Diane Merrill Wigginton

Diane loves to get lost in the settings and characters she creates and hopes the reader will too. Writing historical fiction is like painting a picture, and when you weave in some paranormal action, adventure, and romance, it’s a beautiful result that transports the writer and reader to another place and time. Diane was born in Riverside, California in March 1963 and named Diane Michelle Brewer, but because of life and changes that are too lengthy to explain, her name has evolved and is legally Diane Merrill Wigginton. She had one brother, David, thirteen months older than her, and they were inseparable as children. They were so close that they even developed their own language. Diane has always been very determined, but it took her a long time to conclude that she wanted to take her desire of writing seriously. “I think that deep down I knew that I always wanted to write, but I am like a lot of people out there, and I worried that I wasn’t good enough.” But it turns out that she was good enough and she began writing at the tender age of 50. Her family moved to San Diego near the end of 1970, where she grew up in the newly developed community of Mira Mesa. Spending portions of her summers each year in the Burly, Idaho area with my mother’s parents, Florence and Orval Merrill. Her summers were magical. That’s where she developed a love of animals and a respect for the land. During this time on the farm riding horses, herding cattle, and taming wild kittens, she developed a love of storytelling and dreamed that one day she would become a published author and share her stories with the world. Having spent her entire life in California, her husband Dave and she made the bold move from Sacramento, California to Kalispell, Montana to retire in February 2018. Now she can pursue her passion for writing books full-time and hanging out with her grandchildren. “I am thrilled and elated to be doing what I love.” She is the mother of three, a daughter and two sons, and a stepmother to three wonderful young men. She enjoys her role as a grandmother and currently has eleven beautiful grandkids. “Life is very good in Montana. The pace is much slower and things seem simpler these days. I play with grandkids, talk with my kids, and hang out with my husband, and friends, and of course, I write. What could be better than that?”