Diane Stuckart - A Writer By Any Other Name

Whether she’s writing historical romance under the pen name Alexa Smart, cozy mysteries as Ali Brandon or Anna Gerard, or historical mystery and short fiction under her real name, Loxahatchee author Diane A. S. Stuckart has created a body of work that includes 16 published novels and has earned her the title of New York Times Bestselling Author.  
 

Stuckart, a native Texan, earned her BA in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma, and though she never worked as a journalist, she always had a knack for writing. “I had an active fantasy life going on in my head since I was a little kid,” she says. “So I figured, why not give it a shot?” While in college, she started writing a historical romance as a project for a novel writing class. She rewrote it over the years until it eventually became her first novel, Masquerade –  a story she describes as “set in New Orleans with plenty of swordfights and gunplay and voodoo and mistaken identities.” This was followed by four more historical romances written under the pseudonyms Anna Gerard and Alexa Smart. 

Next, Stuckart wrote a 3-book historical mystery set in the 15^th century with Leonardo DaVinci cast as a sleuth. The first book in the series, The Queen’s Gambit, received a starred review from Publisher’s Weekly. Portrait of a Lady, the second book, won the silver medal in the Florida Book Awards. She then moved into writing cozy mysteries – the Black Cat Bookshop Mysteries (written as Ali Brandon) and The Tarot Cats Mysteries –two series featuring highly unusual feline protagonists Stuckart describes as “written as real cats, not just furry people who meow.”  A Novel Way to Die (a Black Cat Bookshop mystery) made the New York Times Bestseller list, and Stuckart recently won a Certificate of Excellence from the Cat Writers Association for Fool’s Moon, the first in the Tarot Cats mystery series.

Stuckart’s latest book, Peach Clobbered (written as Anna Gerard), is the first in a new mystery series – the Georgia B&B Mysteries (scheduled for release in July.) Praised by Kirkus Review as “Filled with Southern charm and enough ditzy characters to keep readers guessing and laughing,” Peach Clobbered is set in a Bed and Breakfast located in a fictional town outside Savannah. “The B&B series has been on my mental back burner for years,” Stuckart says. “I wanted to create a town similar to the small East Texas towns where I liked to go on weekends to antique or look at historic houses. And I always fantasized about running a B&B, so this series would let me indulge that dream without having to actually do the hard work.” Stuckart admits that she shares a lot of qualities with Nina Fleet, her Georgia B&B protagonist. “She’s pretty much me, if I were single – though she’s younger and thinner. She’s goal-oriented, a bit sassy, loves her pup, Mattie, and isn’t afraid to take charge when she needs to.” The dog is based on the real-life Mattie, Stuckart’s late Australian Shepherd. Stuckart is currently at work on book two in the  series – Peachy Scream, due out next summer.

Stuckart hopes her cozy mysteries will give readers a break from the stresses and problems of everyday life. “I think everyone agrees that it’s a pretty tough world out there right now,” she says. “I want to give my readers a kinder, gentler place where they can spend a few hours with likeable characters and interesting situations.” But this doesn’t mean her stories are lacking in excitement and intrigue. “My books feature amateur sleuths, and though they might have a bit of humor or fantasy, they’re very serious when it comes to murder,” she explains. “While solving the mystery is the major focus, I also concentrate on the relationships between my sleuths and their friends and community. When readers finish one of my stories, they know that justice will have been served and the good guys (and gals…and cats) will have learned and grown from whatever situation they found themselves in.” 

And finally, why all the pseudonyms? Stuckart explains it this way. “My original pseudonym, Alexa Smart, is my middle and maiden name. When I first started writing historical fiction, I wanted something on the book covers with a bit more flair, which is why I opted to go with that. Anna Gerard, a variation of DiANE and my husband’s first name, Gerard, was originally a one-shot pseudonym. When I moved to mystery, I went with my real name again. But I’m also Ali (short for Alexa) Brandon for my Black Cat mysteries because my editors felt it would be confusing writing both historical and cozy cat mysteries under the same name. And now, so as not to confuse readers of my Tarot Cat mysteries, Anna Gerard will be making a return appearance as author of the Georgia B&B mysteries. A bit confusing, I know – but that’s the writing biz!”

For more information, visit the author’s website: www.georgiabbmysteries.com or Facebook page: www.facebook.com/blackcatmysteries. Follow on  Twitter: @dianestuckart