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Diane Leyne

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 Diane is originally from a small town in Nova Scotia but has lived in Toronto most of her life. She has had a lifelong love affair with books of all kinds from thrillers to erotica and everything in between and always dreamed of writing her own. One day she decided to stop dreaming and actually put pen to paper, or rather fingers to to keyboard, and her first novel, No Place Like Home, was the result.

 In addition to writing which takes up much of her spare time, Diane also likes photography and travel.

 Her website is www.dianeleynebooks.com or she can be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dianeleynebooks.

Q: Which comes first, characters or plot?

A: Characters, definitely characters. Once I have a handle on who they are, then I can understand why they need to be together and what obstacles they have to over come to achieve their happily ever after.

Q: Do you have the whole plot outlined before you start writing?

A: No, because if I do, I find that the characters don't always cooperate and I end up deviating from what I'd planned, so I've just wasted a bunch of time. Instead, I make some notes about key scenes or plot points and then just follow where my characters lead. I also keep a spreadsheet tracking who my characters are and their key relationships particularly with peripheral characters who might need their own story told someday.

Q: Do you ever get writers block?

A: I think everyone does at some time. I find the best way to figure out what comes next is to just get away from the computer and get moving. I do some of my best plotting on the subway heading to or from work. There's no pressure to write, so my mind just wanders down different paths until I find the one I think my characters would travel.

Q: What are your favourite travel destinations?

A: I'd say my favourite international destinations I've actually visited are: Egypt (especially going down into King Tut's tomb), Kenya (especially the elephants) and Thailand (more elephants). Top places on my list that I'd like to see are: Bora Bora, the Galapagos and Antarctica. Maybe some day.

Q: Name some other favourites.

A: Favourite US city: Chicago. Favourite international city: London. Favourite food: Chicken fajitas. Favourite band: Lovehammers (local Chicago band I've followed for years). Favourite quote: "Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." Groucho Marx

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