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Outrageous Kitty


Johanna is a fresh, headstrong, 

full-figured, vain and very happy cat,who gets into all kinds of mischief. Even though her rambunctious ways can be trying at times, her family loves her unconditionally (almost). 

Illustrated by Stewart Maxcy.Available

at taylorandsealepublishing.com; 

amazon.com;barnesandnoble.com;

​and booksamillion.com

Michael is a beautiful juvenile American Bald Eagle. He is certain that he doesn't want to leave his cliff-top nest and fly. Despite encouragement from his family and friends, he is too afraid of heights to try. It's not until real danger comes to the eagles that Michael finally flies and learns that being an eagle is a pretty cool thing.


This is Book Two in the See I Can Do It! series. Available at barnesandnoble.com, taylorandseale.com, booksamillion.com  and amazon.com.

A Job for Tabitha

Scruffy Brown Shoes

This lovely novel follows the lives of two Children, a boy from a dairy farm in Wisconsin, and the other a girl from Oakland, California, who lead vastly different lives during the turbulent years of the Great Depression and the subsequent World War II and the Korean Conflict. Their separate journeys throughout their lives shape their characters as they survive drastic changes occurring about them within their immediate families and with the world. Available at taylorandsealepublishing.com; amazon.com; barnesandnoble.com and booksamillion.com
See, I Can Do It!

Brenna is an almost-grown bluebird who falls from her nest while her mother is out shopping for breakfast. Bruised and frightened, and without a grownup to help her, she shares her fears with her friends in the forest, who teach her how to use her nature-given skills to reach the safety of her home in the trees. Illustrated by Bonnie J Myers Morisset. Available at taylorandsealpublishing.com; amazon.com; barnesandnoble.com and booksamillion.com

The Reluctant Eagle

The Founders' Books and Blog


Tabitha is a sweet tempered little dog who is loved by her family and friends. However, she realizes that most of her canine friends have jobs. Tabitha thinks that she should have a job, too. So she visits each of the working dogs and lets them talk about what they do. However, none of the jobs seem to suit the little dog, and she thnks that maybe she will never find a job.


Little does she know that she is already being trained for a job, and the realization makes her the happiest dog in  the world.

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Terwilliger's Tale


Terwilliger is a shelter kitten whose tail is short and stubby, unlike his siblings, who have long, silky tails. After his siblings are adopted, Twilly is left alone. When a shelter worker takes him home, she is so concerned with making his tail grow, she loses sight of the fact that Twilly is a sweet, loving cat. She finally comes to her senses and accepts him as he is. Illustrated by Minnesota Crouch

Available at barnesandnoble.com

taylorandsealepublishing.com, booksamillion.com, and ​amazon.com



​The Silent Lion


Patrick is a huge young lion who lives in an animal sanctuary in Africa. As Patrick grows to adulthood, he finds that he cannot roar. He is reluctant to have an operation to have his roar fixed, but is encouraged by his animal friends to have it. When an emergency threatens the entire pride, Patrick is able to roar, saving the pride and the compound.


This is Book Three in the See I Can Do It! series. Available at taylorandseale.com, amazon.com and all on-line outlets.






Blog--Donna Eastman


Why did we write the books we wrote?


The I Can Do It trilogy was inspired by my business partner, Gloria Koehler. She was a volunteer in Head Start, tutoring children in reading. During her talks with the children, she realized that too many of them had low self esteem. She decided to write books that teach children to solve their problems, using the gifts they were born with. She also wanted beautiful illustrations, "Nothing 'out there,'" she said.

 

The first book, See, I Can Do It! took 10 years to write and find a publisher. There were obstacles. First, we hired the wrong illustrator. She just didn't work out. Then we hired the wrong editor. That was a bad decision. Finally, we got the right combination of illustrator (Bonnie Morisset) and editor (Mary Custureri), and the first book was born. See the description and book above.


The second book was introduced by Gloria in a phone call. "An eagle who's afraid of heights." That book took a lot of research, as we wanted to continue with the same voice sounds we had in the first book. We also had to research the raptors that were advising our hero, Michael. Bonnie's illustrations were breathtaking, and The Reluctant Eaglewas created.


The next phone call was, "A lion who can't roar." Gloria outlined the book's main story (braving operations), then I took over researching actual animal injuries and stories of recovery. We incorporated them into the book. Once again, Bonnie outdid herself with the illustrations, and The Silent Lion was published.


Job done? Well, not quite. I had written a poem some years ago, and wanted it published as a book. Mary agreed, and we hired Minnesota Crouch, a high school senior to do the "out there" illustrations. The story, Terwilliger's Tale, teaches acceptance. It deals with a little kitten whose tail wouldn't grow. His new owner is so obsessed with fixing the tail, she loses sight that she has a very loving and sweet kitty. 


A Job for Tabithais the last book that Gloria and I wrote together. This book was important to us, because we felt the the rise in service dogs was a wonderful thing. So we wrote a story about a little dog who wants a job. Because deafness is creeping up on me, we decided to make Tabitha a hearing dog. Of course, she doesn't know that, but soon learns that she has the job she always wanted. Once again, the secret to a successful book is research, research and research. We researched and highlighted a number of service dogs to fill out the story. Our wonderful Bonnie did the illustrations for us. 


So where does Outrageous Kittycome in? Well, Gloria and I got to talking about our cats and the outrageous things they do. We hired illustrator, Stewart Maxcy, and his wacky sense of humor to tell a story of one really outrageous kitty. So this book was just for fun. Curiously, more men buy this book than anyone else.


A Word About Scruffy Brown Shoes


This is the only novel in the group of the Koehler-Eastman saga. Gloria took 15 years to write this and, as with many first novels, it's highly autobiographical. It's a wonderful story of the greatest generation. We worked on this book together, Gloria writing, Mary and me editing, and we finally were published. I miss Gloria terribly. I have a lot of Scuffy's in my house. You can purchase one for $10 by contacting me at splinterfire76@gmail.com. Or you can order it from amazon.com.