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Biography

Dana Ridenour is a retired FBI agent and the author of three FBI undercover novels: Behind The Mask, Beyond The Cabin, and Below The Radar.

Dana graduated from Meade County High School in 1984, then attended the University of Kentucky. After two years at the University of Kentucky, she changed her major to Police Administration and transferred to Eastern Kentucky University where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in 1989. She earned her Juris Doctor in 1992 from Chase College of Law.

Over the years, Dana has been employed in a wide variety of jobs including first mate on a tour boat (her favorite job), lawyer, and Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Dana entered on duty with the FBI in November of 1995 and retired in April of 2016 after over twenty years of service. She was assigned to four different FBI Field Divisions and had the opportunity to work a wide variety of cases to include multi faceted narcotics investigations, domestic sex trafficking of minors, and violent crime.  Over the years, Dana was a proud member of the FBI's Evidence Response Team where she and her team traveled to New York City in response to the 9/11 World Trade Center attack.  The highlight of her career came in 2003 when she attended and passed the FBI's prestigious undercover school, thus allowing her to work as an undercover FBI agent.  This undercover certification opened the door for her to work a series of long term, deep cover cases focusing on domestic terrorism. Dana had the rare experience of working a long term undercover investigation with her husband who was also an FBI agent.  

Dana attributes her law enforcement career to her father and her love of books to her mother. Her mother instilled a love of reading from a young age.  It was her mother who also encouraged her to keep a journal while working as a Special Agent with the thought that one day a novel would materialize from the experiences. Dana's writing is a reflection of her career and life experiences. Although she enjoys a wide variety of genres, her literary influences are her favorite southern writers such as Pat Conroy, Dorothea Benton Frank, Mary Alice Monoe, and Patti Callahan Henry. Dana's favorite novel is Pat Conroy's The Prince of Tides which she has read many times.  

An award winning author, Dana lives in Beaufort, South Carolina with her wonderful husband. She is currently writing her fourth novel.