfilled, trudging through the three-foot mud slog of life, day by day, without experiencing the joy of your own heart.

But, I hear you ask:“Will someone else like my artistic endeavor?” My answer: Who cares? Seriously. WHO CARES?

A few tips for artists and writers everywhere:

1) Dare to Suck – (or Dare to Fail, for those of you appalled by the vulgarity.) As a singer/songwriter, I learned early (after an ego struggle) to trust the creative process and dive deeply into it. You have to dare to be criticized, dare to be silly, dare to be crazy, to be wild. You have to Dare to Suck.

2) Give up Being a Perfectionist  – Or you will never show anyone anything. Now I know I said Who Cares, but you still want to let someone else see it! Don’t you? Maybe not… now there’s a thought.

Forget going for perfect. Go for excellent, instead.

3) Allow Your Passion to Grow and Drive You – “The more extreme and the more expressed that passion is, the more unbearable does life seem without it. It reminds us that if passion dies or is denied, we are partly dead and that soon, come what may, we will be wholly so.”  ~John Boorman (English film-maker known for feature films such as Point Blank, Deliverance, Excalibur, The Emerald Forest, Hope and Glory, and more.)

My husband calls my passion, “extreme heart.” My heart must be involved in my writing. By that, I mean the work holds powerful elements of honor, integrity, caring for others, meaning, courage, and love. The protagonists, the main characters in my fiction need to be real, to be human, with flaws, certainly, but with good hearts. (Ok, ok, yes, I am Pollyanna.)

Creative passion is that energy that pours out from your very essence, from your soul.  And, since passion gives us energy, the greater the passion, the greater the creativity.

Let it flow!

4) Do it for the Bliss of it, Nothing More – There are moments during writing where I forget myself entirely. I lose track of time and look up after a couple of hours realizing I am cold, or starving, or some other bodily demand is hollering at me.

But, what a feeling! Pure meditational creativity. The writing seems to have taken over. Sometimes you look down and are surprised by what you read, as if you didn’t, in fact, write it.  I can only describe this experience as somehow verging on transcendent, in that it feels beyond the limits of experience, or independent of this world. It is exciting, inspiring, and rewarding.

So go for it; lose yourself. And remember the old maxim: It’s the journey, not the destination.

Creativity truly is its own reward.

Books, Diane Solomon author, Fiction, Mark Carey, mystery novel, Time travel

Writing novels: what you DON’T see!

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There is so much involved in writing a novel. The actual writing is the easy part. The first draft comes out in a long dribble, or in floods, but then so much editing is required! I’ve actually learned to NOT edit myself in the first draft, because you never know when you might get lucky and write something really good! 

Mark and I are in final edits of Dream Traveler, and beta readers have it. That’s when you hear whether its working. And you have various and sundry fingers crossed all the time. So far, so good, people are coming back loving the ride.

Here’s a taste of the story:

Jenna McCowan has spent a lifetime managing the precognitive visions that arrive unbidden. One will not be ignored: a handwritten list of seven names. Her friend Daniel Bridges, who has just died, is on the list.

Then a man appears in her vision.

Alex Burgess is an investigative journalist by day, skilled lucid dreamer by night. He dreams he is standing in his local park, watching a woman hide something behind a loose brick in a wall. The next morning, in the park, he takes a chance, checks the wall, and finds the list of names, exactly where she tucked it.

The following night, the dream recurs. This time, he meets Jenna, and they discover the impossible truth: she is living in 2015. He is living in 2026. Alex has somehow traveled eleven years into the past.

Back in 2026, Alex discovers something even more disturbing. Historical records show that five of the seven men on Jenna’s list died within two weeks of one another.

In 2015.

Books, Diane Solomon author, Uncategorized

Writing style: “elegantly uncomplicated”

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REVIEWS FOR EVA:

 
In a beautiful review for “Eva” the reviewer stated that my writing was “elegantly uncomplicated.” I was thrilled. That is a high compliment, in my view.
 
I took an oath, to myself, after college creative writing classes. I vowed: Simple. Just say it. Go for Hemingway-esque with passion and suspense. Don’t use two words when one will do. Get out of yourself, Diane and just tell the story.
 
Years later, when I edited the thesis for my homeopathic degree, I realized I had been showing off my Writing, with a big ole’ capital W… So I edited to rub off its intellectual rough edges. To make it easily comprehensible.


DON’T BE CAUGHT WRITING!

And with fiction, I don’t want anyone yanked out of the story because they’ve noticed my writing. I want them lost in it, for them to forget they are reading a book. To me, that is the ultimate goal. I don’t read ( and certainly don’t write) literary fiction. It is too often self-involved. Self aware. It feels as if the author was sunk into her writing experience, forgetting the reading experience. (Perhaps we are looking at the difference between art and performance, but I think that’s another blog!)
 
I am a storyteller, a performer, and a communicator, and that can’t be filled up with obtuse, often unintelligible words or sentences. If someone reads a long sentence and has to go back and read it again to understand the message, in my view the author has failed. I need no one to think I am erudite and intellectual. I want them to be moved by the story.
 
AI hasn’t learned it yet. It is clever, too clever, with every adjective and enthusiastic turn of phrase. And it’s repetitive. Everything I read from AI needs a good editor. When AI gets more astute and evolved, watch out. But I bet it will never move you like a human author can. An author who shares a story with the river of emotion running through her blood. That you can feel when you read her words. There’s nothing like that for me.


What do you think?

Books, Diane Solomon author, Uncategorized

Feathered Quill posts great author interview with Diane!

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Feathered Quill posts fascinating author interview with Diane!

Lily Andrews, the reviewer and interviewer, asked such interesting questions. Here is just one:

FQ: In Eva’s world, sick animals are healed through supernatural abilities. I found this a very heartwarming concept. Is this something you’ve imagined for a long time and wanted to put into one of your stories? Do you believe that animals have spirits that their human friends can connect to?

SOLOMON: Yes, animals have spirits just as we do. For me, mankind has been guilty of arrogance regarding the treatment of animals, and I hope and pray that day is soon over. We all share this planet, and I don’t believe humans have any more right to its resources than other species on Earth. This is a passion for me.

Not only does every cat or dog I’ve ever had the pleasure of “owning” have a different personality, each has feelings. And I don’t just mean feeling pain, which of course they do. They feel embarrassment, for example. I was playing with my little black cat, Fudgie, with a feather on a rod, on the bed, and she leaped into the air to catch it. One time she misjudged her landing and slid down between the end of the bed and the bench at the bottom of the bed. There was nothing to hurt her, it was soft, but we laughed. We laughed. She stayed under the bed and wouldn’t come out, wouldn’t look at me. When she finally reappeared, she was not hurt at all, of course, but had been embarrassed, or even angry that we laughed at her. I’ve seen examples like this many times.

And how about animals’ ability to connive? That takes brains and cunning. We had a beautiful English Setter named Feather, who was obsessed with a robin’s nest in a lilac, with a few babies in it, chirping. Drove her crazy. We kept demanding she leave the area alone, and I must have said “No!” a hundred times. She would back away, then sneak all the way around the house, thinking she could slink around unobserved and get under that lilac. And when I caught her doing it, she stopped abruptly and looked around innocently. “La la la, here I am, what a nice day, just happened to be here…. La la la.” It was too funny.

That spirit in an animal that I can feel when I hold them and meditate, quietly, focusing on them, is the energy that Eva connects with when she heals them. But how I wish I knew how she does it!

Read More: Feathered Quill Interview with Diane Solomon