Sandy Dengler

In graduate school I married Bill Dengler ten weeks after we met. You know those things never last. He died in 2014 at age 75, a month short of our 52nd anniversary.

He had served 36 years in the National Park Service, an excellent fit for me the nature lover as well as him the naturalist. I am ADHD and in the 40s, when nobody knew what it was, my mom had no idea how to channel me, so she turned me loose. I spent my childhood in the woods and meadows of rural Ohio, learning about myself and about nature. I am still at home and comfortable out in the wild. But what I really dreamt of doing was to dig up fossils. In the 40s and 50s, however, little farm girls simply were not paleontologists.

As our two girls were growing up, I developed my career as a freelance writer. I could do it at home. More importantly, I was not tied to a locale.

I’ve enjoyed over forty years of success. If writing paid well, why did I not keep writing? When Bill retired and we lived in Oklahoma, I volunteered my help building the Ancient Life gallery displays in the brand new Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, working with paleontologists. One thing led to another and I put aside my writing career to earn my PhD in paleontology. I am a paleontologist.

On the Web

• Website [1]

Books

• Cat Killer - 1993
• Chain Five Mystery - 1984
• Code Of Honor - 1988
• Comatose Cat, The -
• Death Valley - 1993
• Dublin Crossing -
• East Of Outback - 1990
• Emerald Sea, The -
• Fatal Fishes - 1995
• Gila Monster - 1994
• Happy Christmas, Laido - 2020
• Hyaenas - 1998
• Jungle Gold - 1987
• King Of The Stars -
• Last Dinosaur, The - 1994
• Model Murder, A - 1993
• Mouse Trapped - 1993
• Murder On The Mount - 1994
• Opal Fire - 1986
• Power Of Pinjarra, The - 1989
• Quick And The Dead, The - 1995
• Shamrock Shore, The -
• Socorro Island Treasure - 1983
• Song Of The Nereids, The - 1984
• Summer Snow - 1984
• Taste Of Victory - 1989
• This Rolling Land - 1986
• Wicked Step-Twister, The -
• Winterspring - 1985

Series/Related Titles

Australian Destiny

1. Code Of Honor
2. The Power Of Pinjarra
3. Taste Of Victory
4. East Of Outback

Heroes Of The Misty Isle

1. Dublin Crossing
2. The Emerald Sea
3. King Of The Stars
4. The Shamrock Shore

A Jack Prester Mystery

1. Death Valley
2. A Model Murder
3. Murder On The Mount
4. The Quick And The Dead

Mirage Mysteries

1. Cat Killer
2. Mouse Trapped
3. The Last Dinosaur
4. Gila Monster
5. Fatal Fishes

Awards

• 1987 Golden Medallion Winner - Traditional Romance, Opal Fire