Dayna Leigh Cheser is originally from Connecticut and currently resides in Florida. She is retired, and writing is her “retirement career.” She has been writing professionally for several years in the Historical Romance genre. Her most recent work is Moria’s Time, Book 2 of the “TIME Series.”
In the author’s words, here is a summary of the book:
“Moria, daughter of Janelle (Book 1), is seen in a vision when an infant - as a young woman, she'll travel to a distant place where she'll be in danger.
“This book takes Moria from her childhood to being an adult who is focused on becoming a doctor in the mid-1800s - a nearly impossible task. She meets Elizabeth Blackwell who introduces her to Florence Nightingale. Miss Nightingale summons Moria to London where she works in a charity hospital and meets Dr. Simon Hensley. Later, Moria goes with Miss Nightingale, as a nurse, to tend wounded soldiers. Dr. Hensley follows here there but she's skittish about relationships with men so she tells him to return to London - he does not. Does Moria ever become a doctor? Do Simon and Moria eventually connect? What's in store for them?
“Moria is the younger of twin daughters of Janelle (of Janelle's Time, Book 1). From the beginning, Moria is different. She starts at a young age to learn her heritage (she's of the famed MacKendall clan where the women have certain skill, or powers), which in her case, includes time travel.
“In addition to Miss Blackwell (the first female MD in the US & the UK), and Miss Nightingale, she also meets Frederick Douglass, American Slave-turned-author-newspaperman, and Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
“There is very little of Moria in me - or visa versa. I share more with Janelle from Book 1, and maybe a bit with Adelle, Moria's twin sister (Book 3).”
Cheser describes herself as a “pantser,” writer “so I don't usually have anything in particular in mind when I sit down to write. I just start writing, letting whatever wants to happen come out. So far, it's worked out well.”
Her main challenge is “spending a lot of time making sure I have all the facts right. I'm talking about historical facts, obviously, but beyond that, birthdates, full names, is the character in the right place to interact with the real-life historical characters, do they have the same color hair and eyes all the way through the book(s), all the big and small facts. Some, I keep track on timelines, others on character sheets, but largely, it's in my head.”
Cheser states that, in regard to other authors, “I have many favorite authors for different reasons, but the one author who most influenced my work is Bertrice Small, the Queen of the Hot Historical Romances back in the late 70s and into the 80s. I have nearly half of her 50+ books, and read them over and over.”
A funny and interesting fact about Cheser is “My pen name, Dayna Leigh Cheser, came about because my 'real' name - Julie Jordan - is the same as the main character in the Broadway play Carousel. I didn't want to have a big legal problem with the owners of Julie Jordan so I was proactive and picked a pen name early on. Dayna and Leigh are alternate spellings of Dana and Lee, and Cheser I found after spending hours on the US Census Bureau website, looking for just the right last name - near the beginning of the alphabet, simple, and not often used. Then I googled my new name and came up with nothing. Hence, Dayna Leigh Cheser. Because I've been on social media since 2009, I'm known by both names, but for my writing, I'm DLC.”
Finally, Cheser gives aspiring writers a word of advice. “Patience. You don't decide to be a writer on Monday and leave for your book tour on Friday. It takes a long time from the first word to the book in your hands - a long time, and lots of hard work. Few writers make a living at what they love to do - JK Rowling and Stephen King are examples of the exceptions, not the rule. Writing is not for someone looking for instant gratification. Patience is necessary at every step, from start to finish.”
You can find out more about DLC and her work here: Website: http://DaynaLCheser.com is where a lot of information can be found about her and her books. “Learn about me in the 'About' tab, and my books in the 'TIME Series' tab. And, while you're there, go to the DIY Interviews tab and fill out my interview questionnaire. Your form will become a post on my blog, 'Posts by Dayna.'”
Her work is available as follows:
Janelle's Time, Book 2 of the TIME Series, is available on Amazon (US/UK/CA) and B&N.
Moria's Time, Book 2 of the TIME Series, will be available soon everywhere.
The last 3 books of the series, Adelle's Time, Logan's Time, and Clarissa's Time, will be coming out over the next 18 months.
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