Donna Marie Lanheady

Novels captivated me at a very young age. All those years and all those books inspired me to become a writer. The journeys the stories took me on and their ability to make something imaginary seem real enthralled me. Secrets are a common theme in my novels because they intrigue me! Not necessarily the secrets themselves but their dynamics, the reasoning behind them, and the havoc they inevitably cause in peoples lives. People often ask if my writing is autobiographical. My answer is an emphatic NO! I am much too private to write anything that's true. That being said, I do abide by the rule to write what you know, so there are bits and pieces of me strewn throughout my novels without any of it actually being about me. For instance, although I live on the east coast now, I was born in a suburb of Denver, moved near Boulder as a teenager, and lived in the Boulder area for much of my adult life, which is why I chose Colorado as the setting for my novels. On the emotional side, I often tap into my own emotions to help me relate to what the character is feeling. Although my characters don't feel the exact same way, at its core the emotion is similar enough to help me imagine their feelings and in that way, bring them to life. To learn more about me, please follow me on Instagram.