MaryAnn Diorio Books

"Heart-Mending Fiction"

Women's Fiction / Romance / Romantic Suspense /
Fiction for Children

OCTOBER 2022 Newsletter

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ABOUT MARYANN

MaryAnn Diorio writes women’s fiction from a small, quaint, Victorian town in southern New Jersey where neighbors still stop to chat while walking their dogs, houses still sport wide, wrap-around porches, and the charming downtown still finds kids licking lollipops and old married folks holding hands. A true Jersey girl, MaryAnn is a big fan of Jersey diners, Jersey tomatoes, and the Jersey shore.

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IN THIS ISSUE  . . . 

__A Word in Due Season
__On the Homefront
__October Giveaway
__Coming Soon
__My Fiction
__The Inside Story: In Black and White, Part 2
__Exciting Announcement
__My Happy Places
__Learn How to Write a Story
__My New Product Line
__Join the Diorio Champions
__Your Turn
__Recipe Rack

A WORD IN DUE SEASON

by MaryAnn Diorio, PhD


Dear ,

Does it seem to you as though each year goes by faster than the previous one? There may be something to this feeling. Scientists have discovered that the earth is spinning faster on its axis, shortening the length of days. 

In Matthew 24: 22 we read this: "In fact, unless that time of calamity is shortened, not a single person will survive. But it will be shortened for the sake of God’s chosen ones." I used to think that this passage meant that God would put an end to trouble in the last days sooner rather than later. But another interpretation for this verse is that the actual length of each day will grow shorter.

That is what seems to be happening now scientifically. We are definitely in the last days, and calamities abound. Could it be that God, in His great mercy, is shortening our 24-hour day to spare His saints from worse suffering? Possibly.

Regardless of the length of a day--or of our own days--let us continue to preach the Gospel as we look in joyous expectation for the glorious appearing of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

Maranatha! Come soon, Lord Jesus! 


Love and Blessings,

MaryAnn

ON THE HOMEFRONT . . .

September was back-to-homeschool month for my grandchildren. A highlight was my little grandson who, at four years of age, gave his first presentation before a group of his classmates. True to form, he approached the front of the classroom wearing only one shoe. Obviously, he does not sit on ceremony nor care what people think! :)

OCTOBER GIVEAWAY . . . 

This month's giveaway is a podcast titled "Life and Family Lessons with Drs. MaryAnn and Dominic Diorio." This interview of my husband and me was conducted by Dr. Wendell and Tracy Murray, very special friends of ours and founders of Family Leadership Ministries. 

Here is the link to the podcast:

https://www.buzzsprout.com/1597189/11122010

I trust that it will bless you.

COMING SOON . . .

Lord willing, my latest novel, The Captain and Mrs. Vye, will be released on December 1st of this year.

The Captain and Mrs.Vye is a work of historical fiction set in Cape May, New Jersey, in 1873. It is the story of a middle-aged widow who discovers that her husband has left her homeless and penniless. 

Here is an excerpt from the story:

Jeremiah sighed and closed his eyes, the burdens of life threatening to overwhelm him. His mind drifted back to his beloved Anna Mae. When she was alive, he could share his burdens with her, and they became lighter. Anna Mae had been the light of his life. How eagerly they'd awaited their firstborn child after four years of marriage! Jeremiah had planned his fishing trips around her due date, intending to be home for his child's birth. But a premature delivery had disrupted his plans and had left him a childless widower.

He blinked back the stinging tears that never failed to rise upon his remembrance of her. What would their lives have been like had she lived? Had their baby lived? Their child would now be seven years old. Had the baby been a girl or a boy? He swallowed hard. He would never know. At least, not on this earth.

He shook his head and lassoed his mind. Thinking about something that could never be would only torment him. Perhaps that was the reason the Good Book instructed him to forget what lay behind and to press forward.

