Skip to main content

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 78th 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.
Barnes & Noble - http://barnesandnoble.com

Popular posts from this blog

The Comeback of 2D Animation: Why We’re Craving Realness Again

There’s something happening in animation right now that’s worth paying attention to—not because it’s simply nostalgic, but because it’s deeply human. As someone who works in the mental health and creative storytelling space, I can’t help but see these conversations about art, AI, and hand-drawn storytelling as part of a bigger theme: our collective hunger for authenticity. We live in a time where AI-generated content is everywhere—convenient, efficient, and often soulless. It’s not surprising that artists and audiences alike are looking back toward something that feels more tactile, more imperfect, more human. That brings us to 2D animation, an art form that has shaped generations and now, it seems, might just be making a comeback. Here’s what Language of the Soul podcast host, Dominick Domingo, had to say on this trend: There’s been a lot of industry talk lately speculating about 2D/traditional ANIMATION making a comeback. Recent articles confirm that although Disney has not greenlit...

Article Wednesday: 5 Tips to Overcome a Lack of Motivation

Often times just getting started is the hardest part of any project due to a lack of motivation. This frustrating mental barrier is a very real obstacle that confronts each and every one of us from time to time. Developing certain habits to restore and maintain your motivation in order to start and complete any given task is the basis of today's article. Here are 5 tips to that will help you get motivated and maintain your drive regardless of what your goals may be. Plan Your Work It is important that you organize your efforts in a way that makes sense and proves most effective towards reaching your goals. Set up a schedule of when you intend to work on a particular project and how much time you intend to devote to it. Be realistic with your goals, the amount of time you'll need and when that time will be available to you. If the project is important, enough you'll want to consider scheduling the best time of day when you are at your best and most productive. Fo...

Article Wednesday: Writing Between Diapers

By: Mayra Calvani “Nothing has a stronger influence psychologically on their environment and especially on their children than the unlived life of the parent.” --C. G. Jung After a bad night of hardly any sleep, you’re sitting at the computer staring at the blank screen. You wonder if you’ll be able to do it—finish that article, short story or novel which you started months ago. The urge to write is overwhelming, yet you freeze. Not only are you exhausted, but the baby, who you put to sleep less than half hour ago, is whimpering in the crib. Your four-year old has just barged into the office and is tugging at your elbow begging for a snack, even though he had lunch an hour ago. This is hopeless, I may as well quit, you say to yourself while trying to suppress a scream. To your horror, you suddenly find yourself sympathizing with those animals that eat their young… Don’t despair. Calm down. I’ve been there and know perfectly well what you’re going through. The truth is, y...