KP Spotlight! Dani M.

Kingdom Pen is so excited to release our very first KP Spotlight! It is so neat getting to know you better! We hope you enjoy this feature as much as we are! Thank you Dani M for agreeing to share a little bit about yourself with us.

Kingdom Pen: Tell us a little bit about yourself. What are three interesting facts?

Dani M: Well, my siblings tell me that I stick my tongue out when I’m concentrating. Especially on piano or violin. Flute would be a little hard to do that on, though.

I think in a British accent. I talk in a Northern accent, but my Southern accent comes out a lot. And occasionally, a word or two slip out in English pronunciation. Especially ‘process’. I can also talk in Scottish, Irish, and Hindi accents.

I seem to not be able to construct a sentence without mentioning the Bible Bee at least once. My mom hosts our locals, and I’ve participated in it since the beginning, so that’s probably why.

Bonus: I lived in eleven houses before I was five. And three of my siblings and I have been born in different time zones.

KP: If you could have any vocation, and money was no object, what would it be?

DM: Singing across Europe. Or running a tea shop/craft shop/animal rescue. Something crazy like that, to be certain. Most people think I’m crazy.

KP: Homeschooled? Public-schooled? Tell us the tale.

DM: I’ve been homeschooled all my life. Nothing extra exciting, except maybe that I was in Algebra one for five years- from ten to fifteen. I finally finished, though, and I’m looking forward to geometry! Science and algebra tie as my most difficult subjects, and music is my favorite.

KP: What do you consider your biggest accomplishment? (It’s okay to brag a little on this one!)

DM: Honestly, probably making it through nineteen months of traveling across the Lower 48. Nevermind, it was making it to the National Bible Bee semi-finals with one of my best friends!

KP: What is the best part about writing for you?

DM: Being able to be creative, probably. Getting to invent worlds and people.

KP: What is the best writing advice you’ve ever received?

DM: Well, I have been told over and over not to edit- get it written down and then edit, but, unfortunately, I have never followed it.

KP: What is your favorite thing to write—poetry, fiction, nonfiction, blog posts, etc.?

DM: I like to write fiction. I’m sort a fantastical person who walks around with my head in the clouds, so I invent a lot of things. Some of them have been written down, and some not.

KP: What is your biggest struggle as a writer? Biggest fear?

DM: My biggest struggle is portraying feelings without actually stating them. That’s kind of weird, because I’m very expressive, and you’d think I’d be able to. As for fear, I really don’t have any so far.

KP: What are your goals as a writer?

DM: I don’t really know. I just started writing because I have too many ideas. I never had goals. And that’s kind of how it is still. Hopefully, I can get one or two books published. But if not, I’m fine with that as well.

KP: If you could give one piece of encouragement to other writers your age, what would it be?

DM: If your writing isn’t what you want it to be, and you can’t get it right, set it aside for a bit. I’ve set things aside for up to a year, and when I come back, I see what was wrong and am able to fix it. It also helps if you have great friends who are so much better at writing than you are and can just tell you what’s wrong.

KP: What do you like the most about Kingdom Pen?

DM: The articles are great! They’ve been very helpful.

KP: If there was one thing you’d like to see added, expanded, or changed at Kingdom Pen, what would it be?

DM: I think I’d like to see more music, from other Christian writers. After all, we musicians write too. We write music!

KP: How did you find out about Kingdom Pen?

DM: I read on the Boyer Family Singers blog about this Christian website that was hosting a Begin Your Novel contest, and the prize was a hundred dollars. I thought, “Christian? Begin Your Novel contest? A hundred bucks! Sounds good!” Ironically, I had just begun another novel. And the beginning has changed drastically since.

KP: How long have you been a subscriber?

DM: Since then.

KP: What was your favorite Kingdom Pen article, short story, or poem?

DM: I really liked ‘Of Parallels and Perpendiculars’. It seems like my life is like that a lot.

KP: If you could say one thing to the Kingdom Pen community, what would it be?

DM: Thanks for making Kingdom Pen happen!

KP: A movie is being made about your life. What are three songs that would definitely make the soundtrack cut and why?

DM: Vivaldi’s ‘Four Seasons’, because that’s what made me want to play violin. Probably also ‘In Dreams’ from the Fellowship of the Ring. I daydream a lot. And… Um… ‘In Every Trying Hour’, which is an original song that we sang at the National Bible Bee. I’ve participated in it every year, so it’s a big part of my life.

 

Dani M is a crazy sixteen-year-old in the heart of the 49^th state in the Union. She enjoys knitting, crocheting, spinning, and any number of crafts! And singing and playing one of her many instruments. She is an older sister to two brothers and two sisters. Her two goats, unfortunately, are not at her property, and she wishes to add rabbits and various poultry to her farm. She and her sister have run a magazine for girls for four years, which you can sign up for at: MillersInAlaska.org

Her favorite authors and stories include J.R.R. Tolkein, C.S. Lewis, and fairy tales that merge Alaska with British literature and Scandinavian themes.