Local writer, Dianne Venetta, is author of more than a dozen books. When she’s not at her computer, she’s a busy mom and homemaker. Dianne’s writing began while she was working shortly after getting married.

“I was a salesperson, and I started getting story ideas. I began writing them down,” Dianne said, “I realized I didn’t know what I was doing, so I went to a writer’s conference, and after a couple of years, my story idea actually became a book.”

Problems occurred when Dianne didn’t fully understand how to categorize her writing. “I thought it was a romance novel, but it kept getting rejected.”

Determined to succeed, Dianne saw her chance to learn more with Brenda Novak’s online auction for juvenile diabetes. She got the big prize for a writer, a critique by a New York editor, Kate Duffy. The late editor was one of the pioneers of the romance genre.

“She told me two things,” Dianne said. “Number one, I had to decide what genre it was, and then she gave me some direction about the opening scene. She said the writing was good, but ‘I just want to know what shelf to put it on.’”

Dianne went back to work and restructured her story. She joined the women’s fiction group of the Romance Writers of America. That’s where she discovered her stand-alone books were not formulaic as series romances tend to be. She also enjoys continuing the stories by picking up of secondary characters for their own books.

Added to her love of writing is Dianne’s love of gardening. Her blog, “BloominThyme,” stems from the idea that a woman will bloom in her own sweet time, a theme she carries over to her women’s fiction. “You can’t rush it, and you can’t compare yourself to others because we’re all individuals,” Dianne said. “I know what I like to read, and I have to have happily ever after in books. Otherwise, I have no reason to read it.”

When the path to traditional publishing didn’t work, Dianne once again created her own path with independent publishing. Her books were well received, and after moving from the more sensual romances to writing mystery adventures, her teenage daughter is now her beta reader.

Her latest venture is the children’s book, Show Me the Green, which she is currently promoting. The book was recently selected as a finalist in the “2015 USA Best Book Awards for Children’s Fiction.” Diane works as a volunteer gardener at her children’s school, and the book reflects her interactions with the students.

Check out her website, www.diannevenetta.com or get any of her books at online retailers and the local Books-a-Million.

PHOTO: Fred Lopez