Diane Vallere Books In Order

Publication Order of Style & Error Mysteries/Samantha Kidd Mystery Books

Publication Order of Mad For Mod Mystery/Madison Night Books

Chronological Order of Mad For Mod Mystery/Madison Night Books

Publication Order of Material Witness Mystery Books

Publication Order of Costume Shop Mystery Books

Publication Order of Sylvia Stryker Space Case Books

Publication Order of Mermaid Mystery Books

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Diane Vallere is a national bestselling author of the Costume Shop series and the Lefty-nominated Material Witness series. At the tender age of ten years, she had already launched her own detective agency. She has an insane love for clues, shoes, and clothes.

Diane Vallere’s Childhood

Diane Vallere’s upbringing is probably what shaped who she is now. During her seventh birthday, and while a second grader, her parents gave her a wig for a present, something that delighted her so much. In most of her growing up years, she was exposed to a variety of costumes. The costumes came in the form of inherited clothes from her great grandparent. The costumes were obviously inappropriate for everyday use but could be worn during Halloween. Sometimes these costumes were styles that had gone out of fashion, but which her parents had relegated to a box of paint clothes. And sometimes the costumes came in the form of items her mom had made. With a variety of costumes, it was easy for Vallere to play dress up. She says that she didn’t play dress up to be someone else but rather to figure out who she actually was.

As he grew older, Vallere began to develop her unique sense of style. To her, clothes other people would dismiss as costumey were cool and fashionable. And soon, her art blossomed and became an identity.

Later Life

In 2007, Diane Vallere was working in the corporate office of a high-end luxury retailer. Consumed with her ever-present passion for fashion, she quit her job and moved to sunny California intending to trade fashion accessories for murder accessories.

She was at the time ruminating over a series concept, which she polished and revised before deploying it to seek her eventual break. The concept revolved around a former fashion buyer who turns into an amateur sleuth. While in sunny California, she was actively involved in the local chapter of Sisters in Crime.

After two years of seeking her break, the break eventually came in the year 2009 when her first manuscript called ‘Just Kidding’ became the winner of the RWA Get Your Stiletto in the Door contest. The manuscript could later become the Designer Dirty Laundry, which was the first Style & Error Mystery.

This success really motivated and encouraged Vallere. It was a pat on the back- a cue that she was on the right track. She then went looking for an agent to whom she submitted a short story. The story was accepted by FISH TALES: The Guppy Anthology. The anthology of short stories was published in 2011, and it became Diane’s first publication credit.

Writing the story, and having it published, once again imbued her with a sense of purpose. She knew she could do more. It is then that she realized that she could write more than one character, and it opened up a universe of many possible stories. She wrote the more.

Diane continued to write new materials, and submitting her work to agents to have it published. She dabbled in Women’s Fiction, non-fiction/biography, and Middle Grade.

Besides Style & Error series, she began another series that was featuring an interior decorator who had a big interest in Doris Day movies, which would later become the Madison Night Mysteries. It is currently published by Henery Press.

In 2011 she began her own publishing imprint called Polyester Press with the intention it becomes a niche publisher specifically focused on fashionable fiction. At the same time, a pre-press copy of her book Designer Dirty Laundry was presented to a senior editor at Penguin Publishing. The editor expressed interest in having the book rewritten to fit their catalog, to which Diane declined. However, she offered to submit another idea specifically written for them. The idea would be the Material Witness Mystery series which was launched in 2014.

Diane decided to sign with a Bookends Literary Agency’s agent called Jessica Faust. Soon after Diane signed as a client, Jessica suggested they sell the Costume Shop Mystery Series. They sold it to Penguin Random House, and it became the fourth series. The first series called A Disguise to Die For was released on February 2, 2016.

Vallere has taken huge risks in life. To begin with, she moved to Dallas, Texas, from her hometown in eastern Pennsylvania so as to nurture her fashion career, as well as taking a step back on the corporate ladder to enter the most popular buyer training program in the nation.

Three years after making the move, she became the recipient of the Chairman’s Risk Taker Award acknowledging her for her impressive business performance. After five years from this time, she moved from Texas to sunny California in order to reprioritize her life and concentrate on her budding writing career.

Having worked in the clothing industry for eons, most of Diane Vallere’s books feature a common theme that is related to the experience she had in that field. For example, Style & Error books are very closely related to the clothing industry. And being that she was able to interact with very many people from diverse backgrounds and doing all kinds of jobs, she is able to adeptly weave her characters into her stories, and imagine how they would interact in the various roles that they take on. Besides, she has this passion for fashion and clothing, and, therefore, it can be really difficult to divorce clothing from her writings.

She has a varied publishing experience, and that is why some people call her a hybrid writer. She attributes her writing prowess to her ability to introduce strong secondary characters. The secondary characters are very memorable to the reader; therefore, the reader won’t be struggling to remember who they are.

As of 2016, Diane is the Sisters in Crime vice president, and she believes that her involvement in this wonderful organization played a key role in her journey to be published as a writer. She firmly advocates for people to follow their dreams, and to create a roadmap of their tasks, goals as well as benchmarks so as to keep on track. Such is her resolve and confidence that she firmly believes that there is virtually nothing that she can’t do.

One Response to “Diane Vallere”

1. Barbara: 2 years ago

   so have Tak & Margo and Poly Monroe been relegated to the great book cemetery after 3 adventures each?

   Reply