VBT-Guest Author Spotlight Donna McDine

Donna McDine is an award-winning children's author, Honorable Mention in the 77th and two Honorable Mentions in the 78^th Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competitions. Her stories have been published in many print and online publications and her interest in American History resulted in writing and publishing The Golden Pathway. Donna has two more books under contract with Guardian Angel Publishing, The Hockey Agony and Powder Monkey. She writes, moms and is the Editor-in-Chief for Guardian Angel Kids and Publicist for the National Writing for Children Center from her home in the historical hamlet Tappan, NY. McDine is a member of the SCBWI and Musing Our Children.

What excites you most about your book’s topic? Why did you choose it?

The Underground Railroad was a pivotal time in American history, one that should never be repeated. It is my hope by keeping history alive for each generation that these huge mistakes will never reoccur.

Q. How long did the book take you from start to finish?

A. Even though The Golden Pathway is a story book it took about a year between research, outlining, writing, and editing to finish the manuscript.

Q. What surprised you the most about the book writing process?

A. The characters of Jenkins and David completely took over and directed me where they wanted to go. It may sound crazy, but the characters do come to life if you create them in detail. For example, their physical appearance, mannerisms, personality, and how they may react to any given situation is developed through character interviews.

Q. Did you have any favorite experiences when writing your book?

A. My daughter’s acknowledged to a new acquaintance that I’m a children’s author when I responded to the question, “What do you do for a living?” with I’m a virtual assistant. The interjected and said, “No, our mom is a children’s author.”

Q. What do you hope your readers will gain from reading your book?

A. One person can make a huge change for the positive.

Q. Is writing your sole career? If not, what else do you do?

A. I am a virtual assistant for International Business Leaders Forum, Editor-in-chief for Guardian Angel Kids Ezine, and Publicist for the National Writing for Children Center Publicist.

Q. Did you do any research for your books, or did you write from experience?

A. For The Golden Pathway I conducted research as well as for “Powder Monkey” (which is under contract). For “The Hockey Agony” I used personal experiences from my nieces and nephews.

Q. How did you come up with your title?

A. The Underground Railroad was considered the golden path to freedom, hence The Golden Pathway.

Q. Who was your publisher and why did you choose them?

A. Guardian Angel Publishing and I chose them because of their publishing philosophy and the broad spectrum of books already published by them.

The Golden Pathway is available through:

Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. - http://guardianangelpublishing.com/pathway.htm

Autograph copies - http://www.donnamcdine.com.

Amazon - http://www.amazon.com

Barnes & Noble - http://barnesandnoble.com

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