Talk about fun! It’s a delight to be included in the collection A Bouquet of Brides with author Donita K Paul. I have some friends who get a little star-struck when they learn Donita is part of my friendship circle. If you know Donita, you know she is a down-to-earth, albeit talented, grandma who loves laugh, has a sparkling twinkle in her eyes, and delights in helping children succeed.
I don’t know if she gets tired of hearing it or not, but I can’t introduce Donita without saying that she wrote one of my favorite books ever, DragonSpell. I read this 2005 Christy award-winning tale to my children when they were small, and the time we spent sharing this story together is forever etched in my mind. Of course she has a ton of other wonderful, well-written books, both fantasy and inspirational romance, but I can’t help but talk about my favorite. It was such delight to see it listed at the library as one of the top picks for a summer read back when my children and I frequented summer library programs.
But Donita’s not only a fantastic writer, she’s a dear friend and mentor to many of us. In fact, I think it is safe to say she’s become a mentor to mentors, because I’ve heard both Mary and Kathy, who I featured earlier this week, call Donita their mentor. And that’s pretty cool since I think Suzanne, who is a debut author in this collection, would call Mary one of her mentors. And I call Kathy my mentor and she calls Mary hers and Mary goes right back to Donita. (Did you follow that?) That’s legacy my friends!
Here’s another fun Donita story. She once told me she wrote her first book, a romance, while her daughter was away at camp one summer. Evidently Evangeline, then a teen, had started reading romance and her momma wanted her to read a story that was wholesome and pointed her to a healthy, God-centered relationship.
This picture was taken taken at a book signing in December of 2012. Pictured with Kathy, Mary, and myself is Donita’s daughter, Evangeline Denmark, who has now released her first novel! (There’s that legacy thing again.)
I also had the distinct pleasure of attending Donita’s wedding. What a high day that was! I treasure this picture of Kathy, Mary, and I celebrating with Donita on her wedding day in September of 2015. Isn’t she lovely in yellow?
Until next time when I introduce the author of the next story in A Bouquet of Brides,
Tagged: A Bouquet of Brides, Donita K Paul, friends, mentoring, writing journey, writing mentors
Paula's Blog 
I love how writers mentor each other and give such great encouragement. That is especially important to me as a new writer. 🙂 Thanks for sharing about Donita.
It’s been a wonderful experience. A lot of the friendships and encouragement I needed to persevere came out of American Christian Fiction Writers and the Colorado Christian Writer’s Conference. I’m very grateful for each one.
And I’m grateful to you mimionlife for commenting and establishing a relationship here on the blog. I look forward to knowing you better.
By the way–every time someone comments their name goes into a drawing for a free copy of A Bouquet of Brides!
We have grandchildren now, and I feel like I need to check out DragonSpell for them since my children have never read it. I loved reading how Donita started writing for her daughter to read something wholesome that pointed her to a healthy, God-centered relationship! Thank you for highlighting your fellow authors in this collection. It will make their stories even more interesting when we read them.
My kids loved it. Fantasy with cool spiritual connections.
It’s true. Mentor to the mentors. I consider Mary Davis to be my mentor. And recently she brought me into a group with Donita. I’m so honored and humbled to work with her and be included in a collection with her. I love the way she writes.
Precious!