Darynda Jones Books

Description /Buy link takes you to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate I earn money from qualifying purchases.

Darynda Jones is an American author that writes YA fantasy, paranormal romance, and romantic suspense. The USA Today and NY Times bestseller spent her childhood telling stories. It was a compulsive activity. She couldn’t stop.

The author remembers scribbling chaos on paper at the age of five and asking her mother to read what she had written. Her mother was more than happy to indulge her. As she matured, Darynda began writing plays for her brother and the neighborhood kids.

She would also create stories for her Barbie and Ken toys to enact. Her teachers were far from pleased. They thought she was spending too much time daydreaming. They kept sending her to the principal’s office.

But Darynda couldn’t tame her imagination. Somehow, she made it to high school. The author remembers starting and nearly finishing a manuscript with a post-apocalyptic setting in which the members of Van Halen tried to escape a maze of tunnels designed to protect its inhabitants from World War III.

The author remembers those days fondly because writing brought her so much joy. Graduation changed everything because it forced her to face reality. The real world was unforgiving. Survival meant putting her silly publishing dreams aside and getting a real job.

Along the way, she married a man and gave birth to children, one of whom was deaf. The deaf boy was five when Darynda moved to Albuquerque. She wanted her son to attend a Hard-of-hearing program. Her partner had a business that compelled him to stay behind.

The pair spent seven years running back and forth between both locations, which was challenging. But the change had its advantages. The author was still living in Albuquerque when she returned to college.

Darynda pursued a degree in Sign Language Interpreting from the University of New Mexico, graduating Summa cum Laude. Once she returned to her hometown, the author landed several jobs, including teaching positions.

But even though her work kept her busy, she couldn’t quench the desire to write. Eventually, the urge became too strong for her to bare. So she decided to give it a serious go. That was in 2002.

Her goal was to land a decent publishing contract. But her manuscript was terrible. She persevered, using each failure as an opportunity to hone her craft until she completed a manuscript worth publishing.

The accolades and book deals she landed soon after validated the author’s decision to pursue her passion despite the challenges.

Darynda Jones Awards

Darynda has won Golden Heart, Daphne du Maurier, Holt Medallions, and Rita Awards.

Best Darynda Jones Books

The author is so successful that her works have been translated into seventeen languages. Darynda’s best books include:

First Grave On The Right: Charley Davidson was a part-time investigator, which was lucky because she could also see the dead or, at the very least, their spirits. Her skills as an investigator complemented the gift because the dead needed convincing to move on to the afterlife.

The task attracted unique challenges. Those who died under suspicious circumstances often worsened things because they couldn’t move on until Charley brought their killers to justice.

Charley had adjusted to her bizarre existence. The only aspect of her gift she couldn’t understand where the intense dreams. They showed her visions of an entity. This entity had followed Charley her entire life.

But now, she had a good reason to believe it was alive instead of a random spirit haunting her dreams. What did it want from her? Why was Charley having a hard time resisting him? What was so bad about surrendering to her desires?

Second Grave On The Left: Charley Davindson’s best friend woke her in the middle of the night. Cookie’s friend Mimi had gone missing. Five days later, she sent Cookie a text, asking to meet at a coffee shop. But by the time Cookie and Charley arrived, Mimi was gone.

She wrote a woman’s name in a message on the bathroom wall before leaving. Mimi’s husband explained that Mimi had an old high school friend who died a few weeks ago. Mimi had been acting strange since she learned the news.

And now, she had written the dead woman’s name on the wall. What did it all mean? Meanwhile, Reyes Alexander Farrow is still leaving his corporeal body to haunt Charley. He wants to protect her from the dreams who see the part-time investigator as their ticket to heaven.

When Does The Next Darynda Jones book come out?

Darynda Jones doesn't seem to have an upcoming book. Their newest book is Graveyard Dog and was released on November, 19th 2024. It is the newest book in the Charley Davidson Series.

Home » Author » Darynda Jones

BookSeries.org