Let’s get this out of the way first: Lana’s first name rhymes with banana, and she pronounces her last name KRUM-widdy, as in a clever bread fragment. But don’t worry too much because she’s not touchy about it.
In third grade, Lana wrote in her autobiography that she wanted to be a mother, a writer, and the church organist. The organist thing didn’t work out very well, but the other two dreams made up for it. Her work has appeared in Highlights, High Five, Spider, Babybug, The Friend, and Chicken Soup for the Child’s Soul. Her first novel, Freakling was released in 2012. That book became the first of a trilogy, The Psi Chronicles, and was followed by Archon in 2013 and True Son in 2015. Also in 2015, her first picture book was released, a quirky retelling of the itsy bitsy spider entitled Just Itzy.
As the founder of Richmond Children’s Writers and member of the board of directors for James River Writers, and a former chair for the James River Writers Conference, Lana is active in the local writing scene.
Before she remembered she wanted to be a writer, Lana worked as an office manager, a stay-at-home mom, a preschool teacher, a Spanish teacher, a bilingual kindergarten teacher, a swimming instructor, and a reading tutor. She lives in Richmond, Virginia with her husband and youngest daughter. Her three older children (and one grandchild!) are off having adventures of their own.
Lana has tried psi many times, especially in association with cleaning house, but could never make it work. She does have a few mildly supernatural abilities, which include untying knots, peeling oranges, and dominating in board games. Her perfect day would include reading, writing, cooking, telling jokes, spending time with family, and pie.
And maybe a board game or two.