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From years of working with writers and teaching about the Universal Story I've come to believe that we’re all on the same transformative journey, child, adult, all of us together. Without a map of the journey, we're often left reeling, feeling slapped by life and confused. I have that map and I'm eager to share it with you.

• Step away from the drama swirling in life
• Understand how your own personal story alignes with the Universal Story
• Appreciate the forces both supporting and interfering with your success 
• Recognize the deeper meaning behind your reaction to situations
• Identify the significance of friends and foes in your life
• Discover how you trip yourself up 

• your purpose
• the words you speak
• the schedules you create
• your habits and behavior

• The Spiritual Guide for Writers Video Program 

• 27-Step Tutorial: How Do I Plot a Novel, Memoir, Screenplay Video Program

Example from - Hidden Treasures: Summer Fun by Liz Ball: $5.95ISBN #0967815940A hidden picture puzzle for Easter by Liz Ball. To order books with her hidden picture puzzles, click HERE. Enjoy! *Click on the picture, then print! It will print out full size ready to be colored. If that doesn't work with your printer, right click on the picture, and then 'save picture as...' and then you can print

Sara Zarr's newest book, Sweethearts, is the story of how we can be marked by a person or experience and carry that forward in our lives. Also, how that experience defines us, shapes us, and continues to impact us long after we think it should be over.

It's part of the teen experience to reinvent ourselves, try on different clothes, personalities and friends. Or a time to morph into something we've never been before.

Jenna Vaughn, happy, smiling, confident, popular high school senior works very hard to project an image she has constructed for herself. What no one knows is that long ago, she was Jennifer Harris, a young girl who was as different from Jenna Vaughn as is possible to imagine. Poor, hungry, a misfit. Although she has created and lived with this new image of herself for some time, she still has to work hard at pretending that it is her real self. It is not who she feels inside. She still mourns the loss of her childhood friend Cameron. He, more than any other person in her life, including her mother, defines how she views herself. A good part of the story is how Jenna reconciles her past and present selves, and prepares herself for the future.

The catalyst for this? A young man named Cameron Quick which is a stellar name for a character. To describe Cameron and Jennifer as "childhood sweethearts" as much of the book promotion does demeans the depth and character of their relationship. As children, Cameron and Jennifer both lived in unpleasant circumstances and were the social outcasts at their elementary school. However, beyond having this in common, they had a complex and deep connection. They were each other's only friend, two halves of one person - focused on each other to the exclusion of anyone else. In fact, it comes as a surprise to both Jenna and the reader that she was unaware that Cameron had any brothers and sisters even though there were around when she knew him in elementary school.

As a teen, Jenna still mourns the loss of Cameron who she has been led to believe is dead. She always carries with her that sense that he was the very first person to see and accept who she really was. She believes that if her new friends knew about her past, they would see her differently. So, she expends a lot of energy in projecting the right image. Even with a popular boyfriend, a circle of close friends, good grades, great clothes, and a lovely home Jenna feels herself losing her grip when Cameron reappears in her life.

Cameron and Jenna navigate their reacquaintance and the emergence of the truth of what was really happening in Cameron's home with such affirmation of their deep connection that it affects Jenna's perceptions and opinions about her carefully constructed life. The realizations that each make about themselves and the different paths their lives have taken help them both reach conclusions about the kind of people they have become, where they should be headed and what they should be paying attention to.

Zarr writes in a compelling way about the interior life of teens. Jenna is a very self-reflective narrator and perceptive critic of those around her. Jenna and Cameron are struggling with issues that belie their years and should make every adult rethink their assumptions that being young is some sort of shield against the emotional riptides of life. The profound loss of Cameron shapes Jenna's life. His cherished memories of her lead Cameron to find and reconnect with her when he is old enough to leave his home. For him, his friend Jennifer has literally been the light in his continuing darkness.

The story's ending is in keeping with the many layered emotional landscape that the author has drawn for us. Sweethearts is difficult to read at times. It is painful to see children treated cruelly and having to live and relive those experiences. Sweethearts is not a light and frothy book, but in the end, it is a hopeful story and well worth reading.

