Background
Dia Calhoun was born on January 4, 1959, in Seattle, Washington, to James Calhoun, a small-business owner, and Eva Alaire Sneed Calhoun, a homemaker.
5000 MacArthur Blvd, Oakland, CA 94613, United States
In 1980, Dia Calhoun received a Bachelor of Arts in English from Mills College.
1700 Lida St, Pasadena, CA 91103, United States
Dia studied commercial art training at the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles.
(After Jonathon is blamed for the blight that is destroyin...)
After Jonathon is blamed for the blight that is destroying the Valley's precious orchards, he escapes to the Red Mountains to find out if he is a Dalriada - one of the mountain people who have magnificent horses and mystical powers.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1890817104/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i0
1999
(On the island of Normost, in the kingdom of Windward, 13-...)
On the island of Normost, in the kingdom of Windward, 13-year-old Cerinthe Gale is a folk healer who dreams of being a dancer. When her mother falls ill, Cerinthe fights to save her — but fails. She blames herself for her mother’s death, gives up healing, and decides to pursue dance. Cerinthe travels across Windward to audition at the School of the Royal Dancers, which accepts her even though she is a commoner. It should be the beginning of a brilliant future, but Cerinthe feels an emptiness she can’t identify.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0374404542/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i5
2000
(Rose Chandler, a fifteen-year-old bond girl who lives on ...)
Rose Chandler, a fifteen-year-old bond girl who lives on Greengarden Orchard, fears everything: the dark, the moon, other people, and the Dalriadas from the Red Mountains who are at war with the Valley folk.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0786270985/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i7
2004
(This captivating companion to Aria of the Sea weaves a re...)
This captivating companion to Aria of the Sea weaves a retelling of Grimm’s fairy tale of the Twelve Dancing Princesses with the story of a young woman’s inward journey toward an understanding of a scary, unpredictable part of her own nature.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0374359105/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i6
2005
(This novel by acclaimed author Dia Calhoun is about the t...)
This novel by acclaimed author Dia Calhoun is about the transforming powers of imagination and hope, which can turn us all into heroes.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0061PT8Q0/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i3
2012
(In this companion to Eva of the Farm, author Dia Calhoun ...)
In this companion to Eva of the Farm, author Dia Calhoun shows that with friendship, determination, and the grace of nature, we can overcome tragedy and rise toward the sun.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009NHCCOS/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i9
2013
Dia Calhoun was born on January 4, 1959, in Seattle, Washington, to James Calhoun, a small-business owner, and Eva Alaire Sneed Calhoun, a homemaker.
Calhoun studied ballet quite seriously, training for at least two hours a day six days a week. This left little time for the usual teenage activities. Anyway, by her high school years, it was time for Calhoun to make a choice between dance and college.
The choice whether to opt for a professional career in dance or to go on to college was almost made for her, however. At age fifteen she had foot surgery, and while recovering and unable to dance, she became more interested in academic work. At sixteen, she completed her senior year in high school at the University of Washington in Seattle. At seventeen, Dia quit dancing seriously.
After graduation, Calhoun attended Mills College in Oakland, California, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in English in 1980. Later, after a few months in Europe, she studied commercial art training at the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles.
Calhoun decided she wanted ultimately to be a writer, but also realized that she would need some way to support herself in the meantime. She chose graphic design as her pragmatic career decision. Fresh out of college, Dia worked as an art intern in an advertising agency in San Francisco. She focused on lettering and logo design. As soon as her portfolio was ready, Dia returned to Seattle and began a career as a freelancing lettering artist. In that capacity, Calhoun did, among other projects, lettering for book jackets. One of her biggest coups during her freelance career was creating the logo for Alaska Airlines.
In her late twenties, with her business base now established, Calhoun began to devote some time to writing. She began writing for one hour every morning. Calhoun worked at her new craft for years before making any breakthrough. Gradually she increased her writing time to three hours a day. After five years of work and learning, Dia finished her first publishable novel - Firegold. She sent it to slush piles at six houses before the seventh, Winslow House, bought it. She had neither an agent nor any special contacts.
Calhoun followed up Firegold with an equally compelling second novel set in the fantasy maritime kingdom of Windward, and was already at work on the novel before Firegold had been accepted for publication. Calhoun's book - The Magic Cup: A Business Parable about a Leader, a Team, and the Power of Putting People and Values First, was co-written with Lorie Ann Grover for Howard Behar, former President of Starbucks International.
Calhoun has taught at Seattle University and the Cornish College of Arts. She is currently a Mentor in the Children's Literature Fellows at Stony Brook University. Calhoun is a co-founder of the literacy social media project, readergirlz, recipient of the National Book Foundation’s Innovations in Reading Prize. She offers private on-line mentoring in creative writing for adults and children.
(This captivating companion to Aria of the Sea weaves a re...)
2005(After Jonathon is blamed for the blight that is destroyin...)
1999(Rose Chandler, a fifteen-year-old bond girl who lives on ...)
2004(In this companion to Eva of the Farm, author Dia Calhoun ...)
2013(This novel by acclaimed author Dia Calhoun is about the t...)
2012(On the island of Normost, in the kingdom of Windward, 13-...)
2000(A Christmas tree discovers that its destiny is to bring l...)
2007Calhoun's novels are about heroes journeying to the true self, the true voice, and who are seeking the strength to speak with that voice.
Calhoun continues to create works in the fantasy genre, explaining that fantasy is a way of talking about serious issues while being removed from them at the same time.
Quotations:
“Though my books use fantasy elements, they do not follow the usual forms of the fantasy genre. Primarily, they are coming-of-age stories; secondarily they are fantasy stories. I feel they are unique to the genre.”
“I always knew I wanted to write. In fact, I knew in the second grade that’s what I wanted to do. I never consciously decided to write a children’s novel, but when I began writing seriously, regularly, that was what emerged.... I still had my collection of children’s books and still loved reading them. They were a refuge, just as they had been when I was a child - a refuge from study and ballet and the exigencies of the playground - a magical refuge. I never really found my stride until I tried novels. Everyone says to start with short stories but I’m just not a short story person I’m too long-winded. I like to weave lots of threads together. My first novel was a middle-grade novel; I wrote it after the Challenger space shuttle crash. It’s about a sixth grade girl who plays the violin, and the crash has a profound effect on her.”
“My goal is to write better and better books. My favorite thing about writing is the spurt of exhilaration that comes when I suddenly see how an image or idea weaves into the whole tapestry of the novel. I love the moments of epiphany.”
“If you want to be a writer, don’t wait for a perfect idea. Start now and write a little bit every day. That’s magic.”
“I hope that young people will be provoked by my work, provoked to think and dream and wonder and change. After the last page, I hope they go forward with strength, courage, and with eyes in their hearts.”
Dia Calhoun is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.
Calhoun grew up in ballet slippers. She trained from age five to seventeen to become a professional dancer; her dream was to dance with a New York ballet company. But beyond dance, there was another wish.
Calhoun grew up loving to read, dance, write, draw, and play music; as an adult, she finally learned how to combine all these diverse interests by using bits and pieces of each in her writing. A self-confessed “dreamy, imaginative, sensitive child who always had her nose in a book,” Calhoun had a list of favorite books which included The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes, the “Little House” books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfield, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle, and The Little Lame Princess by Dinah Mulock Craik.
Dia Calhoun makes frequent school visits, sings Italian arias, fly-fishes, gardens, and eats lots of chocolate in her spare time. She lives with her husband, two cats, and two ghost cats in Tacoma, Washington. The natural world is the inspiration for both her sculpture and writing.
On February 27, 1990, Dia married Shawn Richard Zink, a cabinetmaker.