Big News: My new book, “Three Kidnapped, Three Siblings, Three Furies,” by Diana Dirkby, is now published as a Kindle book. It’s a steal at $4.99 (and $0.00 with enough credits.) The paperback is also available for $20 from amazon.com, and a hardback version will follow soon. Further down the line, we will do the audiobook and the screenplay versions. If you are considering these more expensive options, you may first read the Kindle book for $4.99. Remember that these differing options for presenting the book bring new features to each version. For example, the audiobooks are not narrated by me. They bring the manuscript verbally to life and provide the independent voice of the narrator. Also, you can do other things while you listen, which may be attractive for someone who likes to move when they listen or who thrives on multi-tasking. The screenplay brings us the viewpoint of the screenwriter who rewrites the book for this genre, which includes visuals and music. The already available paperback is ideal for someone who wants to “switch off” and enjoy a personal relationship between themselves and a book that is not “plugged in.”
I claim that this second book also relates to schizophrenia since it shows I can be engaged in many activities that have nothing to do with my mental illness. I am not defined solely by my diagnosis. Nor are the characters in my novels who live with a mental illness.
Back to the Kindle version or any other electronic version of the book. It is the cheapest and most convenient option. You can easily take it with you, and it costs less than most snacks on the go.
The best place to get news of my books “The Overlife, A Tale Of Schizophrenia” and “Three Kidnapped, Three Siblings, Three Furies,” and the associated Blogs and Podcasts is my new website https://dianadirkbywrites.com/ and my Instagram @dianadirkby_writings. My previous websites are obsolete. The best way to navigate https://amazon.com to reach my books is by searching for them by their title and my pen name, “Diana Dirkby,” on the https://amazon.com website. Amazon has its own web links using their ASIN number. For this book, you can go directly to its page on amazon by typing in the address bar of your web browser: https://amazon.com/dp/B0DPXW76DV.
“Three Kidnapped, Three Siblings, Three Furies” explores three families that go from prosperous to secure to just scraping by. However, as judged by the residents of their town, Vrayboro, they are all good families whose members are kind to each other.
The town of Vrayboro is shaken to its roots when one teen from each of the three families goes missing with no apparent clue relevant to their disappearance. No one can think of any reason except kidnappings for financial ransom, which is only applicable to the richest of the three families.
So, we have a thriller. Three teens have disappeared. Why? Where are they? What will bring them back?
Then, we have a horror scenario as amputated parts of the teens are delivered to their parents, parts that the kidnappers want returned after a few days. What can be done to stop the parents’ nightmare?
The final ransom note provides a portal to the kidnappers. They identify themselves as the Three Furies from the Greek Myths, who, in particular, often punish for sins committed within families. But, the kidnapped teens are not asked to confess anything. Rather, their siblings are asked to make detailed confessions of the conditions within their family. Father Lewis, the local Catholic priest, and Isabel Morse, an online classics professor specializing in Greek Myths, are asked to supervise the confessions. Isabel Morse lives with schizophrenia, but her symptoms are under control, showing that a mentally ill person can adopt many roles independent of their illness.
Now, I have given away enough spoilers. The book is also a good story, like “The Overlife.” Writing a fiction book with a strong purpose is a great goal, but it should also tell a good story.
What next in my life with schizophrenia? “The Overlife, A Tale Of Schizophrenia” is also available in audiobook, for example, for $17.46 (or $0 with credits) on the app Audible. The brilliant Wendy Morman narrates it. I am excited to share that Amazon encouraged me to make “The Overlife” into a screenplay, which is turning out to be a most fulfilling adventure and a great way to experience the book. As I mentioned, I have similar plans for “Three Kidnapped, Three Siblings, Three Furies.”
During 2025, I will also home-school myself to increase my efficacy on Social Media.
I will also begin a new fiction book project and write poems.
Happy New Year! Thanks for reading my Blog!!