PEMBROKE — Diane Denton’s love for writing goes back a very long way, when at the age of 6 she wrote her mother a poem for Thanksgiving.
The town of Pembroke resident recently released her second novel, “To A Strange Somewhere Fled,†and while it is a sequel to “A House Near Luccoli,†it is a good stand-alone read, Denton said.
Denton’s writing style was influenced by a dream-fulfilled semester at Wroxten College, England, during which time she married an Englishman and stayed in the United Kingdom for 16 years.
She lived in a yellow-stoned village with thatched cottages, a duck pond and 12th century church and abbey-turned-Jacobean manor house.
“Living in the beautiful hills, woods and fields of the Oxfordshire countryside with all its colorful characters turned out to be a life-changing experience which resonates in my personal and professional endeavors today,†Denton said.
In both her books, Denton has blended the fictional character Donatella with real-life historical figures of the 1680s at Wroxton Abbey, Roger and Francis North. In “To A Strange Somewhere Fled,†Denton continues her story of the imaginary Donatella from her time in Italy with the Baroque composer Alessandro Stradella to Oxfordshire.
“I first became enamored with Stradella several years ago while listening to a classical station on the car radio, which happened to be playing a song by Stradella,†Denton said.
The music was so captivating, Denton began researching the composer, who became the subject of her first novel.
“I hardly expected my journey through the writing of the first novel to direct me back to Wroxton, but when I was considering a sequel taking my female protagonist to England, it seemed the perfect and only setting for it,†Denton said.
Both her books are available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble in paperback and E-book editions.
Denton lives with her mother June DiGiacomo, who shares a love of reading with her daughter.
“My mother is also my beta reader and a great encourager,†Denton said.
Denton works for the town of Pembroke, which leaves weekends to do most of her writing. She is currently working on a collection of novellas about English writers, Anne Bronte, Christina Rossetti and Mary Webb.
