Greetings and Salutations from J Lenni Dorner

Hello, Operation Awesome fans! I'm J. (It's like Jay, but without the superfluous "ay.") I'm from the Lenni Lenape tribe of Native Americans. (Lenape is pronounced “Leh-NAH-pay.") I'll be running the Debut Author Spotlight on Wednesdays.

I write speculative fiction (which is what happens when fantasy, sci-fi, and horror make a baby... and, in my case, Nanny Lore raises that baby). The name of my website, What-Are-They.com, came from the question I intend my readers to ponder.



I also wrote a reference book for writers. It sprang from a conversation where a friend asked me what an agent meant by "settings that feel like characters." Years of being a DM in RPs gave me significant insight. By the time I got to the end of the explanation, there was the basis of a book (and a month of blog posts for the A to Z challenge). It's a book about preparing to write settings that feel like characters. It is NOT about how to write settings, or how to write characters, or a manual on what to do once you’ve fleshed this particular type of character out.

I consider gender to be among the least interesting facts about a person, which is why I don’t care to use pronouns for myself. The religion I grew up around in Lancaster County, PA, prohibits photography of people. Here's a silhouette of me by a tree, which is where I prefer to be. (I have hugged many trees. Literally, I have walked up to large trees and hugged them. Side note- be careful when hugging a maple.)

Introduction posts are HARD! Here's an "about me" that sprang up from the OA Mad Libs post.

J Lenni Dorner is a fantasy author who has written about everything from immortality to sociable dragons and has won publication in the Philadelphia Inquirer for an essay. J is happily married and living in Pennsylvania. The author was a student at PSU and has enjoyed spelunking in Crystal Cave, drinking Yogi tea, and horseback riding with some Lenni Lenape elders. J aspires to become the first novelist to write a book while living in a submarine under the waters of Lake Erie.

I'd love to connect with you online.




FAQ page for Debut Authors: http://jlennidornerblog.what-are-they.com/debut-authors/

If you're a debut author who is ready to be interviewed, get in touch with me! If you're anyone else, tell me about your favorite ice-cream.