Diane O'Brien Kelly |
| Ruby Nickname: | Emerald Island Ruby | | Biography: |  Though she has yet to kiss the Blarney Stone, Diane O’Brien Kelly nonetheless has the gift of gab. Diane writes entertaining women’s fiction, young adult novels, and humor pieces. Diane won the 2009 Golden Heart® in the Novel with Strong Romantic Elements category. Her manuscripts have won or placed in numerous other prestigious fiction contests as well. Diane’s fiction and humor pieces have appeared in True Love Magazine, Byline Magazine, and on the Writer’s Digest website. Her humor pieces have won awards from Byline Magazine and Writer’s Digest.
A tax advisor by day, Diane combines her tax and writing skills as a columnist for NINK, the monthly publication of Novelists, Inc. Her tax articles have also appeared in Writer’s Digest Yearbook 2007, Fort Worth Business Press, Romance Writers Report, and RWA chapter newsletters.
Diane publishes a fresh humor piece each month on the “Blarney” page of her website, www.dianeobrienkelly.com. She also publishes tax tips on her “Tax Tidbits” page. Diane’s seminar “Everything You Never Wanted to Know About Taxes” is very popular with writing organizations, and is offered in both a live and online format. Diane also presents a humor workshop entitled “Good Humor: How to Effectively Use Humor to Improve Any Manuscript.”
Diane is a member of Romance Writers of America, Dallas Area Romance Authors, Yellow Rose RWA, Texas Library Association, various PTAs, and the Friends of the Library. She is also a proud graduate of the Citizens Police Academy.
Diane lives in Texas with her husband, two cute and clever kids, and enough cats and dogs to violate several city ordinances. | | Hometown: | Mansfield, Texas | | Age: | 41 | | GH Year(s) | 2009 | | Completed Manuscript(s) | Death, Taxes, and a French Manicure; Busted; Love, Luck, and Little Green Men; The Beauty and the Brain (YA); Minimum Wage (YA) | | Genre(s): | Romantic Comedy, Young Adult, Light Paranormal/Fantasy | | Started Writing: | Fall 2000 | | Day Job: | Tax Advisor | | For Fun: | Taking the dogs to the park, playing keeno with my wild ‘n crazy friends, hitting the slot machines in Vegas or Shreveport, and, of course, writing! | | Website: | http://www.dianeobrienkelly.com | | Facebook: | Diane O’Brien Kelly |
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Bloopers
By: Diane O'Brien Kelly on March 17, 2010 at 12:42 am
Filed in: blog |
An inevitable part of creating a well-crafted manuscript is, well, screwing up. Thank goodness for good critique partners! We’ve caught some real doozies in our drafts. Sure, bloopers can be a bit embarrassing. But they also keep us humble and make for a good laugh. Here’s some of my favorites:
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Guess Who?
By: Diane O'Brien Kelly on February 2, 2010 at 12:10 am
Filed in: blog |
Guess Who?
During a recent visit with my sister and her two daughters, I was reminded about the importance of good characterization.
“Play ‘Guess Who’ with us, Aunt Diane!” my niece Emily insisted, giving me her best smile.
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Year-End Tax Tips for Writers
By: Diane O'Brien Kelly on November 5, 2009 at 12:01 am
Filed in: Misc, blog |
‘Tis the Season for Year-End Tax Tips
Timing can be everything, especially when it comes to taxes. Here are some year-end tips to help you reduce your 2009 federal income taxes:
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Paper Dolls
By: Diane O'Brien Kelly on October 29, 2009 at 12:01 am
Filed in: Golden Heart, blog |
After I finaled in the Golden Heart contest, many people asked me how long I’d been writing. When I’m asked this question, my first impulse is to say “since fall of 2000,” since that was when I took my first writing class, a continuing education course at a local university. But I’m not sure that’s entirely true. [...]
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