Q: Let me start with asking you to tell us a little bit about yourself. 
Q: Would you tell us about your current book release, The Hidden Son?|
Dianna T. Benson interview with Susan Sleeman
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April 15, 2013
A. I majored in communications, was a travel agent for ten years, then moved on to earn my EMS degree. I’ve been an EMT and a Haz-Mat and FEMA Operative since 2005. I signed a nine-book publishing contract in July; my first book releases March 2013. My husband (of twenty-three years) and I have three children. Q: When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer? A: When I was in fifth grade. For those details, visit my On Writing page on my website: www.diannatbenson.com Q: Could you give us the highlights of your professional writing career including how you got your first writing break? A. I signed with an agent in 2007. Six agents offered me representation that spring; it was difficult to turn down the other five since all of them are top-notch agents. In the fall of 2007, a film agent requested a screenplay of The Hidden Son after reading the book. Just days before I completed the script, that film agent suddenly retired due to health issues. I never pursued anything further with the script. In 2009, I was offered a four-book publishing contract, but soon after that my husband was diagnosed with cancer. I turned down that contract to focus on our young family of five. I finaled in the Golden Palm in 2007, finaled in the Daphne de Maurier in 2010, double semi-finaled in the Genesis in spring 2011, and won the Genesis in September 2011. I switched agents January 2012. Starting in February 2012, for thirteen weeks I had a pending contract offer from one of the largest traditional print publishing houses. They made me an offer only three days after my new agent submitted my work out. The entire editorial staff and the entire leadership team loved my writing, but much to the senior acquisitions editor’s shock, after thirteen weeks the business team decided their suspense list is already too full. During this thirteen week time frame, my agent and the senior acquisitions editor thought it was just a matter of time before my contract finalized, so my agent understandably let go of all the other interest in my writing. Soon after those thirteen weeks with that publishing house, Ellechor Publishing House, a small traditional print house, contacted me and asked me to submit my books to them. Just a couple of days after I did so, they offered for all nine books I submitted to them (three trilogies).
The Hidden Son is Book One in the Cayman Islands Trilogy. When U.S. DEA Special Agent Lelisa Desmond refuses to follow an order to bury evidence in a high profile case, her superior hires a hit man to kill her deep in the ocean off Grand Cayman Island. Lelisa survives the first attempt on her life, but someone close to her is mistakenly murdered in her place. With no one to trust, Lelisa enlists Inspector Alec Dyer for help, but learns she’s his number one suspect in the scuba diving homicide. She sets off on a daring mission to bring down the man who ordered her execution. A man in a high position, with power friends. A man who will stop at nothing to silence her forever in order to hide his son’s crimes. Q: Where did you get your inspiration for The Hidden Son? A: I’ve been a scuba diver since high school and I love diving in Grand Cayman. Being an EMT and blessed with a brain that develops an endless number of storylines, the opening scene just popped into my head, and then I wrote from there. Q: What is the main thing you hope readers remember from this story? A: The ending ties into Book Two of the Cayman Islands Trilogy. Also…In this book and all my books, I want readers to remember after reading that my characters don’t try the impossible: “Get over” the difficult stuff in life and move on. Instead, they make room for the pain difficult events cause and they move forward with a renewed sense of understanding in themselves, life and God. Q: What inspires you to write? A. Being alive. Q: How has being a published novelist differed from your expectations of the profession? A: 1) I spend tons of time on the business side of my writing career, and most of it isn’t comfortable or fun (to me). 2) Even when I’m under heavy deadline, I must nurture my muse or it buries itself and refuses to come out and play—I thought (hoped) being under contract, my muse would be eager to play when I needed it. 3) This career is even harder than I thought it would be, but I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my life and I’m walking the exact career path God wants me to, so it’s all good. In fact, it’s amazing! Q: What advice or tips do you have for writers who are just getting started? A: Don’t focus on the “rules” you hear about or on any negativity about the publishing industry. Just write from your heart, and God will lead you on the correct writing path for you and your writing. Every person is different; every writer is different. Find your way. For more, visit my On Writing page on my website: www.diannatbenson.com Q: Would you share with us what you are working on now? A: Book Two of the Cayman Islands Trilogy, Jezebel’s Fugitive. Paramedic Reyann Cooper focuses on driving the ambulance safely when her patient, an injured prison inmate, shoots her partner and the cop escorting the inmate, then turns the gun on Reyann. At the Cayman marina parking lot, a stand-off ensues. Using Reyann’s body as a human shield, the inmate drags her to a fishing boat called Jezebel and escapes the island, all while sharp shooters are unable to get a clean shot of him. Q: When you’re not writing what do you like to do? A. Run, climb/hike, cycle, scuba dive, read, watch movies and TV shows (Walking Dead, Chicago Fire, and The Big Bang Theory are my favorites right now), watch comedian shows, spend time with family and friends, and spend time with God in His multiple places of incredible and beautiful nature. Q: Where can readers find you on the internet? Q: Anything else you’d like to tell or share with us? A. Always believe in yourself as a writer. Regardless if you never land an agent and/or a writing contract, if you love to write, then never stop writing. God gave you a passion, so spend time on your passion and enjoy yourself! The Hidden Son is available on: http://buy.christianbookstoday.org www.ellechorpublishinghouse.com
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Dianna Torscher Benson is a 2014 Selah Award Winner, a 2011 Genesis Winner, a 2011 Genesis double Semi-Finalist, a 2010 Daphne de Maurier Finalist, and a 2007 Golden Palm Finalist. In 2012, she signed a nine-book contract with Ellechor Publishing House. She’s the author of The Hidden Son, her debut novel. Final Trimester is her second release.
After majoring in communications and a ten-year career as a travel agent, Dianna left the travel industry to earn her EMS degree. An EMT and a Haz-Mat and FEMA Operative since 2005, she loves the adrenaline rush of responding to medical emergencies and helping people in need.
Dianna lives in North Carolina with her husband and their three children.
Website: www.diannatbenson.com
Her releases are available wherever books are sold.
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