Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Happy Thanksgiving - Be #Thankful

I'm a few days early, since I do not plan on being on social media during the Thanksgiving weekend, but rather to savor each and every moment and to enjoy the company of friends and family in realtime.  

For many years now I've been making a concerted effort to remain #thankful everyday and to repel the negativity of others, especially within social media. We have a choice in this life, be sucked down the dark hole of despair or to knock out the darkness and live in the glorious light of a positive attitude. 

I #journal daily, which I find helpful to wash away my fears and to uncover the #blessings that abound. I urge you to try journaling. Your words are for your eyes only, hence making it a safe haven to explore your joys and sorrows. It's quite therapeutic! 

My wish for you and your families today and beyond, is to be true to yourself and to remain #thankful of the many #blessings that the good Lord has bestowed upon you. 

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Best wishes,
Donna M. McDine
Multi Award-winning Children's Author

Ignite curiosity in your child through reading!

Connect with

Dee and Deb Off They Go Kindergarten First Day Jitters ~ December 2015 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ 2016 Purple Dragonfly Honorable Mention Picture Books Five and Under and Story Monster Approved


A Sandy Grave ~ January 2014 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ 2014 Purple Dragonfly 1st Place Picture Books 6+, Story Monster Approved, Beach Book Festival Honorable Mention 2014 and Reader's Favorite Five Star Review

Powder Monkey ~ May 2013 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ 2015 Purple Dragonfly Book Award Historical Fiction 1st Place, Story Monster Approved and Reader's Favorite Five Star Review

Hockey Agony ~ January 2013 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ 2015 Purple Dragonfly Book Award Honorable Mention Picture Books 6+, New England Book Festival Honorable Mention 2014, Story Monster Approved and Reader's Favorite Five Star Review

The Golden Pathway ~ August 2010 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.
~ Literary Classics Silver Award and Seal of Approval, Readers Favorite 2012 International Book Awards Honorable Mention and Dan Poynter's Global e-Book Awards Finalist

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

SCBWI 2016 Winter Reading List ~ Dee and Deb Off They Go Kindergarten First Day Jitters


 Dee and Deb's travels continue... Their latest stop... 

SCBWI 2016 Winter Reading List


The Reading List Program includes books of all genres from our PAL authors and illustrators, both front list and backlist titles.
This is an opportunity to find that book that a kid or teen will enjoy and can engage with the fun and adventure of reading.
Authors and illustrators from close to your hometown to those around the world are featured on the List. The Lists will be
published bi-annually, in the Summer and Winter.



Snoopy Dance!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Best wishes,
Donna M. McDine
Multi Award-winning Children's Author

Ignite curiosity in your child through reading!


Connect with


Dee and Deb Off They Go Kindergarten First Day Jitters ~ December 2015 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ 2016 Purple Dragonfly Honorable Mention Picture Books Five and Under and Story Monster Approved


A Sandy Grave ~ January 2014 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ 2014 Purple Dragonfly 1st Place Picture Books 6+, Story Monster Approved, Beach Book Festival Honorable Mention 2014 and Reader's Favorite Five Star Review

Powder Monkey ~ May 2013 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ 2015 Purple Dragonfly Book Award Historical Fiction 1st Place, Story Monster Approved and Reader's Favorite Five Star Review


Hockey Agony ~ January 2013 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ 2015 Purple Dragonfly Book Award Honorable Mention Picture Books 6+, New England Book Festival Honorable Mention 2014, Story Monster Approved and Reader's Favorite Five Star Review


The Golden Pathway ~ August 2010 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.
~ Literary Classics Silver Award and Seal of Approval, Readers Favorite 2012 International Book Awards Honorable Mention and Dan Poynter's Global e-Book Awards Finalist

Saturday, November 12, 2016

Children's Author Interview and Book Giveaway at Free Book Friday


Having shied away from social media from quite some time, I'm now back with an interview and book giveaway at Free Book Friday.


Visit me at Free Book Friday and enter at a chance to win a free copy of Dee and Deb Off They Go Kindergarten First Day Jitters...

http://freebookfriday.com/2016/11/dee-and-deb-off-they-go-kindergarten-first-day-jitters-by-donna-mcdine/

The concept behind Free Book Friday...


