Hi! I'm D.J., and I write smart, character-driven escapism.

What does that mean?
First of all, reading one of my books should be fun, something to take your mind off the stresses of your life and plunge you into a vivid world where the protagonist matters and it's possible to win. The descriptions won't be pages long, just enough to let you build the world you want to experience, because my books are about letting you live, feel, and anticipate what comes next.

To that end, I write simply and cleanly: my first drafts are always shorter than my final drafts, and I try not to go heavy on flowery language. I also won't always explain everything, but focus on what it's like to have to do thing things involved. If you like to know things, you'll see a lot of research went into that simplicity, but if you just want to relax and follow the action, that's fine, too.

Finally, my characters usually start out at a disadvantage and gain the upper hand by being obnoxiously bold or clever. They're decisive, which can take other people off guard, and they're almost always in over their heads. My plots are layered, and my books tie into each other in complex ways. As a result, I've been told a first readthrough of my work is great (>4.5* average on Amazon), but the second readthrough is even better because you get to see all the layering that went into building it.