Author Interview with Diane Campbell

Welcome!

Introducing Diane Campbell!

Diane M. Campbell has always been a daydreamer. As a child, she’d concoct far-away adventures, often while perched in the crook of a tree of her family’s farm in rural Minnesota. These days, tree climbing has been traded-in for hammock swinging, but idle hours in the forest continue to be a source of inspiration for tales of mystery and adventure.

Diane is the award-winning author of Point Blank, a Christian mystery/suspense novel set in the Colorado Rockies, where she and her husband make their home. If she’s not at her desk, you’re likely to find her under a shade tree or out on a back-country trail, soaking in some fresh inspiration.

Social Media Links:

Website: DianeMCampbell.net

Facebook: Facebook.com/AuthorDianeMCampbell

Twitter: AuthorDCampbell

Interview with Diane

• Share something your readers wouldn’t know about you.

There are so many things I could choose, but I think I’ll mention the fact that I experienced a medical miracle when I was just five years old. I was kicked in the face by a horse which crushed my jaw and left me near death. My mother made a desperate bargain with God during the 30-minute race to the ER, but I arrived without vital signs. Nevertheless, I was able to be revived, and despite a questionable prognosis, I fully recovered over the course of many months. My reconstructed jaw also healed far beyond doctor’s expectations. In fact, my smile today includes a full set of natural teeth that doctors predicted would never develop.

The trauma of my injury, however, affected my entire family and put us all on a quest to understand more about God and find a way to repay our debt. It would take many years and additional challenging circumstances before any of us finally grasped the Gospel message and surrendered our lives to Jesus as Lord.

Readers will discover that I’ve included several elements of “divine intervention” in my novel, Point Blank, and this is because I believe so strongly that God has his hands in everything that we go through in life. I wanted to show various ways that God might step in to guide my characters, even though they continued to doubt him and failed to see his repeated intervention in their lives. His actions don’t always involve something miraculous, but he certainly uses our life circumstances to subtly guide us until our eyes are finally opened to the truth that was always there.

• If you had to describe yourself in three words, what would they be?

Here we go: Introspective, detail-oriented, and clumsy

Introspective: If it were possible to earn a degree in thinking, I’d be a PhD. In fact, I often demonstrate skill at over-thinking things. I like to believe that the excess time I spend inside my head helps make me a good writer, but the jury may still be out on that.

Detail-Oriented: This might be related to my introspectiveness, because I can lose a day and half being focused on minute details before discovering they may not really matter all that much. Does this make me a better writer? I don’t know, but it definitely makes me a SLOW writer!

Clumsy: There was a brief period in my youth when I wanted to be able to mimic the graceful, choreographed moves of the back-up dancers I saw on variety TV shows. My awkward gyrations in front of my bedroom mirror quickly convinced me to focus on other pursuits, but clumsiness has continued to plague me throughout my life. These days, I’m just grateful to get through a meal without getting food on my clothes. Is it okay if I blame this on my head injury?

• Have you always wanted to be a writer?

I was an avid reader as a child. I’m sure it helped fortify my introspective nature and my imagination, but I didn’t consider becoming a writer until I was an adult. I grew up in a musically-gifted family, and my ability to sing was recognized and encouraged from a very young age. As I got into my teens, my vocal skills gained enough attention to convince me that I had a future in country music. I felt certain Nashville was calling my name, but I also felt an immense obligation to repay God for the miracle I’d received.

There’s a lot more I could tell about that era, but for brevity’s sake, I’ll say that I’m just glad God steered me away from both Nashville and the convent. He brought me to Colorado instead and put believing Christians in my path. A few years after I became a born-again Christian and got married, I began to use my voice to lead worship at church. My husband and I were also licensed for therapeutic foster care and waiting for an opportunity to adopt.

In the midst of all that activity, I discovered the Christian Writer’s Institute and leapt at the opportunity to begin developing writing skills that would help me share my faith through story-telling. Though I wasn’t able to devote the time and energy needed for novel writing until after I retired, I wrote articles for Christian periodicals back in those days as well as several plays and skits, many of which were performed at our church.

• What comes first for you — the plot or the characters — and why?

