Donna Maguire

Donna Maguire

About

I began writing children's books in March with the first book in the series published on Amazon in July of 2015. It may seem a bit odd that the series already includes four books. The reason is that I created the books without even thinking of publishing them. After more than 35 years in the advertising and marketing profession, I left a successful marketing consulting business and moved to Nevada. The change was driven by the loss of my nephew, who I had raised more than a son then nephew. You see his brother lived there with his two little babies. He told me that if I came out and helped to care for them it would do wonders for me. I don't think he knew how right he was.

With a strong belief that reading early and often to children not only makes for good times, it promotes bonding and nurtures the joy of reading so I read to them often. Something amazing happened, my creativity and imagination was re-ignited. It seemed only natural to funnel this new-found energy into a long-term desire to write children's books. In essence, caring for my grandbabies and creating children's books provided an effective form of therapy.

As the books were initially created for a very select audience, my grand babies, I set several goals for the books, including (1) promoting literacy by helping to nurture the joy of reading through fun, humorous story telling, (2) providing a message of acceptance, love and friendship, not just for others but for the children reading the books themselves, and (3) igniting the young readers' natural curiosity for the world, the environment and the creatures that inhabit it with us.

My Basset Hound Winston, Silly Willy Winston as I call him, was the perfect muse and unlikely hero for my books. He has the biggest ears ever, a stout frame, huge paws and a super large snout. He trips over his ears and paws often, which makes him a bit of a clown. Rather than bothering him he views people's laughter as an invitation to make friends. If you ask me, he is the perfrect role-model for self-acceptance and empowerment. Winston's traits and the way he embraces them and uses them to his advantage also make him an ideal character to help children understand, face and protect themselves and others against bullying through self-confidence.

Winston's story can be used to start a conversation regarding bullying with children. After sharing the books with their children or loved ones, parents and caregivers can ask if a child ever feels as if they are different like Silly Willy Winston, what makes them different, how they feel about being different and what special powers or unique gifts they gain from their differences? Whether or not the child or children feel different a parent might want to ask if there is any one they know that is different, why and what unique qualities those children have? Both of these provide the opportunity to discuss how some children may pick on other children fro their differences. From there parents and loved ones are able to do what they do, be the good parents and caregivers they are and prepare children to protect themselves, and others, against bullying through awarenss, confidence, calm and respect.

While most people think mainly of the strip when they think of Las Vegas, I have found it to be a treasure of creative, caring and sharing individuals. Several of the new friends I met were self-published authors. For kicks, I shared my books with them and was strongly encouraged to publish them. With an extensive background in marketing, I viewed this challenge enthusiastically. I learned how to format the books for Kindle, iBooks and on-demand printing. And the rest they say is history.

The Kurdish Connection

The Kurdish Connection

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Description

<p><strong>KURDISH SCAVENGERS UNCOVER A CACHE OF NERVE GAS IN IRAQ AND OFFER THEM TO KURDISH FIGHTERS IN TURKEY. THE SPECIAL OPERATIONS BEDLAM ALPHA TEAM MUST SECURE THE WEAPONS BEFORE THEY CAN BE USED.</strong></p><p>&quot;<strong>You must swear by Allah never to say a word of what I'm going to tell you. </strong><strong>This is the most important secret. Ever!&quot;</strong></p><p><em>In their daily struggle for survival, Iraqi Kurdish scavengers uncover a cache of chemical weapons. They offer the weapons to fellow Kurdish rebels in Turkey and Syria to assist in their quest to free an imprisoned leader and create a unified homeland. After receiving a tip from an unlikely source, the newly formed Special Operations Bedlam team is called to arms! </em></p><p><em>Travel with Craig Cameron and his international team on their covert operation as they weave their way through war-torn regions seeking to locate and recover the weapons before they can be used to cause irreparable harm and instigate a world crisis. </em></p><p><em>The odds are stacked against them. Can they manage to keep their operation hidden and prevent further clashes before it's too late?</em></p><p>&quot;The Kurdish Connection--a compelling read. A story of friendship, danger and intrigue.&quot;--<em>Ann Everett, Amazon Best Selling Author.</em></p><p>..&quot;. Randall's authentic voice adds a powerful push to keep a reader turning the pages.&quot; --<em>Janet Taylor-Perry, author of The</em><em> Raiford</em><em> Chronicles, The Legend of</em><em> Draconis</em><em> Saga, and April Chastain Intrigues.</em></p><p>&quot;Topical - Engaging - Intriguing - Powerful ... A real page turner.&quot;--<em>Rikon Gaites</em><em>, author of Mummy's Little Soldier and Darius</em><em> Odenkirk</em><em>.</em></p><p>..&quot;. Randall Krzak brings his wealth of experience living in this troubled part of the world and his military knowledge to bear in this exciting story...&quot;--<em>John L.</em><em> DeBoer</em><em>, author of When the Reaper Comes.</em></p><p>..&quot;. a journey full of history, suspense, intrigue, and action...a MUST READ for all!&quot;--<em>Les Stahl, Retired</em> NSA Executive.</p><p>..&quot;. Readers need to fasten their seatbelts for a fast-paced tale made believable by a writer who knows what he's writing about.&quot;--<em>Preston</em><em> Holtry</em><em>, author of the Morgan</em><em> Westphal</em><em> mystery series and the</em><em> Arrius</em><em> trilogy (forthcoming).</em></p><p>&quot;A behind the scenes story, ripped from today's headlines deepening the reader's understanding of an ancient strife ... filled with the sights and smells of the market place and secret meetings, the reader is admitted to the secret heart, the desperate longings of those that must fight and win, or see continued subjugation by their masters...&quot;<em>--Oliver F. Chase, author of Camelot Games, </em>Levant Mirage, Blind Marsh, and Marsh Island.</p>

Story Behind The Book

The story is about understanding how vast and amazing our world is. It starts this journey of understanding by sharing that even the number of deserts is far more expansive than we would imagine, in fact there are approximately 50 deserts on earth. Each desert is unique onto itself. Some are hot, some are cold, some are both. The creatures that inhabit the desert are as diverse as the deserts themselves. It sets the stage for understanding the importance of balance and connectivity to the world we inhabit. The hope is that the story cultivates the young readers natural curiosity to help develop a love of learning.

Reviews

<p><strong>Cecilia Dunbar Hernandez, 5 Stars on Goodreads</strong></p> <p><strong>Cindy Freland, 5 Stars on Amazon</strong></p> <p><em>Silly Willy Winston in the Adventures of Explorer Snout</em> by Donna Maguire is a cute, educational tale of a dog and his human friend exploring two deserts, the Mojave and the Gobi. They travel to the deserts discovering the temperature, rainfall, water availability, and most of all, the animals living there. There is a lot of rhyming to add to the educational fun and the images are cute and colorful. I suggest it to anyone wanting to learn about deserts.</p> <p><strong>Angelina, 5 Girls Book Reviews, age 9 years (4 stars)</strong></p> <p>I really enjoyed and liked this book. It is about a girl and Silly Willy Winston exploring the desert. They saw a desert that was so hot that they didn't want to go there. I would never want to go to the desert becaus I don't like how scary it looks and how hot.</p>