A Relatively Relevant Bio of Darci Hannah
From a young age Darci Hannah was intoxicated with historical adventure, both in literature and the real world. While still in high school she backpacked in the footsteps of the Louis and Clark expedition. Next, she donned the cap of a French voyageur, got in a canoe, and followed the northern route of the French explorer, LaSalle, as well as canoed across thousands of acres of northern Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan and southern Canada—all for fun. She also delighted in sailing the Great Lakes and riding horses. In addition to wilderness adventures, Darci became a ski patrol and instructor at the age of sixteen, and the youngest person at that time to pass for Nordic Patrol.
Although Ms. Hannah harbored dreams of skiing professionally, her parents pulled the plug on such frivolity and sent her to Indiana University where she pursued a career in Sports Medicine, yet still managed to squeeze into her curriculum history and creative writing courses. Since southern Indiana is not known for its skiing, Darci took to cycling, yet found no collegiate cycling events for women other than a degrading tricycle race. She petitioned for a women’s competition equivalent to the men’s race, and in her senior year, along with her teammates, won the first ever women’s cycling event in the history of IU. While also at IU she researched a 17th century shipwreck and spent two weeks in the Cayman Islands diving on site, preserving ancient tile and cannon ball recovered from the sea floor. Although the fabled Spanish treasure was never found, Darci did meet, and fall in love with, future husband John.
Darci graduated with a Bachelors of Science degree and pursued a career in medicine, yet soon found that her creativity would best be served in another venue. She began working for a Chicago based printing conglomerate and soon took over production on the Detroit car companies including, Cadillac and Audi of America. However, when the first of her three children was born, Darci made the tough decision to stay at home.
While not possessing the budget of Martha Stewart, she made frugality a way of life and began experimenting in the garden as well as the kitchen, although not always with overwhelming success. It was at this time (the brainchild of an early morning feeding) that Darci decided to write a novel, one in which she could continue to live an adventurous life, while not having to abandon the sacred maternal rite of changing dirty diapers, wiping snotty noses and maintaining general domestic felicity. She soon found herself working nights and weekends at Barnes and Noble, acquainting herself with the book industry while beginning research in earnest.
In 2002 the Hannahs relocated to Michigan and Darci found the house refreshingly quiet. With all boys at school for the first time, she was able to finish her novel, but she didn’t stop there. She would go on to write more fiction because, like a cup of morning coffee, it was just too delicious to give up. It was in Michigan where Darci’s fascination with lighthouses began, prompting her to write, The Antiquarian, in 2007. Today Darci can be seen hiking around some of Michigan’s most remote lighthouses, reading historical fiction, laughing with husband John and their three adorable sons, as well as daily walks around the lake with loveable Spaniel, Barkley. She’s a member of the Historical Novel Society, and belongs to various writing groups around Michigan.