Diane L. Goeres-Gardner is a fifth-generation Oregonian, as her ancestors settled in Tillamook County in 1852. She began writing at an early age, winning her first writing contest at age 12.

She is an '84 M.A. graduate of the University of Oregon where she did intensive study under poet Ralph Salisbury. In 2002 she won 1st place in the Oregon State Poetry Contest narrative division with "Racing the Antelope".

In 1999 she read about the hanging of Adam Wimple (1852) in an old Oregon Statesman newspaper and finding no books and very few articles about this part of Oregon's past, she decided to start collecting her research into a book. It took five years to finish her investigation and another year to find a publisher. She's now working on a sequel to Necktie Parties called Murder, Morality and Madness: Women Criminals in Early Oregon History, due to to be released winter 2009.

Diane belongs to "Women Writing the West", an organization devoted to writing about the western experience.  She also belongs to the "Willamette Writers" a writing organization based in Portland, OR.

Since September 2007, Diane has been giving presentations through the Oregon Council for Humanities as an Oregon Chautauqua speaker.  She gives a presentation entitled "Frontier Justice".  Appearances can be scheduled by contacting Diane directly via email diane@necktieparties.com or through the Oregon Council for Humanities.

Besides writing and doing research, Diane enjoys scrapbooking, quilting and reading. She has two married daughters and a wonderfully supportive husband. They live along the Umpqua River in a little valley carved out by the river and bordered by enormous Myrtle wood trees. Her constant companion is Cody, a miniature poodle-mix, whose single-minded devotion to his daily walk keeps her active.