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Diane A. S. Stuckart
Pseudonym: Ali Brandon.
Diane A.S. Stuckart, who also writes as Ali Brandon,
is a member of that proud breed, the native Texan. She was
born in the West Texas town of Lubbock, home to Buddy Holly,
prairie dogs, and Texas Tech University, where her mom once
taught. Most of her formative years, however, were spent in
Dallas with her parents and siblings: one younger sister and
three younger brothers. And then, when she was fifteen, her
dad’s work took them north of the Red River and into
Oklahoma, settling just outside Oklahoma City.
Diane stayed in the Sooner State long enough to finish high
school and obtain her degree in Journalism from the
University of Oklahoma (where she met her husband, Gerry!)
before returning home to Texas again. Then, like countless
others with a brand new Liberal Arts degree, she promptly
took a job in retail.
To her parents’ relief, however, she eventually put
that diploma to good use by publishing several critically
acclaimed historical romances written as Alexa Smart
and Anna Gerard, as well as numerous works of short
fiction and fantasy under her own name. Her first published
novel—MASQUERADE, written under the name
Alexa Smart—was a Romance Writers of America
Golden Heart award finalist. She also contributed to several
DAW anthologies, including A CONSTELLATION OF
CATS, FAMILIARS, and THE
SORCERER’S ACADEMY.
Now, however, Diane has moved into the mystery genre with
two new series. The first is a historical series featuring
Leonardo da Vinci as a crime solver. Leonardo is assisted by
his trusty apprentice Dino, who has secrets of
“his” own! The first installment was THE
QUEEN’S GAMBIT, still available in hardcover
from Berkley Prime Crime. The second in the series,
PORTRAIT OF A LADY, was published January 2009
and won the Florida Book Awards Silver Medal for Popular
Fiction. The third book, BOLT FROM THE BLUE,
was published in January 2010. Coming December 2011 will be
the first novel in Diane’s new contemporary series,
THE BLACK CAT BOOKSHOP MYSTERIES, written as
Ali Brandon.
And genres is not all that Diane recently changed. Life
beyond the Lone Star State continued to beckon. Succumbing
to a momentary impulse, Diane finally pulled up stakes and
left the plains of North Texas for the beaches of South
Florida. There, accompanied by her husband, four dogs, and
two cats, she now is finding new sources of inspiration
among the sand and palm trees. Though she has eagerly
embraced life in the Sunshine State, Diane hasn’t
quite accepted the fact that apparently a girl can
own too many black t-shirts...at least, when she lives in
West Palm Beach.
When she’s not writing or working at her day job,
Diane spends her time doing yoga (she’s a registered
yoga teacher at the 200 hour level), gardening, and making
sure the pets don’t get eaten by stray gators. She is
also a founding member of the Gold Coast Paranormal Society,
a group dedicated to searching out ghosts in the South
Florida area, as well as a board member of the Florida
chapter of Mystery Writers of America. And, as if she
didn’t have enough to do, she’s now taken up
belly dancing and performs with her student troupe, the Palm
Beach Jewels of the Nile.
Diane loves to hear from her fans, so feel free to email her
and let her know what you think about writing, Leonardo da
Vinci, yoga, belly dancing, ghosts, or whatever else strikes
your fancy.
Books:
 A Bolt from the Blue, January 2010
Portrait of a Lady, January 2009
The Queen's Gambit, January 2009
The Queen's Gambit, January 2008
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