Thanks for visiting my site! I’m honored. Let me tell you a little bit about me. If I define myself by family relationships, I’m fortunate to be married to Alan, a gentle-natured, hard-working man with a lot of common sense. He can fix, build, or invent anything. If I am ever stranded in the woods or on a deserted island or find myself in a zombie apocalypse, I will survive if he’s with me. I am the mother of two sons, one by birth and one by adoption. My oldest, Mitchell, is a special education teacher and lives nearby. He frequently comes home for dinner. My baby, Isaac, is in college and still living at home. He hopes to work in the medical field in the future.
My dad is an important part of my life. He usually comes over for dinner most nights. My amazing mother died way too soon in 2012 from frontotemporal dementia. I’m slowly, painfully getting used to the idea that I won’t see her again on this earth. I have one younger sister and two young adult nieces who live nearby. My mom was born into a large Amish family (turned Mennonite when my mom was a toddler). Her mother didn’t know much about birth control, so I have been happily surrounded by scads of aunts (6), uncles (7), and over 50 first cousins on my mom’s side my whole life.
For the past 30 years or so, I have been an educator: teacher (mostly English), yearbook adviser, and dean of academic support at the same local private school. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to retire about 10 years early and now focus on writing. My first novel, When Sparrows Fall, was published by Leap Books in 2015. It won the Cascade Award for Published Young Adult/Middle Grade Fiction. I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Education from Western Oregon State College and a Master of Arts in Teaching degree and reading endorsement from Western Oregon University (same place–name changed).
Besides writing, I love camping in our firetruck-converted camper, hiking outdoors, taking walks around the neighborhood with my dog, creating art, reading, listening to podcasts and audio books, and watching movies. I recently took up dragon boating, so that is now one of my favorite things to do. I also weirdly like cleaning and organizing. Cooking is fun when I don’t feel rushed. I also enjoy my volunteer job of teaching English to a refugee twice a week.
Faith is a significant part of my life and shapes who I am more than my family, job, or hobbies. God claimed my heart and soul in my teen years and won’t let me go, despite my many questions, doubts, and even some anger in the midst of darker times of my life. I try not to define or limit God. I just want to love my Creator and find joy in that. I like how Jesus treated the woman at the well in John 4 in the New Testament, so I’ve decided that is who I want to follow. He’s my Emmanuel–God with me.
Again, thanks for stopping by!
Diana Blackstone
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