Jennifer Dianne "Jendia" Gammon (born 1974), also known by her pen name J. Dianne Dotson, is an American

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

. Her works include ''The Shadow Galaxy'' and ''The Inn at the Amethyst Lantern''.

Early life

Jendia Gammon was born Jennifer Dianne Gammon in

Kingsport, Tennessee Kingsport is a city in Sullivan and Hawkins counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, its population was 55,442. Lying along the Holston River, Kingsport is commonly included in what is known as the Mountain Empire, w ...

. She spent much of her childhood in Gray, Tennessee. There, she wrote from an early age, illustrating her own stories, and was influenced by the works of

Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury (; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of modes, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and r ...

and

L. Frank Baum Lyman Frank Baum (; May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919) was an American author best known for his children's books, particularly ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and its sequels. He wrote 14 novels in the ''Oz'' series, plus 41 other novels (not includ ...

. At the age of 10, she formed her own astronomy club with her friends, 'to learn about the universe.' Gammon graduated from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and worked for several years as a research technologist in academic laboratories. She later worked as a freelance science writer, content marketing writer for biotech, and senior content manager. She has stated that this scientific background aided her understanding of writing science fiction.

Career

Gammon self-published her space opera series ''The Questrison Saga'' under the pen name J. Dianne Dotson. The series consists of: ''Heliopause'' (2018), ''Ephemeris'' (2019), ''Accretion'' (2020), and ''Luminiferous'' (2021). In 2023, she published ''The Shadow Galaxy: A Collection of Short Stories and Poetry'' under JournalStone and Trepidatio publishing. It was longlisted for the

BSFA Awards The BSFA Awards are literary awards presented annually since 1970 by the British Science Fiction Association (BSFA) to honour works in the genre of science fiction. Nominees and winners are chosen based on a vote of BSFA members. More recently, m ...

. Alan K. Dell praised the ''Questrison Saga'' as "a fantastic read", and The Fantasy Hive described ''The Shadow Galaxy'' as "a mesmerizing first collection". Also in 2023, her YA novel, ''The Inn at the Amethyst Lantern'', was published by Android Press. The Storygraph described ''The Inn at the Amethyst Lantern'' as: "a captivating read". This novel was a finalist for the Andre Norton Nebula Award and the BSFA Award for Best Fiction for Younger Readers. She has also written short stories as both J. Dianne Dotson and Jendia Gammon. In 2023, she adopted the "old nickname" Jendia Gammon for all books going forward to honor her family.

Personal life

Jendia Gammon is married to British sci-fi author

Gareth L. Powell Gareth Lyn Powell (born 1970) is a British author of science fiction. His works include the ''Embers of War'' trilogy, the ''Continuance'' series, the ''Ack-Ack Macaque'' trilogy, ''Light Chaser'' (co-written with Peter F. Hamilton), and ''Abou ...

, and lives in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, with her family.

Bibliography

* 2018: * 2019: * 2020: * 2021: * 2023: * 2023:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gammon, Gendia 1974 births Living people 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers