Beyond the Page: Diane Lang
This week we are excited to feature Diane Lang, author of the latest, The Long and Short Tail of Colo and Ruff (Arbordale Publishing, February 2019), illustrated by Laurie Allen Klein. Get to know her through some fun questions below.
What did you want to be growing up?
A ballerina! I loved music and movement. I still ask my Pilates trainer if she thinks I’m ready to audition for the Bolshoi Ballet. Of course we both laugh; I’m both old and very short (yes, and somewhat round)!
What would you title your memoir?
“Late Bloomer.” I discovered the fun and joy of writing books when I was 60!
What’s the weirdest random fact you know?
A woodpecker’s tongue is so long that it wraps around the outside of the skull and is anchored in the nostril!
Tell us one fun insider-fact about The Long and Short Tale of Colo and Ruff, your most recent work.
“The Long and Short Tale of Colo and Ruff” made it onto the page because of a bookstore owner. She liked my first book (“Vulture Verses: Love Poems for the Unloved”) and because she couldn’t find any picture books about cougars, asked me to write one. I told her I couldn’t think of a story, but she kept asking, every time she saw me, “How is our book coming?” Now it’s here! I can’t wait to put a copy on her desk.
Diane Lang
Diane Lang volunteers at two different nature centers where she gives programs and classes to share nature with young children-and that love of sharing nature led her to her writing picture books. In addition to authoring The Long and Short Tail of Colo and Ruff for Arbordale, Diane’s other books include Daytime, Nighttime, All Through the Year; Vulture Verses, Love Poems for the Unloved and Fur, Feather, Fin: All of Us Are Kin. Diane lives in California with her husband and several beloved pets-a gentle snake, two dogs, two tortoises, and two sweet tarantulas. Visit her website at www.dianelang.net.
