Morgana MacArthur is the pen name for Dr. Dana Thomas, a
woman who many say "does it all." Her Scottish heritage
inspired the nom de plume and has led to fascinating
discussions on selecting the perfect pseudonym.
Dana has been married to her biggest fan for 20 years and
is mother of two teenage boys and an English Bully pup
named Dozer. She is the former vice-principal of the
seventh-best high school in the nation (Newsweek, 2000),
and the current Associate Dean of Liberal Arts at Florida
Community College at Jacksonville.
Her vita reads long: a doctorate in educational leadership,
a master's degree in the same concentration, a second
masters in curriculum and instruction, and a bachelors in
Literature. Her personal and professional motto is "Be the
cause of wonderful things!" and living by that axiom has
resulted in her achieving great things.
Despite her busy schedule, she makes time to do what she
loves best: writing. As a past English teacher, Dana has
taught writing at the middle, high school, and college
level. Her first full-length, award-winning novel, The
Ditchwalkers, was published by Amber Quill Press in 2002,
and is an addition to her varied literary contributions.
An educator at heart, Dana's doctoral dissertation
challenged Florida's controversial accountability system
and its grading of Florida public schools. She presented
her study, "F-Nicity: The Culture of Teachers in a Past-
Failing Elementary School," at the annual American
Educational Research Association conference in Louisiana in
April, 2002. Following Gandhi's advice, Dana believes, "We
must be the change we wish to see in the world."
When not writing, Dana loves playing racquetball, listening
to the sounds of Jimmy Buffett, grilling on the back deck
of her Northeast Florida home, watching movies with her
family, and dreaming about living in tropical paradise. In
fact, that dream, coupled with recent vacations to the
Western and Eastern Caribbean, was the catapult for her
second novel, Tradewind Island, a tale about escaping the
rat race.
Fans can contact Morgana at morganamacarthur@msn.com.
© 2003-2026