ABOUT DAWN BROTHERTON
Dawn Brotherton is an award-winning author and featured speaker at writing and publishing seminars. When it comes to exceptional writing, Dawn draws on her experience as a retired colonel in the US Air Force as well as a softball coach. Her books range from children’s picture books to adult fiction and nonfiction. See more about her books below.
She is a contributing author to the non-fiction A-10s over Kosovo, sharing stories from her deployment. Dawn is now writing for the Williamsburg magazine, Next Door Neighbors.
Hear from Dawn herself with this interview on WTCR-TV CBS 6, Mar 2024.
DAWN’S BOOKS
YOUNG ADULT FANTASY
When Dawn was struggling to come up with a good story line for her YA Fantasy book, her daughter Paige wrote her a poem called Silent Mountain along with three opening scenes. That was enough to kick off The Dragons of Silent Mountain.
PICTURE BOOK
A dragon was an easy choice for Dawn when trying to come up with her first picture book, If I Look Like You. While she thought it would be a one-off, Scout the chameleon dragon is taking off in ways she didn’t expect. Now there’s also a Scout and Her Friends Activity Book for kids to color Scout using their imagination and a plushie to read to. Scout Goes to School was released in 2025, along with a card game. In the next book, Scout is going on a picnic with her friends. Can’t wait to see what she learns!
COZY MYSTERY
A cozy mystery is a mystery solved by a nonprofessional (not a cop or private eye) and has no graphic violence, sex, or swearing. Dawn created this feel-good read with another cozy subgenre with Eastover Treasures. Everyone loves a good treasure hunt. Now you can follow Aury and Scott to the Finger Lakes area of New York in Oaky With a Hint of Murder. In 2025, A Killer Donation finds Aury back in Virginia, where she stumbles over a body.
JACKIE AUSTIN MYSTERIES
She offers a unique perspective from inside the military with her first book, The Obsession (based on a true story) and its sequel, Wind the Clock. Dawn finishes the trilogy with Truth Has No Agenda.
NONFICTION
Dawn uses The Road to Publishing when she teaches at Osher for the College of William & Mary. It gives writers a place to start when deciding how to publish. Written in a very conversational way, the book walks the reader through considerations to determine which way is the right path for them: self-publishing, traditional or hybrid.
An avid fastpitch softball player, umpire, and coach, Dawn designed a new Scorebook that makes it easier to take notes and enables the coaches to re-create the game at a later date to pull out lessons learned for the players. Dawn has even created her own YouTube video to teach others how to keep score during a game.
ANTHOLOGY
Sisters in Arms is a collection of true stories written by women veterans about lessons they learned while serving our country.
Water from Wellspring contains stories about how God has worked in people’s lives and was gathered from members of Wellspring United Methodist Church in Williamsburg, VA.
Coastal Crimes 2: Death Takes a Vacation is a collection of short mysteries pulled together by the local Sisters in Crime organization. All the stories take place between Williamsburg and the Outer Banks, along the coast.
LADY TIGERS
Inspired by her love of the game and her two daughters, Dawn wrote The Lady Tigers’ Series, fiction stories about a girls’ softball organization where the girls learn that being part of a team is about more than just playing softball. The target audience for this series is first through fifth-grade readers. Order your copies of Trish’s Team, Margie Makes a Difference, Nicole’s New Friend, Avery Appreciates True Friendship, and Tammy Tries Baseball here.
ROMANCE
While on Active Duty for the Air Force, Dawn felt it wasn’t wise to publish a steamy romance novel under her name. Now officially retired from the military, Misty Austin is showing her true identity as Dawn Brotherton. She won an award for her first romance book, Untimely Love (previously titled Worth the Wait).
ORGANIZATIONS
Dawn proudly supports the following non-profit organizations:
Williamsburg Montessori School
Girls Scouts of the Colonial Coast
All Together Williamsburg
Williamsburg Boat Club
Colonial Piecemakers Quilt Guild
UPCOMING FROM DAWN BROTHERTON
Stay tuned for other works by Dawn Brotherton, as Aury finds more treasure to uncover in the Eastover Treasure Mystery Series.
Keep your eyes open for more from Scout the chameleon dragon, as she comes into the lives of children to explain that how you look does not define who you will become.