I wasn’t born a killer. I suppose I wasn’t born a lover either. From an early age, I knew I was different, but growing up with an overprotective mother and alcoholic father, I think I did pretty damn well for myself. I settled into a perfectly normal existence, married the love of my life, Allie, and maintained a successful acting career.
And then, with no warning, Allie was taken from me, killed in a car accident. I resorted to acting once again to maintain a false normalcy in my life, and it worked, for a while. But the man responsible for ending her life just walked away, with no consequences for his negligent actions.
I wasn’t born a killer. I want to do the right thing and follow the path leading me back to a perfectly normal life. But part of me wants justice, needs closure, and feels compelled to secure these comforts the only way I know how.
Diane Bixler
Diane Bixler is
currently a teacher on assignment as an ESE Specialist and aspiring
entrepreneur residing in Flagler County, Florida. She graduated from University
of Central Florida in 1996 with her Bachelor’s degree in Exceptional Student
Education and spent her first nine years in education working with juvenile
delinquents. She has worked the last nine years in Flagler County, coordinating
transition activities for students with disabilities involving the school,
outside agencies, families, and students. She is also responsible for training
staff, facilitating meetings and serves as the Extended School Year
coordinator.
In her spare
time, she enjoys riding motorcycles and bicycles, firmly believing “the world
is a better place on two wheels”. She plays bass guitar and sings with friends
and has shot competitively in International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA)
matches and bowling pin matches. She hopes to soon have the opportunity to race
one of her motorcycles, a long-term goal of hers.
Although
published in local newspapers and literature when she was younger, she
abandoned creative writing to focus on building her career in education. Her daily
work and volunteering positions (local bicycle clubs, gun clubs, and transition
teams) has afforded her the opportunity to write more professionally, including
grants, newspaper and magazine articles, and bylaws. In order to build her
writing skills, she recently completed a three hundred hour continuing
education course in grant writing offered by UCF. After a fifteen year hiatus,
she has recently rekindled her passion for creative writing, publishing her
first completed manuscript from 1997, Murder
in D Minor, in December of 2013. Melancholy
Jack, published in October of 2014, is the first in the Acts of Justice series, with book two, And So He Plays His Part, scheduled for
release in June 2015.
Ms. Bixler’s
easy-flow writing captivates your interest right from the start. I fell in love
with the character Jack. I felt such emotion throughout the story for him. From
the time he was a young boy with his strength and determination to grow; to survive
the uphill climb from his childhood difficulties in finding his place in the
world. I felt I’d followed Jack through the emotional trauma of his father’s alcoholism
and abuse. I loved his mother’s unconditional love and support to guide him as
he discovered his true place in life; to Jack finding his first true friendship
and then his first and lasting true love. My heart warmed for him and I cheered
for him with each emotion he struggled with and overcame. He loved his mother.
He adored his wife. My heart ached for his loss. I cheered for his recovery. It
is very hard to not like Jack…even when he takes the law into his own hands.
The story
took me on an emotional roller coaster as I turned each page. I could not put
this book down until I finished. I had to know what happened next. I love when
a story captures my interest this way. I look forward to this series. I know I
want more. Thank you, Ms. Bixler, for such a wonderfully written and
captivating read.
