Interview with Diane Sismour is an award-winning Screenwriter and author of suspense, thrillers, and grounded horror.
Bio:
Diane Sismour is an award-winning Screenwriter and author of suspense, thrillers, and grounded horror. Her early writing in poetry and fiction spans 45 years. She is the founder of The Doll Keeper Productions, where she develops original projects for film and television. Her feature screenplay, The Doll Keeper, a psychological horror about abduction and survival, is currently in development with industry partners.
Her work is recognized for its matter-of-fact voice, layered characters, and themes of resilience. Whether writing about love, suspense, or horror rooted in everyday life, she explores how ordinary people face extraordinary choices. Her award-winning short stories appear in publications and anthologies, and she is a member of national and local writing and screenwriting groups.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianesismour
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https://www.amazon.com/dianesismour/author
You’ve been writing poetry and fiction for over 45 years—what first sparked your desire to become a writer, and how has that motivation evolved over time?
I was always a reader. Growing up, my parents’ stable competed in world and national equestrian competitions, and books traveled well. In my teens, we moved to Pennsylvania. Writing created an avenue to help understand the differences in the area, the people, and to negotiate adolescence in a new school.
Poetry is a moment in time or an inspiration, and short story writing elaborates on that time. Creating stories from an emotional moment and expounding the thoughts, feeling them grow with the characters, is why I continue to write.
I also ghostwrite novels and memoirs for others, but I enjoy creating my own characters and placing them in dilemmas to shape their journey. The motivation has evolved into a focus on screenwriting and producing. This role allows me to take my storytelling to the screen, adapting my works for a broader audience.
Your work spans multiple genres, from poetry to horror to heartwarming anthologies. What draws you to such a wide creative range, and how do you shift between those different storytelling modes?
I'm drawn to writing across multiple genres to explore a versatile set of emotional landscapes. Contributing to anthologies like That Darkened Doorstep and the Bethlehem Writers Group’s "Sweet, Funny, and Strange Tales” allows my characters to breathe in spaces they might not otherwise have the opportunity.
Living at the foothills of the Blue Mountains in Pennsylvania sounds inspiring. How does your environment influence your writing, either in mood, imagery, or themes?
I live with my husband at the foothills of the Blue Mountain Range, where we host guests at our Leaser Lake B and B. We meet people from around the world and travelers from the Appalachian Trail on their personal quests, which is great for creating interesting character combinations.
The Appalachian Mountains offer folklore and tales that my imagination can spin around for ages, and Leaser Lake State Park is a short walk away. A few years back, the state drained the lake to repair the dam, revealing the old roads, homes, and farmland. Story ideas flooded me with tales I’ve yet to write.
My favorite walk is through the Jacob’s Church cemetery with tombstones dating back to the early 1700’s. There’s a powerful natural beauty in the area with a quiet that can spook an outsider.
As a member of the Bethlehem Writers Group, the Horror Writers Association, and Sisters in Crime, how have these communities shaped your craft or career?
As a writer, finding your people is vital for both craft and business. I’m grateful these communities taught me how to make a serious study of the writing craft and the policies and practices of publishing.
Early on, I had more questions than answers. Now, I’m helping other writers maneuver through the industry. Attending conferences and festivals and engaging with other creatives re-energizes my own creative work. I still ask “a lot” of questions with a switch to the film industry and receive answers from amazing people I’ve yet to meet in person. My creative tribe grows every day, and I truly appreciate them all.
Your anthology contributions—such as A Readable Feast and Let It Snow—show a talent for short-form storytelling. What do you find most challenging and rewarding about writing short fiction?
Short fiction focuses on one complex emotion or problem that a character is struggling with, much like an episodic glimpse into their life. This allows me to build scenes and jump to the next key moment without needing extensive transitional material. The challenge lies in condensing a complex narrative, while the reward is mastering the concise format.
Many of your titles feature warmth, humor, and strangeness. How do you strike the right balance between sweet, funny, and unsettling elements in your stories?
