Update - June 4, 2010

Hello everyone!

I wanted to give you a quick update as to what is happening with the book. First off all, there has been a title change to the manuscript and the book will be published as 'The Butterfly and the Flame' instead of 'Emily'.

Currently, I am in the final stages of editing the novel. While I don't have a firm date of publication, I expect the publication date to be sometime this fall. I will make another update as soon as I have the information.  Based on the rivisions to the manuscript I will update the first three chapters to reflect their most current form.

I want to thank everyone who has sent inquiries about the status of the book. Your encouragement has been truely inspiring.

Thanks and God bless you,

~Dana De Young~

April - 2009

I have added a number of important updates. The first update was a guest column of mine that was published in the Cedar Rapids Gazette in response to the Pope Benedict XVI’s condemnation of transsexuality.
Read my response here (HTML | PDF)

Secondly, the first three chapters of Emily are now online and free to read. I hope you take some time to read these pages; this is a work that I have dedicated over five years to writing.
Emily is a modern myth of the ongoing culture wars in America today. The story takes place almost 400 years from now in a time where freedom, liberty and advanced technology are dead and where a corrupt and powerful theocracy known as the Dominion of Divinity rules the continent.

Emily La Rouche was born a child of a poor sharecropper. When she was only seven-years-old a devastating drought wiped out the family farm. On the brink of starvation Emily's father sold the land to a wealthy land owner by the name of David Marsh. However, David would not buy the land unless Emily would marry his son when she turned sixteen-years-old.

Eight years pass and with a month to left  Emily's parents are desperate to find a way to get her out of the wedding, especially after she is assaulted by David's son. But the real reason Emily's parent's fear for her safety was the simple fact that she was not born a girl, but a boy.

While Emily is a story of love and acceptance, it also explores a number of issues relevant in modern American society such as separation of church and state, corruption of government, disparages between rich and poor, unreasonable search and seizures, cruel and unusual punishment and the roles of traditional vs. non-traditional families.

I have also include a new short story of mine entitled If I stop breathing. If I stop breathing is a hard hitting narrative written from the perspective of another trans-woman and the long dark life she endures after she is rejected by her family.
Finally, if you wish to write me, please contact me at emily@dana-deyoung.com or if you would like you can visit me and read my blogs  www.myspace.com/adanadeyoung  and www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1020422670&ref=mf