ABOUT

Hi, I’m Charlene Bell Dietz. I didn’t expect to become an author, but I am. I thought when I retired and moved out of the city into the mountains of central New Mexico, I’d draw, paint, and sculpt. But what if a person has stories to tell?copy1

I did, so I wrote, and wrote, and revised, and revised, and listened to editors, and revised some more until I had a book.

KIRKUS REVIEWS liked The Flapper, the Scientist, and the Saboteur: A Novel (Inkydance Book Club Collection) so they gave it a star. “Dietz is a talented writer. Readers will settle in for the standard mystery, but this story becomes much more complicated than a simple whodunit . . . it delightfully turns into serious literature.”

Naturally, after that I couldn’t quit writing. I had to tell more stories.

KIRKUS REVIEWS also gave my second book a star, The Flapper, the Impostor, and the Stalker: A Novel (Inkydance Book Club Collection) “Madcap characters proliferate. Some are good and protective, but others are as dangerous as rattlesnakes. . . A fast-paced Historical novel that is both scary and witty, a wonderful combination.”

Then Kirkus Reviews named both books to their Best Books of 2018. Wow!  What a great surprise.

In my before author life, I traveled the country as an educational consultant, was a public school administrator, taught many grades, including college graduate programs, and became a dedicated volunteer at the Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute and for the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science.  NMMNHS is a really cool place to work because as a member of their Fossil Posse we searched, found, and excavated dinosaurs.

Isn’t it interesting how life can go places you didn’t expect?   Since then I’ve written two more books, The Scientist, the Psychic, and the Nut and The Spinster, the Rebel, and the Governor. This last book will be out in the fall of 2022.

Have you ever started out thinking you’ll do one thing and end up doing something totally different?

Contact me: Leave a message here, or on Facebook, or email me at: chardietzpen@gmail.com