Born Under a Lucky Moon: A Novel

This is the only book, out of the thousands my wife has read, where I can recall her laughing so hard that tears were streaming down her face. There were also numerous “Awww” moments as well.

So the premise: The (mostly) true story of a precocious small town girl (the youngest of five kids) who makes it big as a Hollywood ad exec but can’t seem to escape the wondrously destructive vortex that her family keeps dragging her into. The story is told as a series of flashbacks in which she very patiently explains to her would-be fiance why he might want to reconsider his offer. Both the present day scenes in which she deals with over-pampered starlets agents, studio, heads and directors as well as the flashback scenes in which she deals with the decidedly ‘by the bootstrap to a fault’ family members and townies are wonderfully revealing and expertly told. At first I found myself along for the ride with the first person voice that was disarmingly neutral. However, as the book progressed I found myself falling head over heals for the character and her seemingly impossible situations.

In short this was an amazing read. Strong recommend to buy (guys, this is the one you get for your girlfriend/wife).

Dani

– D. Kollin

Growing up in the same home town as Dana, I just had to read the book. I just loved the characters, some heavily veiled with a subtle hint to their identity, others with merely a letter change in the spelling of their names. It brought back delightful memories of my little peninsula home town. I could also share her perspective on familial relations, being the youngest in a large family of strong personalities. I couldn’t put it down and would find myself up too late until I finished the book. The book’s advertising is geared towards women, but I think it’s a good read for anyone from a large family, a small mid-western town, or those who want to know what either of them is like. Good job Dana, you’ve done the Norsemen proud.

– Leeward Ho

I grew up in North Muskegon also, and it was great fun revisiting the various landmarks this way! You forgot the block house, though. I was just there this weekend lol
Well written and great job from one West Michigan author to another 😊

– Long