About

Danielle Bentley

Danielle is a fantasy writer from the UK, currently living and teaching in Dubai.

CHILDHOOD & EDUCATION

Danielle’s father introduced her to many wonderful books from an early age; some of their favourites were Winnie the Pooh, Frog and Toad, Brer Rabbit, The Wind in the Willows, The Hobbit and the Chronicles of Narnia. Danielle’s family lived close to Sutton Park and they spent many happy days exploring the outdoors together.

Danielle studied English Literature and Theatre Studies at University of Birmingham. She felt drawn toward authors such as D. H. Lawrence whose novels explored humanity’s changing relationship with nature.

Danielle was delighted when she found out that J. R. R. Tolkien also grew up near Birmingham and took inspiration from places she knew well, including her own university.

In her early twenties, Danielle discovered that two of her favourite characters, Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee, were based on the officers and servants Tolkien had met during World War 1. She took inspiration from this and wrote a play script about an English officer and his soldier servant on the Front. It was read aloud and reviewed by a theatre group in London.

Samwise Gamgee is a heroic character: humble, courageous and completely dedicated to Frodo’s well-being.

Soldier servants went to great lengths to provide for and protect their officers. Despite class differences, many of them formed deep and lasting friendships.

Danielle also attended a writers group and was invited to take part in Ian Grant’s mastermind novel project, Ten to One. In this co-writing process, ten authors competed against one another to get their character to the end of the story. One by one, the characters were voted out both on social media and by a panel of judges. The completed novel was launched at Birmingham Library and Danielle was delighted to sit on the author panel for a Q&A session.

After graduating, Danielle began writing her own fantasy books. She found critique partners on GoodReads and Critique Circle and focused on honing her craft for several years. Her first completed novel, The Splintered Truth, explores the spread of agriculture into Stone Age Scandinavia and its impact on hunter-gatherer societies.

Danielle is currently working on her second novel, The Vapour Thief, a medieval high fantasy which also explores the impact of progress on the environment and subsequently on people’s lives.