Press forward. Yes, that's what he must do. But there was a difference between pressing forward and moving forward. The former required courage, strength, persistence. The latter required nothing but a passive drifting along with the flow of life. Which would he choose? The noble way or the cowardly way?

 

The Captain and Mrs. Vye will soon be on pre-order. Meanwhile, if you haven't read my other novels. I encourage you to do so now. Just click on the cover images of the books listed below that you would like to purchase. I know you will be blessed by these stories from God's heart to yours. 

MY FICTION . . . 

HUGE SALE! The Italian Chronicles Trilogy is on sale now on Amazon at a 73% discount. 

Regular price for the print format is $35.97. Sale price is $9.69.

Regular price for the e-book format is $23.97. Sale price is $9.69.

Now is the time to grab a copy for yourself and extra copies for your gift-giving occasions. Amazon could pull this offer at any time.

To purchase, click on the cover image below:

The Italian Chronicles

PRINT FORMAT

E-BOOK FORMAT

THE INSIDE STORY . . .

(For Part 1, read last month's newsletter.)

Part 2

Back then, legal options were few for rebuttal. So, I took my degrees and ended up accepting a job stuffing envelope at a local library.

And I forgave the superintendent.

I began to have a new appreciation for African-Americans and for the discrimination they had suffered. Unbeknown to me, God was preparing me to write In Black and White many years later.

Time passed. I had children, and those children grew up. Then, my older daughter announced that she and her husband were adopting a baby. A black baby! My heart leapt with joy!  Shortly thereafter, my daughter placed a beautiful African-American baby in my arms, and my heart was stolen forever!

Some of the pieces of my story puzzle were coming together. My African-American granddaughter was a huge piece of that puzzle. I began to learn the African-American culture.

I began to understand prejudice in a new way as people made unwittingly hurtful comments when we were out in public. I began to notice the undercurrent of racism still prevalent in our society. Assumptions abounded. Misunderstandings surfaced. Opportunities for loving clarification ensued.

As I watched my daughter learn how to braid my granddaughter's beautiful thick hair into lovely cornrows, I gained a new appreciation for the special camaraderie that existed among black women. They were eager to teach my daughter their traditional hairstyling techniques, and they warmly encouraged her in her efforts.

Since that initial start on my novel in the 90s, nearly twenty years transpired, during which time I wrote three other novels, two novellas, several short stories, and several non-fiction books and articles. Then, at the beginning of 2018, I heard the Lord's voice say to me, "It's time!"

Instantly, I knew what He meant. So, in January of 2018, I picked up the manuscript for In Black and White and resumed writing the story.

I spent weeks researching racism, and racism in the 50s, in particular. What I learned broke my heart. What I learned fueled my already passionate desire to write this book.

What I learned confirmed that In Black and White is a story for this time—and for all time. For prejudice is still alive and well. Not only regarding skin color, but also regarding ethnicity. We all see that anti-Semitism is on the rise and many people groups are still cruelly marginalized.

The writing of the story did not go easily. In fact, I wrote the book once and then, after a year of writing, I discarded what I'd written and started over again. The reason? The first book was not the story of God's heart. The second one was. It took writing the first book to discover that truth.

But the fact that I was now writing the book of God's heart did not make the writing any easier. In fact, it made it more difficult. Satan was not about to allow this book to be written without a fight.

Or more than one.

Obstacle after obstacle pounded me. Health challenges. Family challenges. Computer challenges. They came, one after another, with no respite in between.

But I persisted.

And in the end, victory came as well—as I knew it would because God was behind this book.

In Black and White is, indeed, a book of God's heart. It is also a book of my heart. And I fervently hope that, as you read it, it will become a book of your heart as well.

(First published in Suite T Blog, sponsored by Southern Writers' Magazine, October 16, 2015). 

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Copyright 2015-2022 by MaryAnn Diorio, PhD. All Rights Reserved. 

