ABOUT
Hi, I’m Diana! I write young adult science fiction and fantasy books under the pen name D.L. Williams. At least that's what I think I'm doing.
Anyway, welcome to my website! I like to keep things pretty simple, so I won't be giving you a super long, drawn out biography, but I will tell you that I’ve loved reading and writing for as long as I’ve been able to do both and I started both pretty early. I was my grandmother’s only grandchild for years and, as a result, I could read, write and even do basic math by the time I started kindergarten.
I like to tell people that I won my very first writing award in the second grade when my illustrated picture book about my pony, Goldie, came in first place in Main Road Elementary School’s annual writing contest staged by Mrs. Rudolph, the school’s librarian. The library was my favorite place in the whole school and Mrs. Rudolph was my favorite person. My book was several pages of yellow construction paper I’d stapled together and filled with stick drawn figures of me and my pony with a short story about a day in our lives. It was placed on the top of one of the cases, the first one you’d see when you entered the library, and displayed for an entire month. My little heart swelled with pride every single time I saw it.
I never thought I could make a living with my writing, so I tried a number of different things before returning to my first love, but I eventually learned that writers go by many names, including communications professional which is the title I usually carry. Back in 2012, I returned to school with the goal of improving my writing and received a Master’s in Journalism & Public Affairs from American University. In 2013, I was selected as a fellow for the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association Student Journalism Project. Since then, my writing has appeared in UVA Today and in the News Virginian (my local paper) as well as a countless number of social media posts I’ve crafted for the many brands I’ve represented over the years.
From January of 2016 until the show’s run ended in 2020, I was the head of marketing for BackStory the American History podcast. BackStory was in the top 1% of all Apple podcasts. Thanks to my communications and audience building strategies, BackStory earned hundreds of media clips and recognitions as one of the best history podcasts in publications like the New York Times, The Guardian and Buzzfeed. And even though the show ended more than a year ago, again thanks to my efforts, it still garners earned media coverage and came in at #7 on Popular Mechanics’ list "The 24 Best Podcasts for Every History Fan" in August of 2021. StoryCorps' One Small Step project, VPM and Tradeoffs podcast are current/past clients.
On the personal side of things, I've been married to my high school sweetheart for 25 (26 in 2022!) years. We have two sons, two dogs and an ornery cat I found as a kitten outside the house one day. I swore I was going to take him to the shelter. Obviously that did not happen.
"Alora Factor: Invasion of the Realm Jumpers" is my debut novel and it's the first in a series. It's officially coming out in August 2022 and you can find it on the "Items" page! There are more books coming - both standalones and another series - and I'll add them to this site as they get published. In the meantime, learn more about Alora and her friends by exploring the "Books" page on this website.
Oh, one more thing: I really hate social media. I know, ironic for a person who manages it professionally, but that’s actually part of the reason why. So, while you'll find links to my social platforms on this site, you'll rarely find me there. But I’m really excited to connect with you via my app or on my mailing list.
