Diana Finfrock Farrar has been a guest on radio shows such as the Robert Christian show, and the Lambda Weekly program on Knon 89.3. She has spoken at many events, including a City Council Meeting regarding an Equal Rights Ordinance, and at numerous churches, including the Metropolitan Community Church of Greater Dallas. She makes herself available for local book club discussions and can Skype with groups from across the country. Outside of her book, she has also published articles for The Family Equality Council, and been interviewed by The Carrollton Leader, the Dallas Voice, and The Freedom to Marry. 

Her unique perspective as a woman formerly married to a man, and now married to her long time best friend - a woman, touches people on a deep level. As an author, she has expressed the many dynamics of the LGBT community and its interactions with others through fiction. Based upon true stories and current events, her interweaving storylines are riveting and thought provoking. If you are interested in interviewing Diana, or learning more, please submit a request here. 

Independent Reviews:

Kirkus Review
This novel explores faith, gay issues and standing up for what’s right.
Tammy is the wife of Ed Sloan, a prominent figure in the Texas political scene who is struggling over the fallout of the bullying of gay student Jamie O’Dell, which involved the Sloans’ son, Michael. The issue sends shockwaves through the lives of Ed and his colleagues, friends and family, especially Tammy, who begins to consider gay rights from a new angle. Farrar follows Tammy’s journey as the once-dutiful wife and mother opens her heart to Jamie’s mother, Marcie; from there, she visits a PFLAG meeting, volunteers with the Trevor Project helping at-risk gay youth, and begins to stand up against her husband’s anti-gay views, both at home and in public. The book admirably shows the far-reaching effects of homophobia and commendably brings gay issues home and depicts the mental and emotional work people must do to change their views. The story is rooted in faith from a range of perspectives, showing how Christian faith can both harden and open peoples’ hearts—a refreshing take on the hot topic. Endnotes throughout the text and a list of LGBT resources shine a light on the book for the educational project it ultimately is. But Farrar’s open-hearted willingness to be gentle to her characters is sure to make the book appealing to a broad audience, especially to people of faith struggling to understand the intersection between LGBT issues and their beliefs.
Emotional, open-minded and vital.

Good Reads
Marilyn Stratmann rated it 5 of 5 stars
This is an excellent book that I highly recommend to straight and LGBT readers alike as it tells stories of people trying to live their lives as they feel God intends them to and how hard that can be to all concerned. The stories in this book were interesting and taught me about issues I had not fully understood before. But, even more importantly they showed me how our action or inaction affects so many and thus, they helped me to be a more empathetic person.
(Read more Good Reads Reviews)


Amazon
Teachers and All Who Work with Children Take Note
By Susan on May 2, 2014
This book should be recommended reading for every school teacher, administrator, office worker, cafeteria worker, and janitor as well as everyone else who encounters children and young adults in any setting. It is a page-turner with such a real group of characters, there is someone with whom each of us can identify and recognize. It is thought provoking and conversation starting, and gives some real world ideas on how to take another look from a different perspective at LGBTQ issues. Every "LGBTQ issue" is a human being and a Child of God, and if we can start with that, the rest gets much easier.
(Read more Amazon Reviews)

Red City Review
Confronting the issue of homosexuality and Christianity head on, The Door of the Heart focuses on the journey of protagonist Tammy Sloan after her son bullies a gay student at his high school. The wife of a conservative Texas politician, Tammy, begins to reexamine her values after the incident blows up in the media, and embarks on a mission not just to view LGBT issues through a loving Christian perspective, but to become an active participant in positive change. A generous look at homosexuality through a Christian lens, Diana Finfrock Farrar’s novel interweaves multiple story lines that feature endearing characters each confronting the consequences of homophobia and demonstrating a need for the understanding and the embracing of the LGBT community, especially in the heart of Bible-belt reactionaryism. The Door of the Heart is a magnificently compelling read that is hard to put down; its strong themes lend it great potency. There are story arcs and characters that illustrate some truly moving portraits of friendship and family. Ultimately, the few drawbacks do little to mar what is otherwise a fantastic novel. The writing is overall tight, lucid, and meticulously composed. If the metaphors are heavy-handed, they are also strong and deeply resonant. If characters can get overly didactic in their speech and inner musings, they learn and evolve well, too. If the arguments are repetitive, some inspired details glisten with the richness and warmth of everyday life and a harmonious balance is achieved between these and the rhetoric. You get very caught up in this novel; it really gets under your skin and forces you to think and feel. In the mouths of her characters, Finfrock Farrar’s arguments are convincing and compelling; there is a lot to make the reader angry about injustices and to stir them out of complacency and compel them to action, fueled by powerful and intense moments full of genuine feeling and pathos as well as insightful examinations of the intricacies of human emotions and relationships. The book is incredibly well researched and informed; the subject matter is handled with delicacy, respect, and maturity, and the reader cannot help but be struck by how fully it brims with compassion, thoughtfulness, and goodwill. Although The Door to the Heart is very much for a Christian audience, it absolutely has a wide appeal and it is difficult to imagine that it couldn’t melt the iciest of hearts and achieve the good work of opening minds and arms that it sets out to do.

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