Dian Cronan Beatty Interview Published on: 20, Jan 2022

I grew up in Northern Virginia. with my twin sister.

I've always loved writing, even when I was little. I used to make picture books about The Long-Haired Unicorn, a detective. I think being a reader is what made me want to write. Loving someone else's words makes me want to write my own.

I've never wanted to be a professional writer per say. I just always wanted what I wrote to be read by people who might enjoy it. But it was becoming an English teacher and working with young adults that helped me finish my book and decide to self-publish it.

To me, suspense means edge-of-your seat tension. Josh Malerman is excellent at suspense.

It's based on a short story that I wrote for a creative writing class in high school. Like anything I've written, my story always starts with a "What if..." idea. What if a little girl was raised by an abandoned house. Could they form a family?

I didn't base Rose on anyone, but rather thought about what I wanted in a character - a strong-willed person who strugles with anger and identity - and thought about what other characteristics and elements would work well with her personality.

I've always thought the value in reading/writing in any cultue is about enjoyment. As long as you enjoy it, as long as you feel fulfilled by what you have read or written, then it's done its job. Sometimes you learn along the way, like when you read about a character whose experiences or identity is different than yours, and in this way you can also learn about other cultures. But that's secondary to fiction's real purpose.

When I wrote Wolfhowl Mountain, I was very conscious of picking names that had a religious significance, or names that had Irish origins since many of the characters are Irish Catholic. But often times I'll pick a name out of thin air and just stick with it.

Giving gifts is more fulfilling because you get to see the other person's enjoyment.

I do my best to be objective when I see anything negative. I also try to remember that everyone enjoys different kinds of books, so not liking mine is okay.

I'm always going to pick reading first.

It's a lot like living with loud roomates who enjoy keeping you up at night and eating all your food.

I always think about what I'm currently writing when I'm in the shower. I've written some of my best scenes when shampooing my hair.

I've always wanted to write a locked-room murder mystery that takes place on the International Space Station. But rather than the crew being NASA experts, all of the "mission specialists" are B-list celebrities. And for a long, long time I've wanted to do a modernization of the Persephone myth.

Good!