For me, the characters are primary. Once I have a grasp of who my characters are and what makes them tick, I can figure out how they will deal with situations the plot throws at them. Then I work the plot so as to complicate their life as much as possible. Someone once said that all stories are human-stories—even stories that don’t have humans in them (children’s stories, for instance). I have to agree. Our favorite stories are remembered because they are relatable on a human level and that means getting the character well-established right from the beginning.

• Can you share with us something about the book that isn’t in the blurb?

Point Blank is my first published novel, but it’s not the first book that I planned to write. While I waited for my busy life to give me an opportunity to focus on novel-length fiction, a story idea percolated in the back of my psyche—for decades. So long, in fact, that it had grown tentacles stretching it way out of bounds for a first novel. At least that’s what I concluded after I started trying to actually put it on paper.

Fortunately, God had a better plan. When I asked him what I should work on instead, he brought to light a dusty old file folder that had been tucked away in a storage box since about 1990. I’d completely forgotten about it until I discovered the box and picked up the pages of yellowed typing paper—the opening chapter of Point Blank (though it didn’t yet have a title). Reading that first chapter, I knew immediately that it needed to be the new story I worked on.

• What is the key theme and/or message in the book?

Nothing is ever wasted in God’s economy. Our lives can meander through many experiences that we might wish had never happened, or that we would prefer to forget, but God has a way of turning everything in our lives toward His perfect purposes. That doesn’t mean we don’t ever face regret over our failures, but we walk every day in humble gratitude for the fact that God triumphs over our regrets. He redeems us from the miry clay and sets our (imperfect) feet on a secure foundation.

• Where can readers find out more about you and your books?

My books are available through all the usual online retailers. In fact, on my website, you can find links to my book listings at many of the most popular sites. This is also where people can find out more about me and subscribe to my quarterly newsletter. Just go to DianeMCampbell.NET.

• Any current or upcoming projects you’d like to tell us about?

I’m very pleased to have a brand new release on Amazon titled, “Speak, Lord… I’m Listening: My Scripture Journal.” This book is designed for those who enjoy journaling or who are starting a Bible Reading plan with the New Year. It provides is a great place to record special insights that the Lord shows you with each day’s Bible reading.

It’s available just in time for holidays—and makes a great gift! There are two different covers to choose from—a beautiful Galaxy cover (https://tinyurl.com/7hna7fca) and an elegant botanical cover (https://tinyurl.com/fb26hdjv). I hope you’ll check them out!

About the Book

Name of Book: Point Blank

Genre of Book: Suspense

Name of Publisher: DMC Books LLC

Release Date: January 22, 2021

Back Cover Blurb:

Penny Doyle is desperate to get far away—and fast.

If only she could remember why.

Occasional flashes of déjà vu do nothing to help fill the elusive memory gaps of Penny’s New Year’s Eve date with football star, Brock Harper. Something happened that night, though. Her bruises prove it. When investigators seek to question her about the disappearance of a fellow college coed who also attended the party, she realizes her urge to return home may not stem from mere homesickness, but rather, something far more desperate.

In the face of rising accusations, will her dad be able to help?

Maybe… if she can get home before it’s too late.

Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/Point-Blank-Diane-M-Campbell-ebook/dp/B08T92NM9X

Giveaways

Giveaway #1: Anyone who signs up to receive Diane’s quarterly newsletter will get a FREE copy of the short story prequel to Point Blank, titled Hope’s Muse. This is a (.pdf) digital download that can be read on your computer or sent to your Kindle’s documents folder. You can subscribe here: DianeMCampbell.net/Subscribe.

Giveaway #2: ONE newsletter subscriber who signs up during the first (6) days after this Blog is posted will be randomly selected to receive a FREE signed copy of Point Blank (paperback) by mail. The winner will be contacted to supply a shipping address.

Giveaway #3: TWO winners will be chosen from among all those who post a response to this Blog Interview during the first (6) days after it appears. Each winner will receive a Point Blank Gift Card (by mail), which provides a special code for downloading a FREE eBook version of Point Blank. Winners can download this gift to their preferred digital device or present the Gift Card to an avid eBook reader on their holiday gift list. After all, re-gifting can be a great thing!

Winner will be announced on December 6th, 2021