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WORK TITLE: Buttermilk Skies
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://www.delliott.org/
CITY:
STATE: MT
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
RESEARCHER NOTES: Insufficient reviews for sidelights. Unable to locate publication details for the following books:
Buttermilk Skies
When Volcanoes Wake
Shattering Porcelain Images
Art & Inspiration
Sunshine, Soil and Short Seasons
PERSONAL
Born in San Francisco, CA; married; children: Souther (daughter).
EDUCATION:Attended University of Minnesota.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Author and journalist. Writer, Elliott Enterprises, 1975–; editor, Souther Group, Inc., 2012–. Also worked for League of Women Voters and Common Cause.
AWARDS:Saroyan Prize for Literature shortlist, and Willa Finalists Award in historical fiction, both 2003, both for Strength of Stone.
WRITINGS
Also author of “Impersonating Bernie,” Montana Ballet Company, produced 1993; author (with daughter Souther Elliott) of Art & Inspiration, 2013, Shattering Porcelain Images (poetry), 2014, When Volcanoes Wake (poetry), 2016, and Buttermilk Skies (YA novel). Contributor of poetry and short stories to literary magazines. Columnist, “Digging and Scratching,” Bozeman Daily Chronicle, beginning 1970s.
SIDELIGHTS
Diane Elliott was born in San Francisco, California, but for many years she has lived with her husband in the mountains of rural Montana. “For fifteen years Elliott wrote from the Old Pony jail nestled in the Tobacco Root Mountains,” stated the contributor of a biographical blurb to the author’s home page, the Diane Elliott Website. “Now she works from home in Bozeman while sharing an office with her husband.” Her works include a guide to gardening in mountain altitudes, Sunshine, Soil, and Short Seasons, as well as several collections of poetry (Shattering Porcelain Images, When Volcanoes Wake, and Songs of Bernie Bjorn), a historical novel (Strength of Stone: The Pioneer Journal of Electa Bryan Plumer, 1862-1864), and a young adult novel (Buttermilk Skies).
The collection Songs of Bernie Bjorn consists of a series of monologues about the title character, a young woman coming of age in the 1950s and 1960s. Based on the comments made about her, Bernie Bjorn is part free spirit and part tormented soul. She bears a child when still a teenager and has to give it up for adoption; she has a troubled relationship with her mother; she appears to be addicted to sex and pursues a number of men. “Even a particle in the atmosphere gets a voice in this remarkable book,” said a Kirkus Reviews contributor. “These songs of the ardent title character sing like wildfire; readers should be singed and ravished by her burning.”
Elliott’s YA novel Buttermilk Skies tells the story of Karla Rosegaard, a teenaged girl growing up on a Montana ranch and dealing with the loss of her brother, who died in a car accident, and the subsequent institutionalization of her mother. In order to distract Karla, her father invites his old English teacher, Sister Marianpaula, to live at the ranch while she composes an autobiography. “Elliott … depicts her story’s majestic, bucolic setting through the use of lush imagery and sentimental descriptions of day-to-day ranch duties,” stated a Kirkus Reviews contributor. “A moving tale of love and acceptance recommended for readers who enjoy the great outdoors.”
The novel Blood Fiction tells the story of Franniemarie Hanks, who is trapped in a loveless marriage. The institutionalization of her aunt Dorien gives Franniemarie the impetus she needs to go on the road into rural Nebraska. She discovers that Dorien was a prolific writer of family history and, in the process of reading through her aunt’s journals, Franniemarie begins to piece her life back together. “The result is a rare thing: a clever, well-crafted novel that has both an absorbing story line and the artful poignancy of an elegantly composed collection of poetry,” wrote a Kirkus Reviews contributor. “An emotionally intuitive and impeccably written tale.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Kirkus Reviews, November 1, 2016, review of Songs of Bernie Bjorn; May 1, 2017, review of Blood Fiction; September 1, 2017, review of Buttermilk Skies.
ONLINE
Diane Elliott Website, http://www.delliott.org (June 22, 2018), author profile.
