Today we’d like to introduce you to J. Dianne Dotson. She shares her story with us below:
J. Dianne Dotson dreamed up other worlds and their characters as a child in the 1980s in East Tennessee. She formed her own neighborhood astronomy club before age 10 to educate her friends about the universe. In addition to writing stories, she drew and painted her characters, designed their outrageous space fashions, and created travel guides and glossaries for the worlds she invented. As an adult, Dianne earned a degree in ecology and evolutionary biology and spent several years working in research. She published Heliopause: The Questrison Saga®: Book One (2018) and its sequels Ephemeris: The Questrison Saga®: Book Two (2019), Accretion: The Questrison Saga®: Book Three (2020) and her last novel in the saga, Luminiferous: The Questrison Saga®: Book Four (June 2021). Dianne is also a science writer, content writer and manager, short story writer, watercolorist, and illustrator. She lives with her family in Southern California.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The road to publication of a series I began as a teen in the 1980s is a long and winding one. The first challenge was getting past the many rewrites as both I and my writing matured. The second and even greater challenge? Taking the steps to get published. I knew I had a distinct series to put on the page. I had a particular vision and years of world-building to flesh everything out. So I thought from the beginning I would likely self-publish The Questrison Saga®.
After being urged to try and go the traditional publishing route and having full manuscript requests from agents, I ultimately decided that the story would be tinkered with too much by a literary agent and a publishing editor. Given the impressive slate of self-publishing options, including worldwide distribution and the ability to place my books in physical bookstores, I felt confident in my choice.
This was the right decision. But no one tells you just how challenging it is to be the writer, publisher, producer, and director of design and marketing. It’s not for everyone, but I’m glad I did it. Hiring professionals to edit and design your self-published works is key to making a product that sits proudly on a shelf next to any major publishing house’s work.
For future works, I will be less attached to the IP, and I plan to submit those to literary agents for consideration.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am both a science fiction and fantasy author as well as science writer. I am also an artist. I am proud of my ability to tie all of these aspects of creativity and career together to make stories and art that are fully fleshed out. I am most proud of my tenacity for sticking to my plan of bringing The Questrison Saga® to life after decades of building the worlds and characters within those books.
I am also proud that I chose science for my education.
As for setting myself apart, I think I am highly adaptable and stubborn. When I come up with an idea, I do my research, and I see it through to fruition.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
My favorite childhood memory is hard to choose, but perhaps it is skywatching at night with my late father. He taught me many things about the Universe and nature.
Pricing:
- Heliopause: The Questrison Saga®: Book One – $13.99 paperback, $9.99 ebook
- Ephemeris: The Questrison Saga®: Book Two – $14.99 paperback, $9.99 ebook
- Accretion: The Questrison Saga®: Book Three – $13.99 paperback, $9.99 ebook
- Luminiferous: The Questrison Saga®: Book Four – $15.99 paperback, $9.99 ebook
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jdiannedotson.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/jdiannedotson
- Facebook: Facebook.com/jdiannedotsonwriter
- Twitter: twitter.com/jdiannedotson
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/JDianneDotson
- Other: https://jdiannedotson.medium.com
Image Credits:
J. Dianne Dotson Leea Gorell Tina Wilson
