Description
“Danaca” follows the moving journey of a 4’6” girl and her best friend, Jenny. Born into a life filled with struggles, Danaca finds an uplifting way to persevere through the challenges of being short in a world filled with tall people and big personalities. With Jenny by her side, Danaca learns what it takes to beat the odds and find her own way to become a young racing sensation. Come along with Danaca for an inspiring ride as she fights to come out on top.
About the Authors:
Jim Thoma met the character portrayed as Danaca at a snowed-in Cleveland airport in the late 1990s. Jim engaged in a lengthy conversation with two college students headed to spring break in Florida. 4′ 6″ Danaca and her taller friend, Jenny, shared in great detail what it was like to be short and discussed how notoriety often escaped short people. This compelling story inspired Jim to write Danaca to enlighten people on what it’s like to be short, the limitations they often experience, and their astounding determination.
Since meeting the girls at the airport, Jim’s demanding schedule as a business man didn’t leave time or energy to write the story he had thought about over the years. Additionally, he wasn’t certain he had the skill set to actually write the book. Although his business had employed part-time high school students in the past, he contacted the school about finding talented project help and a student to write the book. A then junior Melanie Haedt applied for the job along with her best friend Taylor Greening, another junior. Both gals had impressive backgrounds filled with athletics and high academic achievements.
Immediately, Jim knew the girls were ambitious and liked their sense of humor. When Jim asked Melanie if she thought Taylor was capable of writing a book her response was “yep”. Taylor was given basic information on the story and within a week she had mapped out the plot, developed the characters, and finished the first chapter with minimal input from Jim. Over the course of the next nine months and with the support of Melanie, the story that Jim routinely thought about for 15 years was finished and finally brought to life.
“If any short girl out there reads the book and gets into racing, or finds encouragement to seek out their own passion, then the book will have been a success.” -Jim Thoma, co-author