I’m not the first creative to mention all of the characters chattering in their head. When I think of an inciting incident, one or two will want the part. I think of several endings, and that will determine the genre. My rom-cons require strong, quirky women with partners who can stand beside them, but who also challenge their situations.
The thrillers and suspense stories have an underlying tone with heightened awareness as the reader follows the character’s struggles. I write grounded horror because people only see what they’re comfortable acknowledging. Grounded horror is the reason we lock our doors at night. Knowing something can truly happen is scarier than any monster. Life isn’t one emotion and having an arsenal to add humor into horror and vice versa broadens the appeal.
In the collection World Healing World Peace, your poem hints at a deeply personal poetic style. What role does poetry play in your creative life today compared to when you began writing?
The WHWP poetry anthology was distributed to all members of the United Nations in 2014 as a pen-is-mightier-than-the-sword approach to resolving differences between nations and sects. I was a judge for the international poetry contest for submissions in 2012. The entries had a profound impact on me, and I wrote a poem included in the 2014 collaboration. My poem, The Ripple Effect, speaks of one voice rising above to create havoc, and another whose flame is thought-dosed, but rekindles, encompassing humanity to rise against the tide pulling them down.
Poetry is where my writing style began, with lyrical phrasing and a depth of vocabulary; this freeing mindset continues in my writing. Whenever I’m emotionally struck, I’ll write poetry to open the door to my creativity. One line will surface, and I’ll understand somehow that its meaning is important to my day.
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You’ve contributed to anthologies on themes such as sisterhood, healing, and peace. What draws you to collaborative or themed projects, and how do you approach writing for them?
My approach to these collaborative projects is inspired by the professional advice I’ve received in the writing community to be generous and compassionate to other writers. This spirit of collaboration allows me to connect with fellow authors and focus my short-form writing style on a shared, meaningful theme.
Focusing on a shared theme allows me to draw from different experiences in my life and to connect with others outside my circle. Any opportunity to write outside our own stimuli offers a new mindset to explore people, cultures, and the world.
Your short story First Impressions, Second Chances explores relationships and renewal. What inspired this story, and what do you hope readers take away from it?
Given my background, which included membership in the Romance Writers of America for many years, this story was inspired by the dynamics of relationships and the hope for a fresh start. Suspense and mystery also weave into this tale capturing my writing MO.
We’re often judged by a first impression meant to get a perceived reaction. What if the reaction expected hadn’t gone as planned? Do you try again? How can you erase the initial perception? The “faking it until you make it” didn’t go well for the protagonist. Learning to be herself instead of pretending to fit into an elite group and reflecting her true self built a better relationship from that perspective with intention.
I hope readers feel a sense of connection and optimism about second chances in their own lives after this read.
After decades of writing, how do you continue to grow creatively? Are there new genres, formats, or projects you hope to explore next?
I’m a creative with a business background, and my current growth is all about the pivot to filmmaking. I've taken The Doll Keeper, a multi-award-winning psychological thriller, and structured it as an independent production under The Doll Keeper Productions LLC. My next challenge is securing the remaining funding for the $1.3 million budget and then casting.
With my key personnel standing alongside me on this journey, I can already envision The Doll Keeper on the screen. We see this as the first of a three-film franchise with merchandising opportunities, so the creative growth is less about a new genre and more about mastering the business, financing, and production side of a full-scale feature film slate. This is a massive new format.
I’ll continue to write short stories, as this is a passion, and have several publications scheduled for 2026. Tiki Horror, a tropical travel horror anthology edited by Catherine Jordan and published by Fortress Publishing, Inc., releasing in March; scheduled in late spring is A 20th Anniversary Issue: Sweet, Funny & Strange Tales from the Bethlehem Writers Group Press; and this fall, a story is included in a speculative fiction genre anthology, Illusive Worlds: Sweet, Funny, & Strange Tales, by the Bethlehem Writers Group Press.
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