Click HERE to print out a puzzle using the words in Topsy Turvy Land! ________

A special treat! A hidden picture puzzle by Liz Ball. To order books with her hidden picture puzzles, click HERE. Enjoy! *Click on the picture, then print! It will print out full size ready to be colored. If that doesn't work with your printer, right click on the picture, and then 'save picture as...' and then you can print it out using your photo program._______

Check your Christmas list. Do you have children to buy for? May I suggest a copy of Topsy Turvy Land? Here are a few of the stores with Topsy Turvy Land in stock. You can also order the book from almost any bookstore (presently through Baker & Taylor, Inc. and/or Partners Book Distributing, Inc.), or order directly from the publisher! Click here! Online Stores: Hidden Pictures Publishing Amazon

The February Devo for Kids is up on CWAHM. Click HERE for Topsy Turvy Time! ______________

The newspaper ran a short blurb about my attending the Highlights Writers Workshops at Chautauqua in July. Here I am with the Editor-in-Chief of Highlights Magazine, Christine Clark.

Kevin and I have teamed up again. Guardian Angel Publishing will release No More Gunk! - an ebook for kids about taking care of teeth. Another exciting development - this book along with Ouch! Sunburn! will be released together as a print book. They both address a children's health issue. Watch for more news soon!

Kevin sent an email first thing this morning with news of a review for Ouch! Sunburn! What a nice surprise! Check it out - TCM Reviews.

The August Devo for Kids is up. Click HERE for Topsy Turvy Time!

OUCH! SUNBURN Text Donna Shepherd Illustrations Kevin Collier ISBN 10: 1-933090-60-x ISBN 13: 978-933090-60-3 Guardian Angel Publishing Reviewer Carolyn R Scheidies Sunburn is a big problem. Parents, adults and kids are out under the sun without considering the long-term consequences and they can be severe. As a kid, I seldom thought about sunscreen. Few did.... TO READ THE ENTIRE REVIEW, VISIT

Ouch! Sunburn!, another wonderfully written book by Donna J. Shepherd, is a fun book about getting sunburned and how to avoided getting burned again. The story not only teaches kids what will happen if they get too much sun, but what to put on their burned itchy skin. The book is written in a simple fun rhyme and at the end of the book there are tips on how to keep from getting sunburned when

A new coloring page by Kevin with the little boy from Ouch! Sunburn! Uh-oh! It looks like he might be falling asleep in the sun. That's a no-no! Right? *Click on the picture, then print! It will print out full size ready to be colored. If that doesn't work with your printer, right click on the picture, and then 'save picture as...' and then you can print it out using your photo program.

OUCH! SUNBURN! by Donna J. Shepherd A Wings of Faith Children's Book Author: Donna J. Shepherd Illustrations: Kevin Scott Collier ISBN: 1-933090-60-X ISBN 13: 9781933090603 From the Publisher: Donna J. Shepherd’s snappy rhymes along with the 15 colorful and fun illustrations by Kevin Scott Collier help children see the need to protect their skin in the sun. Sun Safety Tips in the back of the

Something new! Devos for Kids! Click HERE for Topsy Turvy Time!

Another collaboration with Kevin! We are working on an eBook for Guardian Angel Publishing called Ouch! Sunburn! The book features my poetry, Kevin's illustrations, and Sun Safety Tips for Kids. Watch for more news soon!

Here's a peek at an illustration in Topsy Turvy Tour, a mini-topsy turvy tale written by me, Donna, and illustrated by who else but Kevin Scott Collier! We are pleased to announce the story is featured in a new Children's E-Zine called Stories for Children. You can download it either as a .pdf file OR in a program that opens it up like a magazine right on your computer!

Hi, everyone. Do you like to go sledding? I thought I'd bring this to the top again since so many in the USA are being covered with snow today! I have a poem called "Too Fast!" in the January, 2007 issue of Fandangle Magazine. Nancy used a perfect piece of clipart to go with the poem. http://fandanglemagazine.com/ Here's a direct link to the .pdf. Click HERE. My poem is at the bottom of page

Illustrator of Topsy Turvy Land(Hidden Pictures Publishing), Kevin Scott Collier, sent this delightful coloring page of Sully, the Singing Snake. I never thought I'd say this about a snake, but isn't he cute?*Click on the picture, then print! It will print out full size ready to be colored. If that doesn't work with your printer, right click on the picture, and then 'save picture as...' and then

A variety of online resources exist where you can order Topsy Turvy Land. Bookfinder4U ________