Featured Interview With Author Dana Ladell
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born and raised in Texas and lived here all my life. I have moved all over the state following my husband from one job to the next, and now find myself near Fort Worth since his retirement. We have two dogs (Luke and Mylee), five cats (Bambi, Bristle, Nala, Uwee, Odin) and one horse (Twitch).
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
My youngest memories are of my mom reading to me. Mother Goose Rhymes was a favorite. She also read fairy tales and the children's Bible to my brother and I. She modeled being a life-long reader, spending as much time as she could, when not taking care of the family, sitting in her chair by the lamp, reading a book. She devoured romance novels. To encourage us to read on our own, she took us to a little used book store and let us pick whatever we wanted to read. I often chose Nancy Drew books. My brother chose comic books. He has quite a collection!
I have been writing stories for as long as I can remember. When I was young, I would write little stories and draw a few pictures. Around middle school, I was writing stories about animals in spiral notebooks and for assignments in class. After graduation, my story writing was more occasional as I completed my college degree, got married, and started having children. After the birth of my first child, and the purchase of our first desktop computer, I started putting my stories into a more organized format. I kept a little notebook in my nightstand for those times when I would wake up from a dream and think, "That's a good idea for a book!" I have scribbles like that in all kinds of places, including memos in my phone.
I began writing my current series in earnest about two years ago. I was still working full-time as a science teacher, so I wasn't able to write as much as I wanted. After my husband retired a year ago, we moved and I did not go back to work, deciding to work on my writing career full-time. My first book, Draegan Heir, was published on Amazon in September of 2022. My second book, Draegan Mother released March 21, 2023. I am working on my third book now, to be released Summer 2023.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
The author that I credit with my first love for sci-fi and fantasy is Anne McCaffrey. I have read as many of her books as I could get my hands on. The Tower and the Hive series is a favorite, as is the Dragonriders of Pern. She is the author I would have to say inspired me to write my dragon series. Other authors I have greatly enjoyed are Anne Rice, Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson, Stephen King, Barb and JC Hendee, and so many others!
Tell us a little about your latest book?
After the release of Draegan Heir, I began working on Draegan Mother. It took me from the end of September until the end of January to get it written, self-edited, and ready to send to my editor. So about four months! That was significantly less than the length of time I spent on Draegan Heir. I hope it is because I am learning a little more each time I go through this process of getting a book ready for the world.
The Dragons' Clan series is about an ancient family entrusted with keeping the existence of dragons a secret for thousands of years. In return for this service, the dragons bestowed Gifts, genetic alterations caused with their own extraordinary mental powers, to aid their human custodians with their task. Gifts like Longevity, Telekinesis, Compulsion, and Telepathy, just to name a few. These Gifts are genetically passed from parent to offspring in various configurations. Now The Clan is in danger of dying out. An unknown cause prevents the females from carrying babies to term, reducing the number of offspring being born with Gifts each generation. This has reduced the number of members of reproducing age to two: Mikhail and Loreli. If they do not produce Gifted offspring, The Clan will fade out of existence.
Draegan Mother picks up where Draegan Heir left off. Mikhail Draegan searches for his wife, Loreli, on the run since she lost her mind during The Ritual. He must find her before the mentally unstable dragon she bonded to, Aquira, dies from her imperfect hatching, causing even greater harm to Loreli and her still damaged psyche. Sheridan, their young daughter, is now Apprentice Seer of The Clan. She trains daily, trying to master control of her Gifts, but she struggles. She hears the thoughts of everyone around her, unable to block them from entering her mind. If she can't learn control soon, she will lose control of her mind and her many strong Gifts. Just when things can't get any worse, Sheridan is kidnapped! The Clan must get her back. She is the key to the survival of more than The Clan.
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