(This article first appeared in the March print edition published Feb. 28)
Her journey toward becoming a published children’s author started with a terrible tragedy that happened on the day before Mother’s Day in 2017.
On that day soon to be seven years ago, Morganfield native Dani Girten’s 3-year-old daughter Presley Grace Gregory died in a vehicular accident.
But as she grieved, Girten also had her older child, Righley, to be concerned about. She started looking for a tool to help him deal with the pain.
“I couldn’t find anything for him,” said Girten, an employee in the office of Henderson County Attorney Steve Gold. “There weren’t a lot of books for siblings.”
So, she turned to writing as both personal therapy in processing the family’s loss and as a way to create something that might help her son.
The result was “Dear Presley,” published through Amazon in 2022, a compilation of letters written from a brother to his sister in heaven and a tool for helping grieving families. It’s published under the pen name Danielle Keith.
But the experience worked so well personally for Girten that she hasn’t stopped writing. She recently published the first in a series of chapter books for young readers through Barnes & Noble titled “Discover The Realm of Everwood.”
During spring break, Henderson County Public Library will host a reading by the author along with a book signing at 6 p.m. April 2. Copies of both “Everwood” and “Dear Presley” will be available from the author. The event will take place in the library’s Children’s Department.
Here’s the basic premise of “Discover The Realm of Everwood:”
In a quiet town, best friends Mia and Luca, foster kids with a bond deeper than blood, stumble upon a mystical realm called Everwood. Guided by fate, they discover a school for young wizards and befriend magical creatures. As they unravel the mysteries of Everwood, they encounter the Shadowweaver, an ancient foe threatening both realms. United with Aurelius, a dragon with forgotten memories, Mia and Luca face a dark challenge. But with love, friendship, and unity, they triumph over the Shadowweaver, proving that the magic within them is the strongest force. As heroes, they return to Everwood, ready for new adventures.
Girten said she was a huge fan of the “Harry Potter” series as a younger reader and remains so as an adult, and that was an inspiration for writing in the fantasy genre.
She chose her two main characters to illustrate that families become blended in all sorts of ways. The Everwood “family” was formed with some unconventional players.
“Two friends and a dragon create a little home of their own,” the author said.
Girten has already had a book signing in Morganfield for “Everwood” and she sold out of all the copies she brought to the event. Better still, she received much positive feedback from the hometown crowd.
“Some of them said they were surprised that this came from me and that they were proud of me,” she said. Others told her that their children had already read “Everwood” and wanted clues about what might happen next.
And, yes, there is a “next.” Girten said she has already written “about 70 percent” of book 2 and hopes to have it in print before the start of summer.
Her writing discipline is to carve out some quiet time when her children aren’t around. In addition to Righley, she now has a second daughter, Ellie, who she said is a lot like Presley.
“I just dive into this other world and start writing,” she said, noting that whenever she has ideas she makes sure to right away capture her thoughts in writing. “Books are a good way to get away from the real world,” she said.
Girten credits a friend who was with her through the darkest time with encouraging her to write “Dear Presley.”
“She felt like I had a big story to tell and she pushed me to get it out there,” the author said. “It was about helping other people.”
And ultimately she might have especially helped herself and her family.
“Grief is a lot of love that you have nowhere to put,” Girten said. “It’s not something you ever get over. It’s something you take with you. (But) writing helped.”
Girten will hold a reading and book signing at 6 p.m. April 2 at the children’s section of the Henderson County Public Library.
