Diane Melby grew up on Long Island, New York the fifth of 10 children. She attended Slippery Rock College in Pennsylvania before moving to Winchester, Virginia. From there she launched a career in education which spanned over 40 years. She is the president-emeritus of a private university in Texas and writes from her home in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Within her poetry you may notice themes that explore the colors, sounds and choreography of the natural world and many of her poems reflect her spiritual foundations. Her poetry has appeared in Gyroscope, Quartet Journal, and Thimble Literary Magazine, the Northern Appalachia Review, as well as in other print and online publications. She was recognized for literary excellence in 2024 by the Poetry Society of Virginia and her latest poems are forthcoming in the Anthology of Appalachian Writers and the Bluebird Word. She is a member of the Virginia Poetry Society and West Virginia Writers. She extends warm appreciation to her writing friends, especially those in Bookends and the Bass Feedback Group for the support and insight members so generously share with her.