Featured Interview With Diane Solomon
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Diane grew up in Oregon and says she can’t remember a time when she wasn’t singing. Her father gave her a guitar for Christmas when she was 13, and she taught herself folk and country styles, and started to write songs. Graduating from college and believing her first talent was acting, she headed off to England, determined to study acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
But life can take some funny turns. Before she could arrange an interview, she was literally “discovered,” playing her guitar and singing to a small, private, New Year’s Eve party at a London hotel. A BBC television producer was there, a screen test followed, and the result was a network primetime series of variety specials! “The Diane Solomon Show” was a great success, and she quickly became a regular on British TV, with other specials of her own, and numerous guest appearances, including several Royal Gala Specials. She recorded 5 albums, appeared on countless radio and TV shows, and starred in numerous musical theater productions. After heading four major UK Theater concert tours of her own, she toured with Glen Campbell on three European tours, and opened for a major Kenny Rogers’ tour in 1991.
But then life took another turn, this time not so fortunate. She was diagnosed with the infamous M.E. or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and for years was too ill to walk across the room unaided. For a total of seven and a half years, she struggled with half a life. In the darkest hours songwriting was her saving grace, and the title cut of her CD, “Good Things Don’t Come Easy” was born of this troubled time. With the help of a brilliant German homeopathic system of healing, plus nutrition and herbs, she regained her health.
Diane was so impressed with these alternate therapies she gained degrees in both nutrition and homeopathy, achieving a doctoral degree from the British Institute of Homeopathy. She practiced nutrition and homeopathy, using a combination of nutrients, herbs, homeopathic remedies, and diet and lifestyle recommendations.
Turning to writing and hoping to help others afflicted with CFS, Diane wrote “Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: The Homeopathic Treatment of CFS/M.E.” Plus, she has published two books in a new health series called “Healing Therapies that Work;” one focuses on the treatment of allergies, the second on ear infections. The third, on depression and anxiety, is due out soon.
In fiction, she published a fantasy time travel series, written with her husband Mark Carey. For middle schoolers, these are “The Ravenstone: The Secret of Ninham Mountain” and “The Ravenstone: The Twain.” Next came “88 Guys for Coffee,” a humorous women’s novel about online dating. Her latest, published in July 2023, is “Eva: A Riveting Romantic Suspense.” It is a love story and fantasy, about a young woman who discovers she can heal an animal, just by holding it, meditating, and connecting with its spirit.
Diane lives in beautiful New Hampshire with her husband, Mark, three dogs, and a cat. An avid gardener, her home is surrounded by organically grown flower beds and vegetable gardens. She writes, edits, researches, designs and builds gardens, always seeking more knowledge, more understanding, and more creative flow.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
When I was ten, my teacher told me I could be a writer. I had written a short essay/story about what it feels like to sit in a church, alone. From that day on, I knew, somehow, that my final career would be writing. I have now written seen books, but I always knew I would. Odd how that determination becomes a “knowing.” I had a singing and acting career, then ten years as a homeopath and nutritionist, then switched gears in the last decade and began to write both nonfiction and fiction books.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite authors, that could take this whole page! So, just a few: Madeleine L’Engle, Dodie Smith, Tolkien, and Mary Stuart from my childhood. As an adult, Agatha Christie, Jane Austen, Barbara Delinsky, Alice Hoffman, and many more.
As for genres, I love a good mystery, thoughtful women’s fiction, and fantasy. I have always appreciated the supernatural presented in real life, but now it has a name: Magical Realism. Its authors are the talented Emily Colin, Sarah Addison Allen, Patti Callahan Henry, and Menna Van Praag, among others.
My greatest inspiration are Mary Stewart, Barbara Delinsky and Jane Austen.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
“Eva” is a woman’s fiction novel, set in current time, but with a supernatural twist. I came up with the idea many years ago, in the nineties, in fact, and wrote it over the last year and a half. It wrote itself after that long! In the story, the protagonist, Eva, undergoes a huge character arc of self-realization. She must learn to own a special magical power she possesses. She holds an injured or sick animal, connects with its spirit, and heals it. But this comes with such stress, such responsibility. She wonders, “Why me?”
THE STORY: Eva possesses a unique power. Is it a blessing or a curse?
Never having known her father and losing her mother when she was young, Eva believes she’s better off alone. Volunteering at the local rescue center in her small New England town, she connects deeply with the animals. They are her first love. But another great love is on the horizon, along with more life-changing discoveries. A father she didn’t know she had, a new family she doesn’t trust, and Michael, who is unlike anyone she’s ever known.
When the world learns of her gift, she’s forced into the limelight she’s avoided all her life. The internet lights up with wonder… and accusation.
Facing challenges at every turn, including her own inner demons, she must fight to protect, even embrace, her newfound ability. And learn to trust enough to open her heart.
Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles
Diane Solomon Facebook Page