I have always loved to write. Before I could hold a pen, I think I was imagining stories in my head. I grew up in a small town, Hamilton, Missouri. Every night, my mom read fairy tales to me. Then Dad would come in and make up a bedtime story, inviting my assistance. “Once upon a time, there were four horses on a hill,” he’d begin. “And their colors were….” Then I’d get to chime in: “Um…brown…and brown…and brown and brown.” Fortunately, I got more creative as time went on.
Stories surrounded me. As Mom told about growing up in a family of 13, her “characters” came to life. When Dad shared his war stories, how he met my mom in basic training when WWII broke out, how they married, then spent the war overseas as Army doctor and Army nurse, stationed in different countries, I could picture it all. I came by storytelling honestly, I suppose.
While I was still a student at the University of Missouri, I wrote for fun—Letters to the Editor, then articles for major magazines. Eventually, I wrote my first book, a nonfiction humor and inspirational for grownups. I continued writing for the adult market, book after book, believing this was my career.
Then I had children—and I discovered the world of children’s books. Since then, although I’ve never stopped writing for grown-ups, I’ve made a nice living writing for children. When the kids were little, I wrote board books. As they grew, I grew with them—writing picture books, early readers, chapter books, middle-grade fiction and nonfiction, and young adult novels. But as I moved to a new age group, I kept writing for the other groups too. And now I can honestly say that I write for every age. Lucky me!
Email: Dandi Mackall
