About the Author

Diane has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of North Carolina Wilmington, where she was mentored by the acclaimed author, historian, and professor, Philip Gerard, and best-selling author of the Christie Affair, Nina de Gramont. 

Diane spent three years as associate editor for Chautauqua literary journal. Her works of memoir and fiction have appeared in the Indiana Review, and Public Art, a flash fiction anthology. Her first novel, Broken Butterflies, debuts in July. The research for her second novel, a work of historical fiction, is featured in The Art of Creative Research, by Philip Gerard, University of Chicago Press. 

Born in Broken Bow, Nebraska, Diane moved with her family to Oregon when she was three, where she grew up on the family farm in the Tualatin Valley. She earned a degree in Journalism from the University of Oregon. She began her professional career in San Francisco at Foote, Cone and Belding, a global advertising agency. She moved to Seattle, immersing herself in its burgeoning technology industry. After stints at a major electronics firm, and other agencies, she founded her own creative services firm. Together with two partners, she built one of the largest agencies in Seattle, representing a range of technology, health care, and consumer clients. She also served as ghost writer for numerous technology executives, and subject-matter experts, penning countless speeches, articles and white papers.

She currently lives on Whidbey Island, Washington, with her husband, Doug Hansen—a graphic artist and painter, represented by Dragonfire Gallery in Cannon Beach, Oregon. The couple have a grown son, a film director, and a daughter, a leader in sustainable fashion, and two grandchildren, all of whom bring great joy to their lives.