• Age: 14 to 18
• Grade: 9 to 12

When hikers Dayna and Eric find a young woman naked, terrified, and speechless, they're sure she's the victim of foul play. But the truth is much more shocking: she isn't human at all. She's Dun Lady's Jess, a horse transformed into this new shape by the spell that brought her and her rider, to whom she is utterly devoted, into this world.

Posessed now of human intelligence but still a horse deep inside, Jess desperately searches this world for her master and rider, using her fiery equine spirit to take on human idiosyncracies - and human threats.

Dun Lady's Jess is a blend of adventure, magic, and romance that spans our world and its richly imagined fantasy counterpart. Horse become human, Jess is spirited and intelligent, seeing our world through a unique perspective. Pursued by evil, she must find a way not only to save her rider and both worlds, but also to keep who she has become.

Doranna responded to all early injunctions to "put down that book/notebook and go outside and play" by climbing trees to read & write. 
Such quirkiness of spirit has created a wandering path through the publishing world, spanning genres and form to include nearly 40 novels and counting--mystery, SF/F, action-romance, and franchise, including the Compton Crook-winning Dun Lady's Jess--and a slew of essays and short stories. She also co-manages the Backlist eBooks collective of traditional authors presenting their backlist.
But after all that, mostly she still prefers to hang around outside with the animals. She doesn't believe so much in mastering the beast within, but in channeling its power. For good or bad has yet to be decided.

Doranna Durgin's profile page

"The tale is well-written, original, and the transformation of horse to human is very will done. . . Dun Lady's Jess will appeal to readers of heroic fantasy tales, lovers of horses, and with the inclusion of the modern setting in our own world, allows for a broader audience who may not always reach for the fantasy genre. Then there is also the romance angle, just to add a little bit of spice.
Highly Recommended."
— CM Magazine

"Horses, heroics, and magic - a great combination! I thoroughly enjoyed reading Dun Lady's Jess, a spirited and daring novel. I couldn't put it down."
— Kristen Britain, author of Green Rider and First Rider's Call.

"Dun Lady's Jess is everything a great fantasy ought to be: exciting, moving, and utterly original. Doranna Durgin has spun a marvelous tale, set it in a world that feels as real as our own, and populated that world with characters who will stay with you long after you read the final page. An excellent book, which I highly recommend."
— David B. Coe, author of Winds of the Forelands and The LonTobyn Chronicle.