Donations to Charities

A percentage of the author's profit, made from the sales of The Spell of Summer, will go to charity for the length of the book's publication, split equally between *Sue Ryder Hospices and Marine Conservation Society. As of 15th October 2018, £22.50 has been raised and donated from book sales. Edit: As of October 2018, profits from The Spell of Summer can no longer be donated to charity. Thank you to everyone who has bought a copy of the book from its publication up until October 2018.

*Monies raised for Sue Ryder are done so as a tribute to Dianna's mother, Maria de Fátima Dudeney, who passed away in February, 2014. With the help of family, friends and a multitude of ventures, £1,462.51 has been donated so far in connection with this tribute.

Other charities Dianna supports are: The UK Wolf Conservation Trust. Read more below...
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I have told so many people about this charity over the years and have actively supported it through word of mouth. I've also bought winners of book competitions gift packs/subscriptions from the UK Wolf Conservation Trust. Sadly, the Trust now states on its website that it is no longer open to the public, although it is receiving donations. I wanted to tell you about my own introduction to the Trust.

In 2002, me and my then-husband were considering volunteering with them. We arranged to visit for a day and were offered the opportunity to meet the wolves and walk with them. It was an amazing day I will never forget, but life got a little tumultuous in the weeks after that day and we were never able to volunteer in the end. However, human and animals often form bonds - even spiritual bonds that defy explanation. I'd like to tell you about Duma.

Duma is one of the wolves I walked with that day. She was a stunning alpha female. I remember visiting the Trust that day with no expectations - I had no idea what would happen or how I'd feel about the place, or by wolves themselves. We romanticise a lot of things in our minds, but the reality is often so different.

Yet, I was struck by the wisened energy of all the wolves. There is an ancient, sometimes detached, and sometimes welcoming knowledge to their gaze. Almost always a little aloof. They are wild animals, but being among them conjured the strong sense that once, they were very much our guardians (and vice versa); allied with men in some form or another, perhaps through a spiritual pact or contract.

Duma was a lady with a gentle quality despite her clearly strong position among the pack. She was confident of herself and seemed so adaptable to her surroundings. I spent most of my time with her out of all the wolves, and when I left that day she gifted me with some of her fur - I still have that fur kept safely in a pouch.

Much, much later (about twelve years later) I learned that Duma had passed away on my birthday, but more than that, she passed away on the same month and year that Releasing The Wolf was published. This brought tears to my eyes. I've thought about her a lot as I wrote the rest of the series, and I sit with her fur and thank her often for her guidance.

Some animals walk with you forever.

Dianna
​October, 2018