Dana’s Blog

When I read Lew Wallace’s Ben-Hur, Anita Diamant’s The Red Tent, Francine Rivers’ Mark of the Lion, and Mesu Andrew’s Love Amid the Ashes, I got caught up in the almost fantastical world the authors created. The stories sprawled across time and shimmered with drama and danger. I loved these books but I’d never heard the term “biblical fiction.” Truth...

Writers are often asked, “Where do you get your ideas?” For my book RAIN, a story began to form as I read the following scripture passage. “Some time later the woman’s son became sick. He grew worse and worse, and finally, he died. Then she said to Elijah, ‘O man of God, what have you done to me? Have you come...

While the world hunkers down to evade Covid-19 and many use quarantine time for creative endeavors, abandoned projects, or nursing a sick loved one, I grab my duster, rags, and ancient bottles of furniture oil and set to doctoring a ninety-year-old chest of drawers. I polish this old dresser as if it’s a treasure, which of course it is, filled...

Early mornings are a great time to walk in our garden. The light of the rising sun softens the edges of leaves and blossoms and the colors of sky transmute as we watch. This is the time we’ll find garden surprises, a hidden butterfly chrysalis, an apple tree in full bloom, or new seedlings pushing their way up in out-of-the-way...

How My Book-in-a-Drawer Got Published After a long break from social media, I was browsing through FaceBook posts when I heard a private message ping. I cringed a little. The FB messages I’ve received are too often trolls. Sighing, I opened it and read: “Hi, are you the Dana McNeely who wrote RAIN? And if so, have you sold it...

I got fired the week after I closed the big art deal. Before the boss called me into his office, I remember walking around giddy with success. I was the new recruit in sales and this international customer would secure my place on the team. Things were looking up!  Minutes later I was packing up my desk. A single mom...

HOA Injustice One day as my daughter and I strolled through her neighborhood, she pointed out a lovely garden and told me a story of HOA injustice which prompted me to write “Death in the Butterfly Garden”, published in SoWest: Killer Nights. The woman was required to remove a bedraggled-looking plant, though she argued it would regrow the leaves eaten...

Finding Your Way Soon after I obtained my driver’s license, I learned the most ominous words in the English language. As I prepared to embark on my first cross-town errand, my mom rattled off directions involving cross streets, stop signs, and a fire hydrant on the corner. She closed with these words, which first inspired confidence, later fear: You can’t...