BookBuzzr author interview
🔗 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_0v8AKq4vs
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.
<p><em style="color:rgb(24,24,24);font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:13.63636302947998px;line-height:17.563634872436523px;">After centuries of religiously motivated war, the world has been split in two. Now the Blessed Lands are ruled by pure faith, while in the Republic, reason is the guiding light—two different realms, kept apart and at peace by a treaty and an ocean.</em><br style="color:rgb(24,24,24);font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:13.63636302947998px;line-height:17.563634872436523px;" /><br style="color:rgb(24,24,24);font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:13.63636302947998px;line-height:17.563634872436523px;" /><span style="color:rgb(24,24,24);font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:13.63636302947998px;line-height:17.563634872436523px;">Children of the Republic, Helena and Jason were inseparable in their youth, until fate sent them down different paths. Grief and duty sidetracked Helena’s plans, and Jason came to detest the hollowness of his ambitions.</span><br style="color:rgb(24,24,24);font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:13.63636302947998px;line-height:17.563634872436523px;" /><br style="color:rgb(24,24,24);font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:13.63636302947998px;line-height:17.563634872436523px;" /><span style="color:rgb(24,24,24);font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:13.63636302947998px;line-height:17.563634872436523px;">These two damaged souls are reunited when a tiny boat from the Blessed Lands crashes onto the rocks near Helena’s home after an impossible journey across the forbidden ocean. On board is a single passenger, a nine-year-old girl named Kailani, who calls herself “the Daughter of the Sea and the Sky.” A new and perilous purpose binds Jason and Helena together again, as they vow to protect the lost innocent from the wrath of the authorities, no matter the risk to their future and freedom.</span><br style="color:rgb(24,24,24);font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:13.63636302947998px;line-height:17.563634872436523px;" /><br style="color:rgb(24,24,24);font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:13.63636302947998px;line-height:17.563634872436523px;" /><span style="color:rgb(24,24,24);font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:13.63636302947998px;line-height:17.563634872436523px;">But is the mysterious child simply a troubled little girl longing to return home? Or is she a powerful prophet sent to unravel the fabric of a godless Republic, as the outlaw leader of an illegal religious sect would have them believe? Whatever the answer, it will change them all forever… and perhaps their world as well.</span></p>
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.
BookBuzzr author interview
🔗 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_0v8AKq4vs↗
Cypathia author interview
🔗 http://cypathia.com/interviews-with-authors-by-teresa-clyne/author-interview-with-donna-maguire/↗
5 Girls Book Reviews author interview
🔗 http://5girlsbookreviews.blogspot.com/2015/11/author-spotlight-donna-m-maguire.html↗
<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>