Diana Joseph

Diana Joseph was born and raised in western Pennsylvania, the Rust Belt, land of Steeler fans and Terrible Towels. When she was a kid, she even had a tee-shirt with Mean Joe Green on it. His face is huge and he’s holding out his fist and he’s wearing his four Super Bowl rings. The tee-shirt reads, “One for the Thumb in ‘81.” She knows people who still rave about the Immaculate Reception
She attended Westminster College, where she majored in English, and her father kept asking, "What are you going to do with that?"
Her son was born in April of 1992; she graduated from college in May. She and her then-husband made funny faces at their baby. Diana held that kid all the time, never letting his feet touch the floor. People said if she didn't put him down, he'd never learn to walk. She also enjoyed dressing him in little outfits: a black velvet tuxedo, a yellow tuxedo, M.C. Hammer-style parachute pants. Such a dandified wardrobe disturbed Diana's brothers, who, every chance they got, removed the offensive garments.
Between 1994 and 1996, Diana was a student in the MFA program in creative writing at Syracuse University. Upon receiving her degree, her father wanted to know, "What are you going to do with that?"
Diana moved to Colorado, where she taught English at Mesa State College. She failed to become a Broncos fan. She and her first husband divorced, which was terrible and sad, but she met the man who'd become her second husband. Her first book, a collection of short stories titled HAPPY OR OTHERWISE, was published in 2003 by Carnegie Mellon University Press.
Diana now lives in the midwest, where she teaches at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Her second book, a memoir titled I'M SORRY YOU FEEL THAT WAY: THE ASTONISHING BUT TRUE STORY OF A DAUGHTER, SISTER, SLUT, WIFE, MOTHER AND FRIEND TO MAN AND DOG is forthcoming from Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam on March 5, 2009. She hopes you'll read it. You can check out her website at

www.dianajoseph.net

and you can contact her at

imsorryyoufeelthatway@live.com

Diana is happy to talk to book clubs; drop her an email and she'll set up a phone chat. Diana is always happy to hear from readers, even the ones who think she stinks, she's terrible, a whiner, a horrible mother, an awful person, but she's especially happy to hear from any reader who just wants to say, "I read your book, and me, too. I know exactly what you mean."