“a beautifully unsparing, rollickingly funny, tender story about fact and fiction”
–Philip Bennett, former managing editor, The Washington Post
BOSTON, MA – In Diane Wald’s sharp and tender novella, “The Bayrose Files” (May 27, 2025), ambitious young journalist Violet Maris goes undercover at a prestigious writers’ colony in 1980s Provincetown. Determined to secure a coveted residency, she fakes her talent, using her friend’s stories to gain admission. Her intention: to write a captivating exposé based on her experiences. However, Violet’s promising start at the colony takes a dark turn when tragedy strikes—her friend, the true author of the stories, succumbs to AIDS. This loss plunges Violet into turmoil, compounded by the weight of the terrible secret she carries. Compelled to confess, she confides in a member of the colony’s board with whom she has become romantically involved. The revelation of her deception leaves Violet grappling with disgrace and searching for a path toward redemption and reconciliation—with herself and those she has inadvertently hurt.
A short but powerful and provocative read, “The Bayrose Files” explores art, morality and identity with humor and a gentle heart.
“The Bayrose Files”
Diane Wald | May 27, 2025 | Regal House | Literary Fiction
Paperback | ISBN: 9781646035953 | $18.95
Praise for the book…
“Young journalist Violet Maris tells a daring lie that launches her on a collision course with the truth about herself. ‘You just can’t trust a writer,’ Violet says. Trust Diane Wald to write a beautifully unsparing, rollickingly funny, tender story about fact and fiction, love and art, set in the creative hub of 1980s Provincetown. A great read you won’t want to put down.”
—Philip Bennett, former managing editor, “The Washington Post”
“‘The Bayrose Files’ is a gem of a book, taking us into the creative and complex world of an art colony, seen through the eyes of an impostor. The characters, story, structure, language, setting, and pacing are brilliant. The moral lessons are gentle, human foibles forgivable. I devoured it in a single sitting and remain in awe of Diane Wald’s imagination.”
—Romalyn Tilghman, author of “To the Stars Through Difficulties”
“I gulped down ‘The Bayrose Files’ in one sitting. What starts as a simple story of deception unspools into a tale of grief, love, and complicated regret. In prose that crackles, Diane Wald crafts a marvelous storyteller in Violet Maris. Violet is sharp, endearing, and deeply human. It was a pleasure to follow her every bad decision. Violet—and Wald—kept me guessing until the last page.”
—Miriam Gershow, author of “Closer” and “Survival Tips: Stories”
“For Violet Maris, the temperature varies in inanimate objects. This is her guide in The Home, a prestigious artist colony in Provincetown where, as a journalist, she poses as a fiction writer in order to write an exposé. Following the relative heat of things, she navigates the death of a dear friend, a love affair with a board member, and her own deceit. Of course, there is a reckoning, but it is not what she expects, in this metaphysical and gripping story where the pages seem to turn by themselves. What will touch her now?”
—William C. Dell, author of “Home Alone in the Multiverse”
About the author…
DIANE WALD is a poet and novelist who grew up in New Jersey, but lived most of her life in Massachusetts. She has an MFA from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She has worked as a library assistant, periodical circulation manager, English professor, academic dean, and in-house writer for a national animal welfare organization. Her novella “Gillyflower” was published in 2019 and won first place awards from the Next Generation Indie Book Awards and American Book Fest, among other accolades. “My Famous Brain,” her second novel, won first place in Visionary Fiction from the New York City Big Books Awards, first place in Visionary Fiction, New Adult Fiction, and Speculative Fiction from the Firebird Book Awards, and was a bronze winner in the Foreword INDIES Awards. Diane has also published more than 250 poems in literary magazines. She is the recipient of a two-year fellowship in poetry from the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown and has been awarded the Grolier Poetry Prize, The Denny Award, The Open Voice Award, and the Anne Halley Award. She also received a state grant from the Massachusetts Council on the Arts. She has published four print chapbooks and won the Green Lake Chapbook Award. Her new novel, “The Bayrose Files,” is forthcoming in May 2025 from Regal House Publishing. Learn more at www.dianewald.org.
Follow Diane Wald on social media:
Facebook: @sleeperina | Twitter: @sleeperina | Instagram: @dianewaldwriter
In an interview, Diane Wald can discuss:
- How her own time spent at a writers’ colony influenced this book
- The unique metaphysical aspects of the book
- Writing morally gray characters and exploring the intersection of art and ambition
- How her career as an award-winning poet influences her approach to fiction
- Her writing process, and what’s next for her
An Interview with Diane Wald
1. What inspired you to write “The Bayrose Files”? Did you spend time at a writers colony like the one Violet goes to?
I was in my twenties when I was accepted for a poetry fellowship at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown (FAWC) in 1973, and that was renewed for a second year. The Bayrose Files is based on my experiences there – although it is totally fiction. The protagonist is a fiction writer, not a poet, and she cheated to obtain her residency. The story is set in the 1980s, which allowed me to explore the topic of AIDS in those days.
2. Provincetown is an interesting setting. What drew you to that place?
My parents packed up me and my younger brother and drove us almost every summer from our home in New Jersey to one of the towns on the outer Cape for a week or two, and every year one day was dedicated to visiting Provincetown. I not only got to know the place; I fell in love, and visited as often as I could when I grew up. Provincetown as a setting allowed me to explore a wide array of lifestyles, ages, careers, art forms, and beliefs in order to enhance my book’s themes of personal ethics, creativity, love, and friendship. I often think of the setting as a character in my book.
3. A unique subplot is that Violet can sense items by their varying temperatures as a “thermopath.” What does this signify for you?
I’m not sure if “thermopath” is actually a word or if one of my blurbists coined it, but it does describe this interesting talent of Violet’s. I like to include extrasensory concepts in my work, and have done so in my previous two novels. In The Bayrose Files, Violet is forced to pay attention to these temperature clues all through her various experiences and misadventures as a sort of grounding device. By the end of the book she’s paying a great deal of attention to them.
4. You are also an award-winning poet. Does your poetry influence your approach to writing fiction?
I was terrified of showing my fiction to anyone for many years, although I started writing it in my forties. I didn’t resurrect the idea of publishing it until a few years ago. I do think my poetry influences my prose writing because I always work with a piece from the word to the phrase to the sentence to the paragraph. I want all the words to be the best ones I can come up with, and that’s a lot like writing poetry. Imagery is tremendously important to me as well, and making sure the imagery repeats and transforms itself and creates a sensory whole. What I love about fiction is adding dialogue to the mix.
5. Since retirement, you’ve been writing more than ever. Do you find you have more inspiration, more time to focus, or both? What is your writing process like?
Since I retired four years ago, I’ve published four books: a volume of poetry, two novels, and now this book. Plus, I’ve placed quite a few poems, stories, and memoir pieces in the last few years as well. Some of that is just luck; some of it is having more time. I have a lovely room to write in and the calmness that develops over time when you don’t have to worry about all the vicissitudes of your day job. My last day job, as an in-house writer for a large organization, was especially stressful, although I don’t regret it because my duties included writing every day. That keeps your writing muscles strong.
A former award-winning journalist with national exposure, Marissa now oversees the day-to-day operation of the Books Forward author branding and book marketing firm, along with our indie publishing support sister company Books Fluent.
Born and bred in Louisiana, currently living in New Orleans, she has lived and developed a strong base for our company and authors in Chicago and Nashville. Her journalism work has appeared in USA Today, National Geographic and other major publications. She is now interviewed by media on best practices for book marketing.