Biography
The Old Jail - Pony, Montana
Diane Elliott was born in San Francisco, grew up in Minnesota, immigrated to Montana in the mid 1960s and plans to die with a smile on her face in Montana.
In the 60's Elliott was a theater major at the University of Minnesota. When she married, she followed her husband to the wilds of Montana and has been writing in a variety of genres ever since. Her career began with a gardening column, "Digging and Scratching", written for the Bozeman Daily Chronicle in the 1970's. "Sunshine, Soil and Short Seasons", a high altitude primer for gardeners, soon followed. During that time she also wrote Legislative testimony for the League of Women Voters and Common Cause.
Her historical novel "Strength of Stone" was short-listed for the 2003 Saroyan Prize for Literature and garnered the 2003 Willa Finalists Award in historical fiction. She has published poetry and short stories in literary magazines and received awards from the Montana Institute of the Arts, the National Book Club and the Mary Brennen Clapp Memorial Poetry Contest. Her multimedia script, "Impersonating Bernie" written for the Montana Ballet Company, received NEA funding and was produced in 1993.
For fifteen years Elliott wrote from the old Pony jail nestled in the Tobacco Root Mountains. Now she works from home in Bozeman while sharing an office with her husband. Nights she goes to sleep listening to him playing his melodic claw-hammer banjo. Together they garden, hunt and walk their Standard Poodle, Spud. They have been married for over fifty years.
In 2013 Elliott co-wrote "Art and Inspiration" with her daughter Souther on a 7,500 mile marketing trip. "Shattering Porcelain Images", a book of poetry, came out in May of 2014. "When Volcanoes Wake", a second book of poetry released in 2016, was an Eric Hoffer Book Award Honoree. "Songs of Bernie Bjorn", a novel in verse form, also released in 2016, was listed by Kirkus in their Best Indie Books of 2016. Her latest novel, "Blood Fiction" was released Aug 18, 2017. It also received a Best Indie Book Starred Review from Kirkus.
Diane Elliott
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Author | Poet | Book Reviewer | Critique | Mentor | Public Speaking |
Bozeman, Montana
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The Souther Group, Inc.
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Author and co-author of 5 books with with 3 more on the way. I mentor 12 aspiring writers. I have contributed 100+ articles, short stories and poetry to 12+ publications. I have delivered 100+ speeches to 7500+ people on topics ranging from gardening, poetry and book promotion to nonpartisan political issues.
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Experience
The Souther Group, Inc.
Editor
Company NameThe Souther Group, Inc.
Dates EmployedApr 2012 – Present Employment Duration6 yrs 2 mos
Elliott Enterprises
Writer/Author
Company NameElliott Enterprises
Dates EmployedJan 1975 – Present Employment Duration43 yrs 5 mos
I write poetry, short stories and novels. Strength of Stone, published by Peguot Press in 2003, garnered the Willa Silver award in Historical Fiction and in 2003 and was shortlisted for the 2003 Saroyan Prize for Literature that same year. My award winning poetry and short stories have been published in literary magazines. Currently, I have three works, BLOOD FICTION, BUTTERMILK SKIES, and GREEN GRAPES AND WHISKEY ready for marketing.
I write from the old Pony jail in Pony Montana. Pony is located in the Tobacco Root mountains beneath a mountain the locals call hollow top. We can see hollow top from our home in the Gallatin valley. While researching and writing STRENGTH OF STONE and BUTTERMILK SKIES I spent six consecutive years there. Now I go for the winters. The building was finished in 1902 and is furnished in craftsman furniture right down to the daven-o (a five foot craftsman couch) which makes into a bed. The walls are of stone in side and out. I put a rail around the top to drop pictures from, and the walls are mostly lined with bookshelves. The cells have been removed. The bars are yet on the two high windows that face east and west. The floor is tile. I heat the place with wood on a stove that also heats my water and suffices for making stews and toast. There is electricity and I write on a lap top. The hydrant is five feet from one of two front doors. A thirteen inch sun pipe lights the room. Tucked into the shelves on the ‘kitchen’ end of the room is a microwave and a half sized refrigerator. I have neither phone, nor t.v, but I do have a radio with a d.v.d.player. I listen to NPR and classical music or the music of the period in which working. When I’m not writing I’m building stone walls and walks, chopping wood or walking up the road into the mountain. You can see a picture of the jail on my website at www.delliott.org.
