Daniel grew up in Arkansas. In his youth, he began working for his father riding in a Studebaker pick-up truck around the state, servicing refrigeration units in tourist courts and small country stores. Years later after leaving the touring concert world as chief sound engineer for an eclectic range of musical artists, he traveled those same Arkansas back roads designing and installing permanent sound systems. For the first time, Daniel really began to notice the surprising number of ancient earthworks that covered the state.
He realized that he like everyone else he knew had no idea who built them, when, or why. What began as an observation grew to a driving curiosity to research historical documents and the state's vast archeological findings. The untold stories and lost history all around him inspired Daniel's debut novel, Storykeeper.
Smith began his artistic career as a professional audio engineer. For over thirty-five years, he crossed the country, providing sound engineering services for all types of events from outdoor music festivals, concerts, and political rallies to lectures. A parcel list of celebrities Smith worked with includes numerous dignitaries such as Presidents: Ronald Reagan, George H. Bush, William Jefferson Clinton, and George W. Bush, also Bob Hope, Colin Powell, Paul Harvey, Martha Stewart, and Dr. Ruth, and a wide variety of entertainers, including, Kris Kristofferson, Alice Cooper, Dolly Parton, Steve Martin, Allman Brothers Band, Jimmy Buffet, Barbara Mandrell, Ray Charles, Rebra McEntire, Dizzy Gillespie, Iron Butterfly, Dave Brubeck Quartet and Willie Nelson.
Mr. Smith is currently working on the second novel of his “Nine-Rivers Valley” series set in the 16th and 17th centuries in a little-known but pivotal period of America’s earliest history. Daniel has traveled across all 48 continental states and five provinces of Canada, working behind the scenes to entertain, inform, and observe all manner of audiences, but he prefers to live, roam, and write in Arkansas with his life-long friend and wife.
