Diane Merrill Wigginton

I was born Diane Michelle Brewer, in Riverside, California, on March 2, 1963, and given this unassuming name by my loving parents. I grew up with my one sibling, David Troy who was thirteen months older. My brother passed away in January 2011, two weeks shy of his forty-ninth birthday. Then on December 7, of that same year, I lost my father to cancer. As you may well imagine, 2011 was not a very good year for me. But it was also the catalyst, that fueled the fire and started me down this path to fulfilling a lifelong dream.

When I was younger, I had a very active imagination, but never dared to dream bigger than myself, because I had little confidence that things would ever work out the way that I hoped. Now that I am older, I feel freed from childish fears and have dared to dream the biggest dream of them all.

Throughout my ever-changing life, marriage and so forth, my name has evolved to what it is now, Diane Merrill Wigginton. It suits me and I have grown into my name. It is a very strong, proud name that comes from both my mother, her parents and my husband.

In 2001 my husband Dave and I packed up our family and moved them to Sacramento California to a 5 ½ acre ranch where we had a couple of cows, 32 goats, 2 dogs and a cat. 21 fruit trees, 15 grape vines, and 3 walnut trees. I taught myself how to raise and care for the goats as well as a hive of bees for a while. It was good.

I started writing my first novel shortly after my fiftieth birthday. It took me six months to finish my first work of fiction. And mind you, I worked a full-time job, eleven hours a day, five days a week.

I’m not even sure I know how it happened, but the words just poured out of me. The writing was like an awakening for me and it just felt right, even invigorating as the words flowed onto my computer screen.

In the beginning, I had some ideas of what I wanted to say, but what came out, was something completely different. After I finished the novel, I went through and changed a few things and then gave it to a good friend, who loved it and asked me for more.

My first two books were well received by critics and bibliophiles alike. I even received a star rating for my first book, Angelina’s Secret. I also received a Benjamin Franklin Award, which was a real thrill for me.

I don’t need the adoration of a nation to make me feel good about myself or even make me complete. I have already achieved the feeling of accomplishment by being a mother and wife.

My dream was about finding my true voice and then having the courage to speak it, which took me fifty years to discover that I even had a voice worth listening to.

I write under my current name, Diane Merrill Wigginton and my books can be found on Amazon. Angelina’s Secret, and Isabella’s Heart, Olivia’s Promise are all part of my Jeweled Dagger Series and fall under the genre of Historical Romance. They are filled with adventure, suspense, and passion. I have just finished my fourth novel, Lara’s Story. It is a Young Adult Historical Fiction. My husband and I both retired from our perspective careers in 2017 and put our house and ranch on the market, sold the goats and in February of 2017 we moved to Kalispell, Montana. We love it here and I have an office that looks out upon a meadow and I can see deer, pheasant, and squirrels go by all the time. When the snow is falling it is so peaceful and soothing that I can dream my days away and write. It’s perfect.

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