Noble, Diane 1945-

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NOBLE, Diane 1945–

(Amanda MacLean)

PERSONAL: Born 1945; married; husband's name, Tom. Religion: Christian.

ADDRESSES: Home and office—P.O. Box 10674, Palm Desert, CA 92255-0674. E-mail—diane@dianenoble.com.

CAREER: Writer, speaker, and writing teacher. Has worked for a Christian humanitarian agency.

AWARDS, HONORS: Two Silver Angel awards, Excellence in Media, including 2005, for The Last Storyteller.

WRITINGS:

NOVELS

The Veil, WaterBrook Press (Colorado Springs, CO), 1998.

Tangled Vines, Alabaster Books (Sisters, OR), 1998.

Distant Bells, Alabaster Books (Sisters, OR), 1999.

Come, My Little Angel (novella), Multnomah Publishers (Sisters, OR), 2001.

Heart of Glass, WaterBrook Press (Colorado Springs, CO), 2002.

Phoebe (novella), WaterBrook Press (Colorado Springs, CO), 2003.

The Last Storyteller, WaterBrook Press (Colorado Springs, CO), 2004.

"CALIFORNIA CHRONICLES" NOVEL SERIES

When the Far Hills Bloom, WaterBrook Press (Colorado Springs, CO), 1999.

The Blossom and the Nettle, WaterBrook Press (Colorado Springs, CO), 2000.

At Play in the Promised Land, WaterBrook Press (Colorado Springs, CO), 2001.

NOVELS; UNDER PSEUDONYM AMANDA MACLEAN

Westward, Palisades (Sisters, OR), 1995.

Stonehaven (sequel to Westward), Palisades (Sisters, OR), 1995.

Everlasting, Palisades (Sisters, OR), 1996.

Promise Me the Dawn, Palisades (Sisters, OR), 1996.

Kingdom Come, Palisades (Sisters, OR), 1997.

OTHER

It's Time: Explore Your Dreams and Discover Your Gifts (nonfiction), Baker Books (Grand Rapids, MI), 1995.

(As Amanda MacLean; with Lisa Tawn Bergen and Constance Colson) A Mother's Love (novellas; includes Legacy of Love), Palisades Premier (Sisters, OR), 1997.

(With Karen Ball and Barbara Jean Hicks) Heart's Delight (three novellas; includes Birds of a Feather), Palisades (Sisters, OR), 1998.

(With Karen Ball and Barbara Jean Hicks) Valentine Surprise (novellas; includes Birds of a Feather), Palisades (Sisters, OR), 1998.

(With Barbara Jean Hicks, Annie Jones, and Linda Windsor) Unlikely Angels (novellas; includes Birds of a Feather), Palisades (Sisters, OR), 1999.

(With Pamela Griffin and Kathleen Fuller) Christmas Homecoming (novellas; includes A Place Called Home), Tyndale House (Wheaton, IL), 2003.

ADAPTATIONS: Come, My Little Angel was adapted into a play by Lynda Ryan, first produced in San Antonio, TX.

WORK IN PROGRESS: The Butterfly Farm, the first in a planned series of mystery novels featuring detective Harriet MacIver.

SIDELIGHTS: Diane Noble is the author of numerous romance and inspirational novels, some with historical settings, some contemporary, but all reflecting her Christian worldview. She initially wrote under the pseudonym Amanda MacLean, when she was on the staff of a relief agency, composing stories on such topics as famine and poverty. She continued using the pseudonym for her fiction "to give my heart some separation between the two very different styles of writing," as she explained on her home page. Noble began using her own name exclusively when she became a full-time writer in 1998. Her historical fiction includes such titles as The Veil, a romance set against the Mormons' westward journey and their often violent clashes with members of other religions; Come, My Little Angel, about a young girl trying to produce a play in an effort to comfort her mother after the loss of a baby; and Heart of Glass, which concerns the difficult love life of a musically gifted woman in the late nineteenth century. Come, My Little Angel, according to Melanie C. Duncan in Library Journal, is "a heartwarming Christmas tale for all ages." Reviewing Heart of Glass, a Publishers Weekly contributor found the narrative somewhat disorderly, but allowed that Noble has "a knack for descriptive historical details and capable writing."

An example of one of Noble's novels with a modern-day setting is The Last Storyteller, which deals with abortion and stem-cell research. Its protagonist, Taite Abbot, is pregnant but does not want to tell her boyfriend, because he has received a medical fellowship that will take him across the country and she does not want him to feel obligated to her. She considers having an abortion, but before making her decision she contacts her grandmother, who tells her family stories that influence her thinking. This "is an intriguing contemporary tale," commented Harriet Klausner in a review for AllReaders.com. Library Journal critic Tamara Butler related that the novel "is not overly judgmental, but it is written from a conservative viewpoint," and added that it will be of interest to readers seeking inspirational novels addressing social issues that affect women.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, January 1, 1998, John Mort, review of Heart's Delight, p. 772; October 1, 1998, John Mort, review of The Veil, p. 294.

Library Journal, September 1, 2001, Melanie C. Duncan, review of Come, My Little Angel, p. 156; September 1, 2004, Tamara Butler, review of The Last Storyteller, p. 134.

Publishers Weekly, March 4, 2002, review of Heart of Glass, p. 58.