Dana is a middle grade author. This means she writes books for people ages 8 and up. Her novels include Not a Unicorn, Open If You Dare, and The Infinity Year of Avalon James. She also wrote the non-fiction reference book, The Young American’s Unofficial Guide to the Very British World of Harry Potter. Dana lives in Los Angeles, but grew up in Georgia. Much of the inspiration for her books came from her experiences on the family farm.
I’ve always loved stories. I remember as a kid in Atlanta, Georgia, how much I would daydream about the world beyond my hometown. I dreamed of having a horse that was my very own (which happened one day) and of flying in a hot balloon over the Swiss Alps (which hasn’t happened yet).
There were certain books that made a big impact on me. I cried buckets at the end of Where the Red Fern Grows. James and the Giant Peach was so weird and fabulous. I couldn’t believe it when the peach actually rolled over Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spikey and flattened them like pancakes! But probably my favorite book was Charlotte’s Web because of the strange love triangle between a pig, a spider, and a girl. I totally identified with Fern!
When I was a teen, my family moved to a small town in the North Georgia mountains. That town is where Jewel lives in Not a Unicorn, and my parents’ farm serves as the model for Atticus’s grandparents’ farm in The Infinity Year of Avalon James.
I live in Los Angeles now where I worked in film and theatre, while secretly wanting to be a writer. But it took me a long time to get up the courage. I knew lots of talented writers, including my husband, and believed real writers were born knowing what to write and how to write it. And it wasn’t that way for me. I had to learn that I didn’t need to know everything, I just had to write. I had to put those daydreams on paper. And that’s what I do now.
I’m the aunt to some pretty spectacular nieces, nephews, and god-kids.
I love to sing but I don’t know how to whistle.
I had a pony named Little Bit who bucked me off only once.
I can shuffle cards like a dealer in Vegas because my mom taught me how.
I’m the oldest of three sisters. We fought a lot growing up but we hardly ever fight now.
I like writing for kids because they are hopeful, curious creatures.
