Donna Maria was brought up in the idyllic surroundings of rural Oxfordshire, where adventures were spent, on hazy summer days that seemed to last for an eternity.
Always a great reader, Alice in Wonderland was her bible, and her copy was always neatly stashed away in her bag, wherever the promise of magic and discovery sent her.
The youngest in a family of six brothers she grew up with a scholarly knowledge of both girls and boys, her best friends of all her two nearest siblings.
Her imagination is limitless, and when she said farewell to Oxfordshire, heart-breaking though it was, the bustling and forever changing demographic of Southampton and its urban creatures of both good and more questionable forces, proved a treat for the dark and fantastical realms, in her mind.
Epic poetry, lengthy school assignments, and tales around urban campfires filled her days. At school leaving age she decided that even more knowledge, of our beautiful language, was exactly what her hungry mind required.
She went to a City College, studying English Literature, English Language, Sociology and Spanish, finding the Sociology ripe with tales from folklore and beliefs, to her absolute delight, and the Spanish, a wonderful addition to stories that brewed in her fertile mind.
She excelled at all, the English subjects especially, and upon leaving college decided that there were so many other ways to fill her note books with worthy subjects, and became gainfully employed working for the MOD, no less! On applying for a job as the Receptionist for an engineering company, part of the MOD, her talents for attention to detail and a fantastic memory were discovered and soon her role was finely tuned for somebody of her scope.
Enough said! Obviously she has signed the Official Secrets act, and can never disclose more, and although this was an incredibly exciting time in her life, she maintains that each and every episode so far has been equal in excitement; the mind is a strange and un-tamed beast, and in some is all consuming. The produce can sometimes be really quite spectacular.
Biddy Trott is Donna’s third literary work, Gothic in nature (as is her passion) saying that she finds the language and taboo subject matters tantalizing and exquisite.
‘True beauty and treasure can be found here, where most do not attribute such praise to the subject matter, those that do are blessed with a vision that spots shadows on moonless nights and amber warmth in the blackest eyes.’
Biddy Trott came about on just such a night, where the night sky gave nothing but ebony blackness and introspection was where she sought out light. A tragic tale began to form, shrouded in evil, darkness… the injustice of preconceptions, the instinct in us all to fear without question. To be lead by those who appear to see in the dark... though really these leaders are part of the Devil's armoury, they twist and deform the weak, making them believe in power that can send one to its death...that they are in some way integral to justice, that they have been, up until now, overlooked.
And so, Biddy Trott breathed life and is to date Donna's favourite piece of work (However this has been stated on completion of each of her books)
The Meddler is Donna’s second novel; it is a dark but beautifully twisted fairy tale, that she affectionately calls, ‘Magic for beyond the twilight.’
Perhaps this is a polite way of saying that this is truly purely for adults, and although comical, satirical and full of emotions, it is also, in some places sinister; but then aren’t all Fairy Tales?
Following research, she found that all were inspired by actual events, and perhaps on closer inspection the darker side of these often whimsical tales, is really quite scary: and maybe more owed to a group of people trying to come to terms with a conscience, or even a nation.
However, these stories, and there are so many more, not in popular circulation, are manna from Heaven for Donna. In fact, any peculiarity or human success of failing are stored away and slowly fed to the beast in her mind that issues forth these remarkable tales.
The Hangman’s Hitch washer debut novel - republished by HellBound Books Fall 2018 -, and once again, although there is bountiful humour found within the pages, the subject of a man hunted down by a very real devil, is haunting and horrific.
Set in 18th century England, the characters are Dickensian like, full of colour and idiosyncrasies, and so makes an otherwise quite gruelling subject, strangely compelling and enjoyable.
In true Donna fashion, she hopes she has captured you with this insight into herself and inspirations, and thanks you for your time, hoping that you are intrigued enough to dip in and experience magic that you may have mislaid in growing up!

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