Interview: Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Peachtree City author honored for romance novel
DONNA SOPER

Dianna Love Snell has taken the term "multitasking" to new heights.

The 52-year-old self-taught artist composed her first book in her head while working on a billboard more than 100 feet off the ground.

"Years ago, when I'd sit up on a billboard, I could do what I was doing without having to concentrate much," Snell said. "I'd be bored and my mind would wander. I just had stories in my head."

After spending the past 30 years building a national reputation as a custom painter and producer of three-dimensional billboards, Snell has now expanded her resume to include award-winning author. The Peachtree City resident was honored last month by the Romance Writers of America at its national convention in Atlanta with a RITA award for her book, "Worth Every Risk."

The RITA, given out in 13 categories, is the 9,500-member organization's top award for excellence in the romance fiction genre. Snell's book won first place for "best long contemporary."

"I was pretty much in shock," Snell said.

The book, published last year by Silhouette Books, an imprint of international women's fiction publisher Harlequin Enterprises Ltd., tells the story of Zane Black, an undercover DEA agent and pilot, and Angel, a woman with a secret past who stows away on his plane.

"I thought the opening of the book was fabulous," said Allison Lyons, Snell's New York-based editor. "It captured my attention right away. It started off with a bang, and the romance developed right off the bat. I think readers really responded to that."

Snell, who considers herself a voracious reader, said she was drawn to romantic fiction because of its inherent optimism.

"In the romance genre, there's always a sense of hope," Snell said. "There's always a monogamous relationship and a happily-ever-after ending."

With six additional manuscripts awaiting publication, Snell said she loves a challenge.

"What could be more challenging than writing a book where everybody knows the ending?" she said.

Snell, who won her first art contest in a Florida third grade, knows a little something about challenges.
"I left home at 17 to start my own sign company," she said.

A series of signs for a sculpted nail business eventually brought her to the Atlanta area in 1975, where she started Art Productions Inc., a thriving business she now runs out of her home and on location.

"My sign projects can run anywhere from a few thousand dollars to seven figures, depending on the design and engineering required," she said.

One of her oldest clients, the Coca-Cola Co., is keeping her busy this year with two projects in progress. One is a wall mural inside the company's corporate headquarters. The other is a 20-foot marquee sign that will be featured in a glass atrium in the new World of Coca-Cola, scheduled to open next to the Georgia Aquarium next spring. Snell said she was first hired to paint a billboard by Coca-Cola in the 1980s and has since painted several archival murals and produced three-dimensional signs for the company.

In 2002, she was hired to re-create the company's circular sign with the pinwheel lighting display. The original sign, which had been a city icon for many Atlantans, was taken down in 1979. Snell's two-sided replica now illuminates the city from the historic Olympia Building near Woodruff Park at Five Points.

Snell said she did most of the actual writing of "Worth Every Risk" when she was working on a lighted signature sign for insurance company John Hancock at Fenway Park in Boston.

"I bought an AlphaSmart word processor that I keep with me all the time," she said.

In between writing and working on her massive sign projects, Snell finds time to serve as vice president of the Georgia Romance Writers organization and to write a regular column for the bimonthly Peachtree City magazine Arts & Expression.

In what little time she has left, Snell rides motorcycles with her husband, Karl, a motorcycle safety instructor. The couple own three bikes, including a Harley Softail, a Triumph Sprint and a BMW 1150 RT.

"I recently completed my first Iron Butt, which is 1,000 miles in 24 hours or less," Snell said. "I did mine in 17 hours on the BMW."

"I don't do anything I'm not passionate about," Snell said. "People are often fascinated that I'm the woman who does the signs. But frankly, I'm more comfortable 100 feet in the air than on the ground, where I'm always walking into things.

Copyright 2006 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

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