Amazon Best Seller By Diana Dirkby, a writer with schizophrenia
Welcome To The Home Page Of Diana Dirkby -Writer
Diana Dirkby is the Pen Name of Paula Tretkoff - Mathematician
I am Diana Dirkby, a writer with schizophrenia. My mother also lived with schizophrenia. As a result of my experiences with schizophrenia, I wrote my debut novel The Overlife, A Tale of Schizophrenia (The Overlife). The Overlife, though fiction, was closely shaped by our mental illness. Despite the common diagnosis, we experienced our illness differently, for the most part. For that reason, there are two tales of schizophrenia in the book, firstly my mother’s and secondly, my own.
After that, I wrote a second novel Three Kidnapped, Three Siblings, Three Furies (Three Siblings), whose heroine is a writer with schizophrenia. Instead of her schizophrenia being the focus, it’s her expertise in the Greek Myths that is key. It is just as important to realize that she writes Greek myth-inspired content for college. By comparison, her well-managed schizophrenia does not drive the plot. Rather, her expertise in Greek myths is vital to the story. In summary, we see that a writer with schizophrenia is primarily a writer.
Specifically, as a theme found in the two books: a diagnosis of schizphrenia does not completely define our heroines’ identity. In a similar fashion their creative work can contain many themes outside mental illness
The fiction genre
Firstly, I have told you that both my books, The Overlife and Three Siblings are closely inspired by what I have personally experienced. Therefore, you may well ask the question: Why did I choose that fiction genre for both novels, and not memoir. After all, people discussing severe challenges their family has experienced often do so.
Take the case of The Overlife, which most closely aligns with my reality as a writer with schizophrenia, whose mother had the same diagnosis. Nevertheless, it is a fiction novel.
By contrast, Three Siblings spreads some of my family experiences over several characters and is in the horror/thriller genre.
A point often overlooked is that fiction does not mean a lie, far from that. Rather, it is a genre that gives you artistic freedom. For example, you can leave out certain characters from your real life. Then again, it enables you to introduce some fictitious characters.
In the long run, the fiction genre enabled me to get closer to the truth about my life as a writer with schizphrenia and a troubled childhood.
Even more, it enabled me to tell a good story in both books. As Walter Mosley says, whatever you write should tell a story.
Diana Dirkby: About me
Firstly, I was a research mathematician and university mathematics professor for many years. At that time, I published under my real name, Paula Tretkoff. As part of my career, I worked in Australia, England, France, and the USA. Presently, I am retired from university. Indeed, I am turning my attention to fiction novel writing under my pen name, Diana Dirkby. Because I have many publications under Tretkoff, I chose to use the pen name Diana Dirkby for my fiction writing. For example, this step was made to avoid confusion with my mathematical publications. Broadly speaking, my novels are about families and individuals facing a significant problem and how they cope and change.
Amazon Best Seller by a writer with schizophrenia
Best Seller in parenting hyperactive children & children with disabilities
Three Kidnapped, Three Siblings, Three Furies
Three Kidnapped
Firstly, the town of Vrayboro is shaken by the sudden disappearance of three teenagers: Mary Bell, Fred McCarthy, and Sebastian Ward. Subsequently the suspense grows as cryptic notes, one invoking the Greek Myths, from the kidnappers appear on the teens’ parents’ doorsteps, quickly turning to horror. At this point, Isabel Morse, an author with schizophrenia, enters. Significantly, Isabel is an expert in Greek myths. In fact, she is the only one in Vrayboro able to decode these mysterious notes.
Three Siblings
Secondly, the ransom note invoking the Greek Myths demands that the siblings of the kidnapped teens confess hidden secrets about their families’ complex relationships. More precisely, the kidnappers want a Catholic Priest, Father Lewis and Isabel Morse to organize the confessions. Undeniably, the request for such confessions is a complete mystery. Surprisingly, Isabel Morse, a renowned scholar of Greek mythology and an author with schizophrenia, emerges as the story’s heroine.
Three Furies
Thirdly, after weeks of suspense and horror, the kidnappers identify themselves.Explicitly they claim to be the Three Furies from Greek mythology. Markedly, in that mythology, they punish family wrongs in the Greek Myths. Undeniably, unwrapping the sibling confessions reveals hidden family secrets. Thereupon the question arises: Who is to blame—the siblings, the kidnapped teens, or their parents? Isabel Morse, a writer with schizophrenia holds the key to the horror.
Video trailers about The Overlife
Awards for The Overlife
The Overlife, A Tale of Schizophrenia won a 2024 International Impact Book Award. It’s still available for $9.99 or the equivalent in credits as a Kindle book. It’s currently on Kindle Unlimited, so if you are a subscriber, you can read it for free.