Length of Novel:

111,950 words

Keywords and Market Focus:

Fiction, Anglo-Saxon, Ancient England, United States, South, Goddess, Dana-ana, Badb, Macha, Fairies, MI, British Military Intelligence, State Department, Britain, Standing Stones, Suspense, Stone Circles, Archeology, Mystery, Norman French, Wales, Ceridwin, Gaelic, Celts, Queen Elizabeth, Baptist, Catholic, Dolmen; will fascinate anyone interested in mystery and suspense—will appeal particularly to those who enjoy archeological historical mystery and suspense novels.

Genre:

Fiction

Synopsis: 

Who really is Dana-ana Goewyn?

Byron Macintyre didn’t know what he was getting himself into when he rescued his high school’s most infamous lunch thief, dirt magnet, and problem child.  Dana-ana Goewyn was his rescue.  She had a strange name, lived in a tarpaper shack on the bayou, and never spoke to anyone.  Until she met Byron, Dana’s life was made up of taking paper and pencils from wastebaskets so she could do her homework and hanging around the local KFC dumpster so she could scrounge something for supper.  Then Byron rescued her. 

Byron helped Dana back to her shack after one of her regular fights because she had a concussion and the school nurse wouldn’t take care of her.  The nurse had been burned by Dana-ana before.  What happened when Dana brought Byron into her house, changed their world.  Dana greeted him by washing his feet and then spoke to him.  No one had heard her speak before.  That’s when Byron began to learn about this person—Dana-ana.  She was starving, but would only accept something as a gift or if it was discarded.  She would not speak unless directly invited to talk. She wouldn’t enter a house unless welcomed with foot washing or bread and salt. 

When Byron brought Dana home for dinner, his mother wondered what kind of rescue he had made, but after she saw the life Dana lived, the Macintyre home accepted Dana into it.  That’s when they discovered she understood a host of ancient British languages.  That’s when they discovered they had invited a girl who imagined she was an Anglo-Saxon maiden into their home. 

Byron’s father was a professor of ancient British languages.  His mother was a nurse who had been a professor of medical history.  Although Dana seemed harmless, the question for the whole family was exactly who was this young woman.  Through her professional sources, Mrs. Macintyre discovered Dana-ana was listed by the State Department as an immigrant refugee, and they informed her Dana had been banished from Great Britain to the United States. 

Is Dana-ana mentally ill, a time traveler, a spy, a banished member of the British royal family, a criminal?  In the world that spun around Dana-ana nothing made sense.

Then the family readied itself to make their usual summer trip to England, and a letter from the Queen of England allowed Dana to return to Britain for the summer, but admonished and restricted her movements.  In Great Britain, perhaps everything about Dana-ana would be made clear…

Author's reviewer’s quotes:

Who the heck is Dana-ana? She’s a woman seeking redemption of the most unusual kind. The world seems to revolve around this most unassuming person and that makes her even more intriguing to Byron Macintyre.

Byron Macintyre rescues a strange girl whom everyone seems to hate. Why won’t she speak? Why won’t she take anything unless it is a gift? Why does she state over and over she is not allowed to tell them certain things? She’s just a girl, maybe seventeen. Her school records don’t say. She has no birthday, no family, no money, no knowledge of the modern world—just who is she?

Dana-ana seems to be the most blessed and most cursed person in the world. She found her household. She now has food, a place, a family, and maybe a boyfriend—if she knew what a boyfriend was. But there is something wrong about Dana-ana that won’t let her enjoy the peace she has found, and she still seeks redemption.

Short descriptive teasers:

Dana-ana Goewyn is an enigma—she could be delusional girl, a criminal, a spy, a member of royalty, a time traveler. Who is she? She won’t tell and no one else knows.

Byron Macintyre rescues the most disliked girl, Dana-ana Goewyn, in school and finds out there is much much more to her than anyone ever expected.

All Dana-ana seeks is redemption and peace, but those things will surely not be allowed her, and who is she really?