Diane Marie Brown Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Diane Marie Brown
Diane Marie Brown is a professor at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, California and is a public health professional for the Long Beach Health Department.

Diane has a BA and MPH from UCLA and her degree in fiction from USC’s Master of Professional Writing Program.

Her work has appeared in Hear Our Voices, Scary Mommy, the Audible Blog, Bomb Magazine, Women Writers, and the Daily Bruin.

Diane grew up in Stockton and lives in Long Beach, California with her husband, their four daughters, and a dog.

One of the key themes of “Black Candle Women” is truly examining how we pass things on from one generation to the next. Sometimes, these are actually tangible things. Like this family having a spell book that gets passed on through different generations and over time. It is also accumulated other things like drawings and recipes which document interesting bits and pieces of their history.

Another theme is how we pass gifts along and generational curses and stuff that we want to keep and continue which are truly a rich part of our family history. Also things which have been burdens and how we find a way to let that stuff go so we aren’t passing those challenging or difficult things and lead to a cycle of issues for our families.

Diane wanted to tell a story that was about families and about women. Her family is from Louisiana, and so she would go and visit there each and every summer with her mom so they could visit her uncle. And she was always intrigued by the story of Marie Laveau, who’s known as the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans. She just thought about if Marie had ancestors that were alive today? What would their legacy even be and would they have any of her abilities and inclinations? If she had magical skills and abilities? What might she have passed on to them? This was her inspiration for coming up with this family and then having connection to this ancestor which had a unique ability and history.

Diane hopes that people settle themselves into “Black Candle Women” and the people in it and their experiences. That is what books allow for us to do in so many ways. She also wanted to have people think about destinies and fate and that we do not have to just settle for other people’s expectations for us, and we’re able to change our destinies even if things have kinda been set up for us and put in place out of love or wanting to be successful. We must, at the end of the day, do what speaks to our own passions, hearts, and wants in our lives.

Her goal is to tell hopeful stories. She feels as though our society today is so very complex, and it can get tough to maneuver some things, particularly for younger folks. So she wants to write novels which show that, despite all of the craziness in the world and the unpredictability of things, we’re able to create lives we feel are worth living and, most importantly of all, in our relationships with other people, in our family members, and our friendships.

“Black Candle Women” is the first stand alone novel and was released in 2023. A wry and warm family drama with this magical twist about four generations of Black women, a family love curse, and the secrets that they keep from and for one another over an incredibly complicated year.

Generations of Montrose women (Augusta, Victoria, and Willow) have always lived with each other in their quaint California bungalow. They keep to themselves, never venture too far away from home, and their collection of tinctures and spells is this unspoken bond between them all. However when young Nickie Montrose brings a boy home for the very first time, their peaceful lives get thrown into disarray.

For this family has been withholding a vital secret from Nickie (Victoria’s 17 year old daughter) for all of these years now: any person that Montrose woman falls in love with is going to die. Their surprise guest forces every woman to reckon with her own past decisions and mistakes. And while new truths about this curse emerge, they are set on this collision course that dates back to 1950s New Orleans’ French Quarter, where this hidden tale in a mysterious book might just hold all of the answers they’re seeking in love and in life.

The novel was a Read with Jenna Book Club Pick as seen on the Today Show. It was also a Best Book of the Month by: Katie Couric Media, Ms. Magazine, Reader’s Digest, TODAY.com, Shondaland, AARP Sisters, BookRiot, and Goodreads.

Each of these women have their own story, which reveals to be both different, yet similar in ways that they would never guess. Each long for companionship, yet in doing so, become victims of the curse. It sets off a pattern of inheritance that plays nicely with the idea of curses and family history.

Diane’s fascinating novel offers readers a glimpse into hoodoo beliefs and practices, and her characters are charming. Her work was inspired by her research into her parents’ culture, who both grew up in New Orleans. It’s a sweepingly fashioned love story where rebellion and romance intertwine with family and fear.

The novel is poignant and propulsive, and concocts this intoxicating potion of wisdom, warmth, and wonder. Written with an eye for detail, Diane’s debut novel explores the bonds of family and the magical power of belief to transform our very lives. This is a spellbinding romp of a read which will have you asking yourself, who among us is not cursed? More importantly, just how far would you go for a chance at love?

Elegantly told and richly imagined, with enough satisfying secrets, twists, and heartaches, this is a promising debut. If you loved “Practical Magic” then you are sure to love this novel, too. She deftly portrays this insular family of women in all its complicated glory. The spiritual angle helps give this powerful family drama a magical twist that is sure to delight readers.