Education
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Field Of StudyTheater and Art
Dates attended or expected graduation 1958 – 1961
Activities and Societies: League of Women Voters Women Writing the West
University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
Field Of StudyTheater and Art
Dates attended or expected graduation 1958 – 1961
Skills & Endorsements
Critique
See 1 endorsement for Critique1
Souther . has given an endorsement for this skill
Editing
See 3 endorsements for Editing3
Endorsed by Anne Millbrooke, who is highly skilled at this
Book Reviews
See 2 endorsements for Book Reviews2
Souther . and 1 connection have given endorsements for this skill
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Accomplishments
Diane has 4 publications4
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Publications
Art & Inspiration Art & Inspiration Gardening Tips for High Altitude Montana Strength of Stone
Diane has 2 honors2
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Honors & Awards
2003 shortlisted for the Saroyan Prize for Literature/STRENGTH OF STONE The 2003 silver WILLA literary award for historical fiction STRENGTH OF STONE
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Print Marked Items
Elliott, Diane: BUTTERMILK SKIES
Kirkus Reviews.
(Sept. 1, 2017):
COPYRIGHT 2017 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Elliott, Diane BUTTERMILK SKIES Manuscript (Indie Fiction)
In this YA novel, a teenage girl struggles to find her place after the tragic death of her brother. Karla
Rosegaard is a hardworking, outdoorsy eighth-grader who enjoys living on her father's ranch in rural
Montana and tending to the animals. She can ride a horse and skin a rabbit and looks forward to her annual
family antelope-hunting trip. Starting a new school year, however, is particularly difficult for her now, as
her popular older brother, Sunny, recently died in a car accident, and her mother has been living in a
psychiatric treatment facility ever since. Karla's father decides it would be good for his daughter to have a
woman around the house, so he invites his old elementary school teacher, Sister Marianpaula, to live with
them for a month while she writes a book about her life. Karla is concerned, though, about Marianpaula's
seemingly scattered thoughts, her delusions of grandeur, and her tendency to speak in several distinctly
different voices. After Karla's school counselor notes that her houseguest is likely suffering from psychosis
(and possibly not taking her medication), Karla sympathizes and decides to help her with her memoir.
Marianpaula's presence in the household brings about poignant conversations between Karla and her dad,
and the young girl soon learns the truth about her mother. Elliott (Blood Fiction, 2017, etc.) depicts her
story's majestic, bucolic setting through the use of lush imagery and sentimental descriptions of day-to-day
ranch duties ("She curried [her horse's] rich chestnut coat till her arms ached, till his coat reflected the late
September sun like a copper penny"). She has a particularly strong handle on the sporadic voices of
Marianpaula, a complicated character who jumps between several different personas but still comes across
as one multifaceted being. Readers will begin to understand her more deeply as Karla records the woman's
tangential storytelling and tries to draw connections between her countless life experiences. Karla is a
strong female lead, and her independence--and her dedication to her goal of a successful hunt using her
mother's rifle--is refreshing.A moving tale of love and acceptance recommended for readers who enjoy the
great outdoors and complex character relationships.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Elliott, Diane: BUTTERMILK SKIES." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Sept. 2017. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A502192011/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=37386ad9.
Accessed 17 May 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A502192011
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Elliott, Diane: BLOOD FICTION
Kirkus Reviews.