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If you liked my new Inside Story feature, be sure to let me know. I don't want to bore you with news in which you are not interested, but if you are, it would help to give me a heads-up. You can reach me at maryann@maryanndiorio.com. Thanks! :) 

EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT . . . 

I praise God to be able to announce that I am now a monthly columnist for The Write Conversation Blog. This blog, founded by Edie Melson, has been voted a winner in the Writer's Digest 101 Top Websites for Writers for the last five years in a row, since 2017. I am deeply honored to be a regular contributor.

If you are a writer, I strongly encourage you to subscribe to this blog. It is truly one of the best for writers.

The Write Conversation

MY HAPPY PLACES . . . 

Happy Places are places in my home or in my travels that make me happy. Here are two for this month:

1) My backyard garden
2) My art studio

Send me pictures of your Happy Places, and I will post them in a future newsletter! :)

 

FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM!

Learn how to write a story . . . 

If you ever wanted to learn how to write a story, now is your big opportunity!

As a student at The MaryAnn Diorio School of Fiction Writing, you can choose from three courses to put you on the road to creating compelling stories that touch the heart.

__5-Week Fiction Writing Mini-Course

__Writing Fiction for Children

__Writing Fiction in Deep POV


MY NEW PRODUCT LINE . . . 

Check out my new line of notebooks with covers featuring my art and photography.

You will find lined notebooks and blank sketchbooks. Just go to the link below:

MaryAnn's Original Notebook Designs

You will find a wide variety of notebooks from which to choose.  

JOIN THE DIORIO CHAMPIONS!

If you subscribe to this newsletter, then you are eligible to join my private Facebook Group called THE DIORIO CHAMPIONS! It is a place of fun, fellowship, and faith where you are loved and accepted for who you are and encouraged to grow in love for Christ and for one another.

If you would like to join the Diorio Champions, write to me at drmaryann@maryanndiorio.com.

I look forward to welcoming you as a new Champion! :)

YOUR TURN . . . 

A writer is nothing without a reader. As a writer, I need your input. Please share with me any ideas you have to improve this newsletter. What new sections would you like to see? What sections are of no interest to you? What are your favorite sections?

Please don't be shy! I am teachable, and I welcome your comments. As Scripture says, "Iron sharpens iron" (Proverbs 27: 17).

Please send your comments and suggestions to me at maryann@maryanndiorio.com. 
I will review every single one in a timely manner and get back to you.

Thanks and Blessings!

FOLLOW ME ON GOODREADS!

The Recipe Rack . . . 

Photo by Gina Pope

 

MaryAnn's Crockpot Chicken Delight
(From the Kitchen of MaryAnn Diorio)

Ingredients:

__6 to 8 Chicken Thighs, boneless and skinless

__1 to 2 Carrots, peeled and sliced
__1 to 2 Stalks Celery, sliced or diced

__1/2 Red or White Onion, sliced or diced

__1 cup Arborio Rice (or rice of choice)

__1 can Peas (I used the little baby peas, but any size will do.)

__1 to 2 containers Chicken Broth

__1/2 teaspoon Salt (You can add pepper if you like.)

 

Instructions:

__Place chicken thighs at bottom of crockpot.

__Add carrots, celery, onion. peas, and rice.

__Add chicken broth.

__Sprinkle with salt (and pepper, if desired).

__Cook in crockpot at LOW setting for about 9 hours. If chicken is frozen, cook at least one hour longer. You can change setting to high for the last hour to speed up the cooking.

 

NOTE 1: Keep an eye on the crockpot and stir two or three times while cooking.

NOTE 2: You will find that as the rice cooks, the recipe becomes creamier because of the rice.

Enjoy!

Let's stay in touch . . . 

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Copyright 2000-2022 by MaryAnn Diorio.
All Rights Reserved.


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"You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You."

__Isaiah 26: 3 NKJV

MaryAnn Diorio Books

PO Box 1185
Merchantville, NJ 08109
United States