Guest Post (and a Giveaway!): DiAnn Mills & Airborne

Delighted as always to have DiAnn Mills stop by the blog! – today we’re looking at her new book Airborne & she’s sharing how writing fiction teaches her about marriage. A topic I’m particularly interested in as hubby & I just celebrated our 20th anniversary last week!

AIRBORNE
GENRE: Inspirational Romantic Suspense
PUBLISHER: Tyndale House
RELEASE DATE: April 28, 2020 (ebook) / Sept 8, 2020 (print)
PAGES: 384

Heather Lawrence’s long-awaited vacation to Salzburg wasn’t supposed to go like this. Mere hours into the transatlantic flight, the Houston FBI agent is awakened when passengers begin exhibiting horrific symptoms of an unknown infection. As the virus quickly spreads and dozens of passengers fall ill, Heather fears she’s witnessing an epidemic similar to ones her estranged husband studies for a living—but this airborne contagion may have been deliberately released.

While Heather remains quarantined with other survivors, she works with her FBI colleagues to identify the person behind this attack. The prime suspect? Dr. Chad Lawrence, an expert in his field . . . and Heather’s husband. The Lawrences’ marriage has been on the rocks since Chad announced his career took precedence over his wife and future family and moved out.

As more victims fall prey days after the initial outbreak, time’s running out to hunt down the killer, one who may be closer to the victims than anyone ever expected.

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What Writing Fiction Teaches Me about Marriage

by DiAnn Mills, author of Airborne

Writing fiction demands a lot of my attention, but I love every minute of the process. Over the years, I’ve discovered my dedication to creating quality stories has taught me a lot about marriage.

Take a look. You may find a little help and humor for your writing—and your marriage.

Priorities

God comes first no matter what I do. Before I turn on my computer, I turn to God’s Word. I can’t expect to write quality stories that honor Him if I don’t put our relationship at the top of the list.

The same principle applies to my marriage. My relationship with my husband comes before my writing. This means

• God
• Husband (and family)
• Writing

Patience and Understanding

Writing fiction can take a toll on my patience. Sometimes characters won’t cooperate. Plotting rolls to a standstill. Dialogue sounds like talking heads instead of mirroring real people. Emotion isn’t realistic. Sometimes I need rest or time away from the project.

Marriage requires a tenacious attitude. Multiple factors can contribute to impatience, which results in irritability and frustration. A loving spouse is sensitive to the needs of the other. Physical, mental, and spiritual demands often cause problems when patience is cast aside. Sometimes my husband and I need quality time together away from the pressures of work.

Commitment

I’m committed to writing quality stories. My goals are to entertain, inspire, and encourage readers. For me to meet those aspirations, I must spend time daily educating myself in the craft and pushing myself to be a better writer. To grow lax in my commitment translates to a weak story that no one wants to read.

A commitment to marriage requires using the tools of respect, responsibility, faithfulness, vow honoring, and a daily renewal to live a God-honoring marriage. Each partner accepts the art of giving rather than taking. Marriage is not a fifty-fifty agreement but a 100 percent commitment.

Communication

Writing fiction is communicating through the written word. The art of storytelling involves choosing the right character for the right purpose in the right story. If my reader is lost and confused, then our writer/reader relationship is damaged or destroyed.

Marriage requires open communication to not only express emotion but to resolve differences. If my husband and I refuse to discuss an issue, our relationship suffers. It’s easy to show love but not always easy to confront differences of opinion.

Edits and Rewrites

Editing a story is the hard work of making my best better. It takes all of the items listed above. Correcting, condensing, and modifying a manuscript aren’t easy, and often the task has to be repeated. But it’s necessary. No writer wants an editor to discover typos, plot holes, grammar issues, inconsistencies, and character flaws.

When I’m asked to do a rewrite, I moan, groan, and complain. This means I’ve failed in one or more aspects of writing the story, and no writer wants that. The process is mind and heart consuming, but it does take the project from ho-hum to I-love-this-story.

A marriage rewrite is not a divorce, but it is an admittance of letting the relationship suffer. We want an amazing marriage, but we have to strive for it. All the time. Love for each other and tenacity keep the couple happy and together.

Publication

Nothing is as exciting as seeing my name on a book cover. Yes, it’s a bit of an ego boost. But it’s also a sense of achievement that requires a dose of humility. I didn’t make this happen; God and the amazing team at my publishing house worked in various areas to see the book to completion. I’m proud to be a part of a team that wants to exceed reader expectations.

Marriage is a public display of a couple who are committed to love each other. It’s also a sense of achievement in today’s world when relationships fall apart too easily, and families are shattered. I’m proud of my relationship with my loving husband that honors and glorifies God.

DiAnn Mills is a bestselling author who believes her readers should expect an adventure. She creates action-packed, suspense-filled novels to thrill readers. Her latest novel, Airborne, releases from Tyndale House Publishers in September 2020. DiAnn’s titles have appeared on the CBA and ECPA bestseller lists; won two Christy Awards; and been finalists for the RITA, Daphne du Maurier, Inspirational Reader’s Choice, and Carol Award contests. Firewall, the first book in her FBI: Houston series, was listed by Library Journal as one of the best Christian fiction books of 2014. Connect with DiAnn at diannmills.com

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Tyndale House is offering a print copy of Airborne to one of my readers! (US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.) This giveaway is subject to Reading Is My SuperPower’s giveaway policies which can be found here. Enter via the Rafflecopter form below.

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What about you? What makes you want to read Airborne by DiAnn Mills? What did you like most about her article?