“Why do I write? When we are faced with injustice and we choose silence, we are complicit.”
For more than fifty years, my life has been defined by my commitment to racial equality, advocacy, and the enduring love of my interracial marriage and mixed-race family. My work is born from my lived experience. I craft character-driven folklore noir mysteries and provocative memoirs that don’t just tell a story; they envision a path toward a better future. One that offers restorative justice and healing for individuals and the country.
Whether I am weaving the intricate mysteries of the multicultural community of Cadence or documenting my own decades-long journey of learning about race relations through my interracial marriage, my goal is the same: to gain understanding, to be an advocate for change, and to share compelling experiences that challenge our current race and gender narratives.
And the monsters who visit Cadence? They are straight out of multicultural folklore, including Seneca, Onondaga, Guatemalan, Irish, Italian, Ghanaian, Punjabi, Romani, and Inuit. Monsters in folklore across the globe are manifestations of our worst fears and sorrows. In Cadence, they expose the long-buried secrets of injustice, greed, and power.
Through both fiction and memoir, my works expose the ugly truths, show how the chains of the past still have a powerful hold on the present, and offer a vision of a world where equality is the norm.
Creature of Secret Sorrows (A Cadence Mystery #7) Available on Amazon!
A horrific murder. A cursed object. A creature that should only exist in folklore.
Winner of a Literary Titan Book Award!
Finalist American Fiction Awards 2026 in two categories: Horror: General and Mystery/Suspense: Multicultural and Diverse
This book is scary as hell…You don’t want to miss it.” – Reader Review
Dianne L. Hagan
AuthorWith All Hallows’ Eve just days away, Randy Nichols, retired geology professor, goes missing on a crisp, sunny afternoon in Cadence, New York. Desperate to find him, Marian Greene happens upon a young Black man who was horrifically murdered. Agents from the FBI Hate Crimes division storm in to take over the investigation, leaving Police Chief George Powless even more determined to solve the crime.
Then, real terror visits. A cursed object alters perceptions of familiar places and faces. A mythical creature taunts police officers. And the past comes calling for justice, leaving the tightknit community of Cadence splintered by fear and suspicion.
When more people go missing and another body is discovered, the only thing left behind is unanswered questions. Who was the young man who died so violently? And who among them is harboring secrets and dispensing a depraved retribution?
Awards
