Diane Byington

Diane Byington writes fiction about women whose determined choices alter the direction of their lives. If She Had Stayed centres on Kaley Kline, director of a planned Nikola Tesla museum in Colorado Springs, who discovers pages presented as Tesla's writing and tries to test an extraordinary idea drawn from them. The novel combines women's fiction, suspense, and speculative time travel, using Kaley's wish to revisit a past decision as both motive and source of danger. Byington describes the premise as growing from her own reflections on choices she once wished she could change. Her earlier novel Who She Is received first place for historical fiction in the 2018 Royal Palm Literary Awards. Her later book Louise and Vincent imagines a relationship during the final period of Vincent van Gogh's life. Across these books, Byington places researched historical figures or settings beside invented women seeking greater agency.