We’re excited to tell you a little bit about our Dragon and Turtle series and share some thoughts on writing as a mother/daughter team. Thanks to Coffee Time Romance for allowing us to drop in and chat today.
First we’d love to introduce you to an adventurous turtle named Roger and a cautious dragon named Padraig. This unlikely pair met in The Dragon and the Turtle (Waterbrook Press, 2010.) When Roger’s pirate game takes an unexpected turn, the turtle ends up lost. But new friend Padraig arrives to help Roger get home and join in the fun of make-believe.
In The Dragon and the Turtle Go on Safari (Waterbrook Press, 2011), Roger and Padraig go on a backyard safari. When their imaginations get the better of them, the two boys must rely on their friendship to overcome their fears and rescue someone smaller than them.
We’re often asked how the Dragon and Turtle stories came about and what it’s like to write as a mother/daughter team.
The first story came about because my (Evangeline’s) then three-year-old son couldn’t go to sleep. I told him a story about Roger the lost turtle. The next day I found him staring out of the window by the front door. “What are you doing?†I asked. He said, “I’m waiting for Roger to come play. He’s slow.â€
Later I told Mom (Donita K. Paul) the story. She loved it and added Padraig the dragon. Now the two characters are like members of our family. We make up adventures for them as we run errands, and the boys—now 6 and 9—still request Roger and Padraig stories at bedtime.
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When we’re ready to put a Dragon and Turtle story on paper, one of us will write the initial draft. From there it goes back and forth between our computers. Sometimes we sit in the same room with copies of the manuscript open on our laptops. We’ll take turns reading aloud and make changes as we go. It’s amazing how one of us can get stuck and the other will think of the right phrase. By the end of the process, we really can’t remember who “wrote†what. It’s totally collaborative.
Aside from creating memorable stories and fun characters, we hope Roger and Padraig can help kids identify the building blocks of friendship—for instance, what to say when you meet someone new, how interact with them, and how to think about their needs as well as your own. Our Roger and Padraig stories always have an imaginative element as well because we hope to encourage the somewhat lost art of pretend play.
We’re also passionate about literacy and preserving the tradition of reading aloud to children. The Dragon and Turtle stories are meant to be read to a child by an adult. We’ve included one or two subtle nods to our grown-up readers, and we hope those moms and dads will get a kick out of using pirate lingo or speaking like 19th century British explorers.
For contests, recipes, and more fun with Roger and Padraig, visit our Website
You can find the books on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or your local Christian bookstore.
Prize Time: Leave us a question or comment and be entered in a drawing to win The Dragon and Turtle Go on Safari. Deadline for comments is midnight Friday, February 25th. Winner will be chosen Saturday, February 26th. Congratulations to Jennifer Mathis!
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0 COMMENTS
Virginia
13 years agoI look forward to picking them up for my children. What a fun sounding series and really how great that you were able to work together like this to leave such a legacy for your family 🙂
Stephanie M
13 years agoI absolutely love the DragonKeeper series. I love that you are working with your daughter. As a teacher, I enjoy seeing the different styles author use and how that translates to different genres and age groups. Thanks for the giveaway!
smccar1 at hotmail dot com
Cassandra Carr
13 years agoDo you find it difficult, with all the childrens’ books out there, to come up with an original concept? I can imagine it would be very difficult!
Laurie
13 years agoWhat a wonderful and interesting post. Thanks so much for sharing that. I love the colorful pictures of the turtle and dragon and I have several grandchildren who I am sure would enjoy these stories. Please enter me in the contest…wishing you the very best and every success!!
jennifer mathis
13 years agomy kidswould love these books ! Thanks for telling me about them 🙂
meandi09@yahoo.com
Hales
13 years agoOhhh they look fantastic. And…. I still have little ones in the fam even if not mine! I look forward to buying 🙂 What a great blog post 🙂
Hint Hint the title on the loop got me over here :p
Evangeline Denmark
13 years agoHi Everyone and thanks for checking us out today! It’s wonderful to read your comments.
Cassandra, thanks for your question. Mom always says, “There’s nothing new under the sun,” meaning that, yes, pretty much every storyline you come up with has had a variation done before. What makes a story unique is the author’s specific voice–how they tell the story. I’d add to that by saying that the characters make a story or concept unique. We hope that Roger and Padraig come alive in other families the way they have in ours. That way the characters grow in the child’s imagination and have adventures that only that child could come up with.
Linda B
13 years agoHI EVANGELINE! YOU ARE A NEW AUTHOR TO ME AND HOPE I GET TO READ YOU SOON~!
Siretha
13 years agolove the little ones reason for waiting at the door for his friend. it sounds like something my grand-daughters and I would enjoy as well. is your mom the author for a series called DragonQuest, DragonLight, DragonSpell and so on? my husband enjoys them a lot but he also thinks our grand-daughters (ages four in March & eight in May ) might be a tad to young to follow the story,the eldest enjoys reading for herself and shows signs of wanting to read a story rather then having it read to her.however, these books might fill my desire to read to them ( I know what I mean don’t know if I expressed it so you do ) anyhoo, I’ll be on the look out for Roger & Padrig now. Have a great year.
Evangeline Denmark
13 years agoSiretha,
What a neat name you have! Yes, my mom is the Donita K. Paul who writes the DragonKeeper series and the newer Dragons of Chiril series.
I think I understand what you were saying about reading the DragonKeeper books aloud to your older granddaughter. Since the chapters are short, they’re perfect to read aloud before bed.
The Dragon and Turtle books would be appropriate for your younger granddaughter.
Thank you for your comment!
Donita K. Paul
13 years agoIt is SOOOooooo important to give pre-readers and emergent readers a rich background of being read too. Reading aloud increases vocabulary, attention span, and visualization. The last isn’t talked about much, but what it means is a child hears the word apple, and the picture of an apple pops up in his imagination. This is a key element of comprehension.
Megan DiMaria
13 years agoI have so many fond memories of reading to my children and being read to as a child. It’s a gift you simultaneously give and receive. Bless you for providing the vehicle of which memories are made.