I am Dakota McElhinny. I spent time growing up between Columbus, Ohio and Morganton, North Carolina, gaining the perspectives of the 'bustling city life' and 'rural country life'. I began writing at a young age, with many stories revolving around knights and dragons or wild west themes.
In 2010, I began writing what would become the first draft for, The Realm. Later in 2013, I would begin the sequel to it, The Realm: Rise of the Demon Prince. In 2016, The Realm was published through Palmetto Publishing Group, and in 2017, the sequel was released. In 2019, both books were rereleased in a second edition format, on my own self-publishing platform. 2020 has seen the release of the third and final book for this epic fantasy series, The Realm: The Chess Master's Ring.
In 2018, I released my first self-published book, a poetry compilation, Time Frozen Mirrors. It was followed up, in 2019, by my second poetry compilation, Black October. Each poetry book is divided into certain "acts" similar to a play; it is how I divide poems written within certain time periods of my life. 2020 has seen the release of my third poetry book, Dreams of Glass, featuring Act VI, which ends the acts written throughout the 2010s; but it also includes an Act I, which begins a new era of acts going forward.
The end of 2020 saw the publication of my first short story collection, The Art of Time. In 2021, I released, The Cutting Room Floor, a compilation of unreleased poems from the 2010s; and the hardback collection, encompassing all my poems from the 2010s era, The King of Wordplay. Also in 2021, I released the e-book version of Crumpet Court Chronicles, and with its success, 2022 witnessed the release of Crumpet Court Chronicles in paperback. 2022 has also seen the publication of my fourth poetry book, Half A Truth, Half A Lie.
Thank you for taking the time read my biography; I encourage you to pick up a copy of my books and connect with me today!
Timeline:
2015: North Greenville University's The Mountain Laurel published Dakota's poem, Let My Love.
2016: Dakota signed with Palmetto Publishing Group, releasing The Realm. Rachael Griffin also joined him, designing the book cover and map.
2017: Dakota released The Realm: Rise of the Demon Prince through PPG. Rachael Griffin returned as the cover artist, and Elizabeth Morris joined on as editor.
Additionally, Dakota received the distinguished invitation, from Z Publishing, to be part of their anthology, South Carolina's Best Emerging Poets. Box Full of Wishes would be the featured poem.
2018: Dakota's short story, Tea for One, was published in Z Publishing's, South Carolina's Emerging Writers: An Anthology of Fiction.
His poem, Beyond One Step, was featured in Z Publishing's, America's Emerging Poets 2018: Maryland, Virginia's, and Carolina's. Beyond One Step also appeared on Low Country Live: Poet's Corner.
To end 2018, Dakota rescinded The Realm series rights from PPG, and self-published, Time Frozen Mirrors.
2019: Dakota published his second poetry book, Black October. The first two Realm books were rereleased on his self-publishing platform, and the third book entered its final draft. Rachael Griffin began the initial sketches for the third book's cover.
2020: To kickoff the New Year, Dakota released his third poetry book, Dreams of Glass. He also released a short story collection, The Art of Time.
To end 2020, The Realm: The Chess Master's Ring is released, completing his epic fantasy The Realm Series. Once again, Rachael Griffin did the cover art for the book; and new artist, Izzy Brander, did an artwork for the interior.
2021: Dakota published The Cutting Room Floor, a compilation of unreleased poems from Time Frozen Mirrors, Black October, and Dreams of Glass. He also released The King of Wordplay, a compilation of all his poems written through the 2010s, available only in hardback.
2022: Dakota published his fourth poetry book, Half A Truth, Half A Lie. He also released his short fictional tale, Crumpet Court Chronicles.
