BIO

As a child, Diane O’Brien Kelly aspired to write songs for famous rock stars and filled numerous spiral notebooks with inspired lyrics during her adolescent years. Years later, while a student at the University of Texas, she interned in the Texas Governor’s office where she was responsible for responding to the often incoherent and bizarre correspondence sent to the state’s chief executive. It was there she began writing fiction, including such notable phrases as “The Governor deeply regrets that the trash collectors crushed your prize petunias and appreciates you sharing this important concern.”

After earning accounting and law degrees, Diane spent several years at an international accounting firm, where she had the pleasure of working with a partner later convicted of tax shelter fraud. She also served as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Texas under an Attorney General convicted for criminal activity relating to the settlement of the tobacco lawsuits. With her employers repeatedly landing themselves in jail, Diane decided self-employment might be a good idea. At the same time, she realized she could not fulfill her creative needs as a tax advisor lest she herself end up in an orange jumpsuit, looking forward to her next conjugal visit. The latent writer in her resurfaced, this time focusing on novels instead of music lyrics or correspondence.

Diane writes entertaining women's fiction, young adult novels, and humor pieces, as well as an occasional article on business issues or taxation when she’s feeling exceptionally boring. Her work has been published in Writer’s Digest Yearbook 2007, Byline magazine, True Love magazine, the Romance Writers Report, and numerous regional and local publications. She serves as a tax columnist for the international writers organization Novelists Inc. Diane offers tax tips for both writers and normal people alike on the “Tax Tidbits” page of her website. She publishes a new humor piece each month on her website’s “Blarney” page. Diane teaches a writer's workshop and speaks on taxation for writers. She is a member of Romance Writers of America and Dallas Area Romance Authors. She is also a proud alumnus of her local Citizens Police Academy and active with her local Friends of the Library group.

Diane lives in Texas with her family and enough cats and dogs to violate several city ordinances.