April Daniels is an American author of the ''Nemesis'' superhero trilogy.

Personal life and education

Daniels lived in

Ashland, Oregon Ashland is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, United States. It lies along Interstate 5 approximately 16 miles (26 km) north of the California border and near the south end of the Rogue Valley. The city's population was 21,360 at the 2020 ...

until she was ten years old, where she was exposed to the

Oregon Shakespeare Festival The Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) is a regional repertory theatre in Ashland, Oregon, United States, founded in 1935 by Angus L. Bowmer. The Festival now offers matinee and evening performances of a wide range of classic and contemporary pla ...

, before her family moved to Los Angeles, California. She was homeless in San Francisco for a time, and currently lives in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

. She graduated from the

University of California, Santa Cruz The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of California system. Located on Monterey Bay, on the edge of ...

with a degree in literature. Daniels is a

trans woman A trans woman or a transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity, may experience gender dysphoria, and may transition; this process commonly includes hormone replacement therapy and s ...

. Daniels is also a contributor to ''

The Mary Sue Daniel Abrams (born May 20, 1966) is an American media entrepreneur, television host, legal commentator, and author. He is currently the host of the prime-time show ''Dan Abrams Live'' on NewsNation, ''On Patrol: Live'' on Reelz and ''The Dan Ab ...

''.

''Nemesis'' series

Daniels' first book, ''Dreadnought'', introduces a girl named Danny Tozer who inherits the mantle of her world's foremost superhero—the eponymous Dreadnought—which gives her powers like flight and the feminine body she has wanted ever since she realized she was

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...

, and thrusts her into confrontation with a

trans-exclusionary radical feminist Feminist views on transgender topics vary widely. Third-wave feminists and fourth-wave feminists tend to view the struggle for trans rights as an integral part of intersectional feminism. Former president of the American National Organization f ...

(TERF)

witch Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...

and other supervillains. It was a

Lambda Literary Award Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ literature.The awards were instituted i ...

finalist. Daniels' second book, ''Sovereign'', introduces a genderqueer superhero named Kinetiq, continues to explore the moral and

mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental hea ...

implications of Danny's fights with villains, and has her file for emancipation from her abusive family and find love. A third and final installment in the ''Nemesis'' series is currently in development. In 2018, the series was optioned for film to

Wayne Brady Wayne Alphonso Brady (born June 2, 1972) is an American television personality, comedian, actor, and singer. He is a regular on the American version of the improvisational comedy television series ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' He was the host of ...

's production company, Makin' It Up Productions.

Bibliography

Nemesis series

# ''Dreadnought'' (2017) – # ''Sovereign'' (2017) –

Awards

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Daniels, April Living people Year of birth missing (living people) American women novelists American LGBT writers LGBT people from Oregon Transgender women Transgender writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers People from Ashland, Oregon 21st-century LGBT people