(May 1, 2017):
COPYRIGHT 2017 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Elliott, Diane BLOOD FICTION Manuscript (Indie Fiction)
A niece sets out on a quest to better understand an enigmatic aunt in this novel. When readers first
encounter Franniemarie Hanks, she is plagued with problems and uncertainties. For one, she's engaged in a
combustible relationship with her husband, Cricket. "I could kill him," she muses, "might be worth it to
never hear another country western whine." Her one source of sanity is drawn from staring out into
Nebraska's prairie--an uncluttered expanse of possibility. When Franniemarie receives a call from the
Oakland Welfare Department regarding her Aunt Dorien, who has been branded as "strictly loony tunes"
and is living in a house worthy of being condemned, it appears like yet more bad news. What in fact
transpires is a journey of self-discovery. Franniemarie grabs the car keys and heads "pedal to metal" into the
Nebraska landscape, eager to learn more about her aunt, her family, and herself. She quickly discovers that
Aunt Dorien has been committed but also that she was a prolific writer, albeit never published. Filling a
wheelbarrow with notebooks from her aunt's dilapidated bungalow, Franniemarie is delighted to discover
Aunt Dorien's undiscovered talent and begins piecing together family memories. Many classic road novels,
like Kerouac's On the Road, employ a male protagonist. Here, a daring heroine seizes the trajectory of the
road, and the refreshing result is a tender exploration of the self. On her heart-rending odyssey,
Franniemarie faces up to her own fraught past; yet finding solace in a creative endeavor, namely the art of
writing, also becomes a key theme. Elliott (Songs of Bernie Bjorn, 2016, etc.), who's also an accomplished
poet, appears to have effortless access to a wealth of rich, beautiful imagery: "In the park, the flowering
acacia bleeds scarlet, thru every break in foliage, a scarlet banner raised especially for me." She also
displays a shrewd understanding of the role of writing in catharsis and memory. The result is a rare thing: a
clever, well-crafted novel that has both an absorbing storyline and the artful poignancy of an elegantly
composed collection of poetry. An emotionally intuitive and impeccably written tale focusing on a female
adventurer.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Elliott, Diane: BLOOD FICTION." Kirkus Reviews, 1 May 2017. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A491002702/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=e392ad54.
Accessed 17 May 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A491002702
5/17/2018 General OneFile - Saved Articles
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Elliott, Diane: Songs of Bernie Bjorn
Kirkus Reviews.
(Nov. 1, 2016):
COPYRIGHT 2016 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Elliott, Diane SONGS OF BERNIE BJoRN The Souther Group (Indie Poetry)
New poetry from Elliott (Shattering Porcelain Images, 2014, etc.) tells the story of Bernie Bjorn in multiple
voices. Readers learn about Bernie--her swallowed grief at having given up a first baby to adoption when
she was a teenager, her fallout with her cold mother, her desire to give her daughter, Anna, a sibling, her
untethered attraction to sex and men, her brilliance--in a series of 50 monologues. The characters include
Leland Eckroth, who courts her mother and whom Bernie propositions; the boys she grew up with, now
adults who might be lovers, might be helpers; Jack, her husband, who leaves his young wife perilously
alone; girlfriends; a lawyer; and so on. The neighbors say that when Bernie moved in next door, she
"livened up our gossip / lightened up our lives / she was all beat and boogie / full of hope love and
curiosity." Bernie has a direct, passionate influence on others: "Nights the naked sounds of her lovemaking /
drove us back into each other's arms." Auburn-haired and thin, she's nearly magical: "Some creature stepped
out of a / Botticelli painting." "Song Twenty-five--Pimp" makes clear her fierce singularity: "That's when I
knew / Bernie wasn't anybody's wife." She's fragile, too, enough to be institutionalized. One love interest
counsels her: "Everyone who is in pain / who is lonesome and lost / is in a hurry / I told her / you must be
patient." Although the dramatic heroine doesn't get a song of her own (unless it's "Song Forty-four--Alter
ego"), even a particle in the atmosphere gets a voice in this remarkable book. A riveting poem titled
"Dustmote" makes a wild, weird interruption into the human voices to record Bernie leaving her husband: "I
dust mote on her body powdered / felt the bloom scrubbed into her skin / heard her words why don't you get
a job / I'm going back to school // I dust mote dancing / heard the door behind it echo / last time last time /
last time." These songs of the ardent title character sing like wildfire; readers should be singed and ravished
by her burning.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Elliott, Diane: Songs of Bernie Bjorn." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Nov. 2016. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A468388998/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=4efad919.
Accessed 17 May 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A468388998