Diana Rubino

Diana Rubino is a historical novelist who writes biographical novels about real historical figures, often with a paranormal twist. Originally from New Jersey, she has published around 18 books through independent publishers including Wild Rose Press and Next Chapter Publishing. A member of the Richard III Society for over 30 years and the Aaron Burr Association, Diana brings deep research and a passion for archives to every book. She lives in Hudson, New Hampshire, with her husband Chris and two cats.

Host: Richard Lowe | Guest: Diana Rubino

Interview Transcript

Richard: Tell us about yourself.

Diana: I started writing novels in the early 80s and didn’t get my first novel published until 1999. It was a long road to publication, but I just kept churning them out and stuck with it.

I wrote my first historical novel about the court of Henry VIII because I’ve always been a huge Tudorphile. Then I made the acquaintance of Richard III. I found a book about him on the wrong shelf in the Cambridge Public Library. It seemed serendipitous — I was looking for my next subject. I checked it out, brought it home, and thought, “I’ve got to write about this guy. He’s fascinating.”

He has a huge following. The Richard III Society, of which I’ve been a member for over 30 years, has thousands of members all over the world. He captures the imaginations of so many people because there’s so much mystery associated with him.

Biographical Novels

Diana: I started writing biographical novels with no fictional characters. A straight biography is extremely difficult to write — I admire anybody who does it. You have to do a tremendous amount of research and meet experts in the field.

My first biographical novel was about Alexander Hamilton. When I was researching him, I found out he had an affair with a beautiful woman named Maria Reynolds. It became a big scandal — our country’s first sex scandal, in 1791. It got exposed to the public and helped ruin his chances at the Presidency.

The Aaron Burr and Eliza Jumel Story

Diana: When I was researching Hamilton, I became acquainted with Aaron Burr. He fascinated me almost as much as Richard III. There’s an Aaron Burr Association with a few hundred members, and I joined and go to their meetings every year.

My next book was about Burr and his last wife, Eliza. Even though there isn’t much written about her, I managed to find a few biographies. Eliza grew up dirt poor in Providence. Her mother was a prostitute, and she became one too — the only way she could make a living. She made her way to New York with a few pennies she had saved and worked her way to the top of the business world through sheer street smarts and business acumen with very little education. She eventually became the richest woman in New York City, making all her money in real estate.

She married a wealthy merchant named Steven Jumel and bought a mansion that’s still open to the public today in Harlem — the Morris Jumel Mansion. After her husband was killed in an accident, she lived in the mansion for a few more years. She had known Aaron Burr since she was a teenager — they knew each other for decades throughout his political career and vice presidency. Whether there was romance between them isn’t recorded in history, so as a novelist, of course I took license and created a romance that spanned decades but was always prevented by circumstances.

One night she’s sitting in her house with family. She was 56 years old. Aaron Burr shows up at her doorstep with a minister in tow. He was 78. He came in and asked her to marry him that very night. She married him. She always wanted prestige, and as a former Vice President, he had clout in high society circles.

They weren’t married long before he started blowing through her money — expensive clothes, taking friends to dinner, horses. She got fed up. After two years of marriage, she hired her neighbor as a divorce lawyer — who happened to be Alexander Hamilton Jr., Alexander Hamilton’s son.

Aaron was living in Staten Island, 80 years old, not doing well after a couple of strokes. He got served with the papers signed by Alexander Hamilton Jr. I can just imagine his reaction — he must have said, “Touché, Eliza, touché.” He died the same day he was served the papers. She lived until the 1860s, at least into her late eighties or early nineties.

Publishing Through Independent Presses

Richard: How many books have you published?

Diana: I’ve lost count — maybe 17, 18, 19. All through small independent publishers. I came close with a few major romance publishers like Harlequin but got rejected after a few back-and-forths. My first publisher was British and published my first seven or eight books. Now I’m with Wild Rose Press, which has been around at least 15 years, and Next Chapter Publishing. These independent publishers have been thriving.

A lot of authors have turned down offers from the Big Five to either self-publish or go with an independent publisher, and many do better. One author got a huge offer from St. Martin’s Press, turned them down, self-published, and did a lot better. Though I’d say that’s kind of like hitting the lottery.

Richard: What’s next?

Diana: My next book is another biographical novel, about Edith Roosevelt — Theodore Roosevelt’s wife. I don’t have a publication date yet, but my publisher has it in the queue. They were very interesting people to research.

To me, the research is the best part. I’m a history nut and I love delving as deep as I can into archives and meeting experts in whatever person or era I’m writing about.

Learn more about Diana Rubino at dianarubino.com.

Find Richard Lowe at TheWritingKing.com.