It's simple. Every Friday, we give away free books!
Each week, we feature a new set of authors with a chance to win autographed copies of his/her book.
Just sign up using the entry form at the bottom of the post. Winners are chosen at random and posted every Friday morning. Hence the name, "Free Book Friday!"
Thank you for taking the time out to visit with me! Please feel free to share with your friends if you so wish!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Best wishes,
Donna M. McDine
Multi Award-winning Children's Author

Ignite curiosity in your child through reading!

Connect with

Dee and Deb Off They Go Kindergarten First Day Jitters ~ December 2015 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ 2016 Purple DragonFly Honorable Mention Picture Books 5 and under and Story Monster Approved

A Sandy Grave ~ January 2014 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ 2014 Purple Dragonfly 1st Place Picture Books 6+, Story Monster Approved, Beach Book Festival Honorable Mention 2014 and Reader's Favorite Five Star Review

Powder Monkey ~ May 2013 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ 2015 Purple Dragonfly Book Award Historical Fiction 1st Place, Story Monster Approved and Reader's Favorite Five Star Review

Hockey Agony ~ January 2013 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ 2015 Purple Dragonfly Book Award Honorable Mention Picture Books 6+, New England Book Festival Honorable Mention 2014, Story Monster Approved and Reader's Favorite Five Star Review

The Golden Pathway ~ August 2010 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ Literary Classics Silver Award and Seal of Approval, Readers Favorite 2012 International Book Awards Honorable Mention and Dan Poynter's Global e-Book Awards Finalist

Friday, November 11, 2016

A Must Have for Every Author... "How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically" by Carolyn Howard Johnson

M E D I A   R E L E A S E

For Immediate Release
Contact: Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Or Publicist at www.redenginepress.com
ISBN: 9780978515874
Publisher: Red Engine Press
Release Date: November 3, 2016

The Changing Face of Reviews

Editor/Author/Publicist Writes Ultimate Guide
on Getting, Writing, and Using Reviews


“I think Getting Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically will sell like hot cakes. It’s a chicken and egg situation. When you get reviews you get noticed and more people notice you from that. But how to get reviews without paying sometimes hundreds of dollars with no guarantee and how to ask without being a nuisance puts authors in a quandary. I will be first in line when it comes out! Please keep me posted!!!!” ~ Fiona Ingram, award winning children’s author of The Chronicles of the Stone middle grade adventure series, http://www.chroniclesofthestone.com.
How To Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically: 
The ins and outs of using free reviews to build and sustain a writing career

Los Angeles, CA  - - The Web—more explicitly Amazon and other online bookstores—have changed the face and nature of reviews in the last couple of decades. Carolyn Howard-Johnson, known for her author advocacy and how-to books for writers—has released a new book (the 3rd) in her multi award-winning and bestselling (at many different levels) HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers.

With the release of Howard-Johnson’s How To Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically: The ins and outs of using free reviews to build and sustain a writing career authors—both traditionally published and self-published—can now approach the daunting task of the whole spectrum of reviews from getting and using reviews online and in prestigious review journals efficiently. She also shows in the 340 page book, how to writing reviews as part of an author’s overall campaign and authors can use review of their own books and the ones they write toward building both a market for their book and building their own writing career.

This new how-to book is third in Howard-Johnson’s multi award-winning How To Do It Frugally Series. The first book in the series, The Frugal Book Promoter: How to Do What Your Publisher Won’t, was named USA Book News “Best Professional Book 2004," and Book Publicists of Southern California honored it with their Irwin Award. Now in its second edition, Bookbaby.com calls it a “classic” and it has helped more than 40,000 authors since its release. The second in the series, The Frugal Editor, is her most award-winning of the series including honors from Day Poynter’s Global E-Book Award, USA Book News, Reader Views Literary Award, Next Generation Indie Book Award, and won a special Marketing Award from New  Millennium  Book Awards. It is now available at http://bit.ly/GreatBkReviews.

In the works are books like The Frugal Self-Publisher: The Quick, Down and Dirty Guide for Publishing Anything for Any Reason—Personal Professional or Poetic.

