Dianne Farb - Dreaming of Romance

If you enjoy reading a steamy romance on a hot summer day, a book by Gainesville writer Dianne Farb might be just what you have in mind. Farb (who writes under the pseudonym Rebecca Heflin) enjoys "telling stories about real, sexy romance."

Farb was introduced to romance novels at age 15 by her older sister. As much as Farb loved reading, she never seriously considered becoming a writer until a mid-life crisis caused her to change course. After graduating from the University of Florida Law School, Farb took a job as an attorney for her alma mater. In her late 40s, however, she decided that she needed a creative outlet. “I always wanted to write, but I was afraid,” she says. “I finally got up the courage and wrote my first manuscript. I submitted it to publishers and to several contests. Then I learned that it was a finalist in the Royal Palm Literary Awards.” Two weeks later, while at work, she got an email from a publisher. She was reluctant to open it, anticipating another rejection, but was thrilled to learn that her book had been accepted for publication. Unfortunately, there was no one around to share her exciting news. “I even made some phone calls but no one was home,” she recalls, “so I just danced around the office.”

Farb/Heflin’s first book, The Promise of Change, tells the story of Sarah Edwards, a divorcee experiencing her own mid-life crisis. After resigning from her job, she travels to England where she meets a handsome English earl who changes her life. INsite Magazine praised the book as “…not unlike a storyline from Austen; some pride, a little deception and plenty of romance fill these pages…" It was also named a finalist in the Wisconsin Romance Writers “Write Touch” Readers' Awards. 

The Promise of Change was followed by Rescuing Lacey, the tale of an unlikely romance between wildlife-photographer Lacey Sommers and Luke Hancock, an outdoor guide and environmentalist hired by her magazine to accompany her during an assignment in Costa Rica. Rescuing Lacey received five literary awards, including the 2013 “Shooting Star” award.

Farb’s next novel, a romantic comedy titled Dreams of Perfection, follows Darcy Butler, a romance writer with commitment phobia that prevents her from finding her Prince Charming. Winner of a 2014 Royal Palm Literary Award, it was intended to be another stand-alone novel until one of the secondary characters captured Farb’s imagination.  “Laura Armstrong was snarky, brash, so different from me and such fun to write that I wanted to get to the heart of what made her that kind of person,” Farb explains. This led to Ship of Dreams and Dreams of Her Own, the second and third books in the Dreams Come True series set in New York City. The plot of Ship of Dreams centers around Laura’s romance with a business rival while on a posh Mediterranean cruise. Dreams of her Own is the story of Darcy Butler’s assistant, Millie Stephens, a bland young woman who finds love when she finally decides to stretch her comfort zone.

This year, Farb is self-publishing the three-novella Sterling University series, set in a small, but prestigious university where the cast of characters learn that it isn’t all academic when it comes to love. Romancing Dr. Love, the first novella, tells the story of Samantha Love, a brainy psychology professor, who has based her entire career on the hypothesis that love is simply a chemical reaction. But she finds she must defend her science when she meets her antithesis in the form of a handsome, romantic literature professor, Ethan Quinn.  

In Winning Dr. Wentworth (release date June 2017,) we meet burned-out and brokenhearted mathematics professor Shelby Wentworth. Shelby returns to her hometown determined to escape the disgrace of a nasty divorce, shake off the taint of her ruined career, and start over, sans romance, but an unexpected reunion with Nash Taylor, former star quarterback and high school crush, promises to derail her plans. The third and final novella in the series, Educating Dr. Mayfield, will be available on September 6, 2017.

In addition to her writing and her day job as an attorney, Farb manages to find time for a unique philanthropic endeavor. She and husband, Ron, (who happens to be a mountain climber) started the Climb for Cancer Foundation, a non-profit that raises money through Ron’s climbs to provide support for cancer patients and their families. The name is a metaphor for rising above the challenges of the disease and overcoming obstacles that keep people from being healthy and productive.

While Farb’s life may be busy, she wants readers to rest assured that Rebecca Heflin plans to continue writing award-winning novels that will leave them with “a light heart and the knowledge that happily ever after is possible.”

For more information, visit the author’s website at www.rebeccaheflin.com