The author says, "This series is the result of a combination of experience gained through trial and error in promoting my own literary works and my professional experience in marketing, PR, journalism, editing and publishing in general."

Howard-Johnson was an instructor for UCLA Extension's Writers' Program for nearly a decade, was named Woman of the Year in Arts and Entertainment by members of the California legislature, and was given her community’s Diamond Award and honored for her work with tolerance by her city's Ethics Committee.  In addition to dozens of literary awards and honors, she was also featured by Pasadena Weekly  in their “Pasadena Women Who Make Life Happen” for her advocacy in the publishing industry.

# # # #

Support materials available on request. 
Learn more on her Web site at
ISBN-13: 978-1536948370
ISBN-10: 1536948373
BISAC: LAN00400, BUS058010
Distributors: Ingram, Baker and Taylor, Createspace

A complete media kit may be downloaded

Series covers by Chaz DeSimone, http://DeSimoneDesign.com.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Best wishes,
Donna M. McDine
Multi Award-winning Children's Author

Ignite curiosity in your child through reading!

Connect with

Dee and Deb Off They Go Kindergarten First Day Jitters ~ December 2015 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ 2016 Purple Dragonfly Honorable Mention Picture Books & Story Monster Approved

A Sandy Grave ~ January 2014 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ 2014 Purple Dragonfly 1st Place Picture Books 6+, Story Monster Approved, Beach Book Festival Honorable Mention 2014, Reader's Favorite Five Star Review

Powder Monkey ~ May 2013 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ 2015 Purple Dragonfly Book Award Historical Fiction 1st Place, Story Monster Approved and Reader's Favorite Five Star Review

Hockey Agony ~ January 2013 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ 2015 Purple Dragonfly Book Award Honorable Mention Picture Books 6+, New England Book Festival Honorable Mention 2014, Story Monster Approved and Reader's Favorite Five Star Review


The Golden Pathway ~ August 2010 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.
~ Literary Classics Silver Award and Seal of Approval, Readers Favorite 2012 International Book Awards Honorable Mention and Dan Poynter's Global e-Book Awards Finalist

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Calm...


I often envy those that can remain CALM in any situation that is thrown them. How do they do it and not allow others hyper-ness or negativity distill their sense of calm? 

For many years my reaction to situations I could not control or the added pressure of life circumstances was to become anxious and tense. Overtime through different human relationships and reading about what meditation can do for your mind, body and soul I began “practicing” it on a daily basis. Once meditation became a habit and I was able to invoke deep breathing practices even with my eyes open while tending to the situation at hand, my inner self has become calmer with a step by step reaction to most situations. 

By taking a proactive approach of small steps rather than focusing on the big picture, I’m able to dissect most situations with a sense of calm. Not to say I didn’t have my moments. 

I am a true believer of meditation and prayer to invoke a sense of calm in one’s life and highly recommend you giving it a chance. After 20 plus days of focusing on a sense of calm, it will become a habit you will cherish. 

I’d enjoy hearing what you do to invoke calmness to your daily life. Thanks for visiting!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Best wishes,
Donna M. McDine
Multi Award-winning Children's Author

Ignite curiosity in your child through reading!

Connect with

Dee and Deb Off They Go Kindergarten First Day Jitters ~ December 2015 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ 2016 Story Monster Approved and Purple Dragonfly Book Award Honorable Mention Picture Books 2016

A Sandy Grave ~ January 2014 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ 2014 Purple Dragonfly 1st Place Picture Books 6+, Story Monster Approved, Beach Book Festival Honorable Mention 2014, Reader's Favorite Five Star Review

Powder Monkey ~ May 2013 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ 2015 Purple Dragonfly Book Award Historical Fiction 1st Place, Story Monster Approved and Reader's Favorite Five Star Review

Hockey Agony ~ January 2013 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ 2015 Purple Dragonfly Book Award Honorable Mention Picture Books 6+, New England Book Festival Honorable Mention 2014, Story Monster Approved and Reader's Favorite Five Star Review

The Golden Pathway ~ August 2010 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ Literary Classics Silver Award and Seal of Approval, Readers Favorite 2012 International Book Awards Honorable Mention and Dan Poynter's Global e-Book Awards Finalist