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Email:
donnadriver68@gmail.com
TikTok
Goodreads
Amazon Author Page
Bookbub
Email:
donnadriver68@gmail.com
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For Teachers and Librarians! My School Presentations! |
I do presentations for several of my novels. I am happy to adapt for large groups, individual classrooms, or small book clubs. My rates are negotiable. I do charge additional travel fees if I need to go more than 50 miles from my home near Nashville.
Speaking at W. A. Wright Elementary School.
I am available to speak at elementary and middle schools about my middle grade novel No One Needed to Know. This book is about a girl dealing with the pressures and responsibilities that come with having an older autistic brother. It is based loosely on my personal experience growing up with an older Autistic brother.
My presentation includes:
I did a 30 minute podcast version of this presentation for Tennessee Library for Accessible Books and Media. Click on this link to listen.
"I felt really good about the entire presentation and the way the kids behaved," Librarian at Stoner Creek Elementary School.
My presentation includes:
- Sharing some of my memories as an autism sibling and teacher of special needs students and how that inspired the writing of this novel.
- A quick overview of autism
- A discussion about bullying with an emphasis on being kind to people with special needs
- Taking a pledge to not be a bully.
I did a 30 minute podcast version of this presentation for Tennessee Library for Accessible Books and Media. Click on this link to listen.
"I felt really good about the entire presentation and the way the kids behaved," Librarian at Stoner Creek Elementary School.
Speaking at West Wilson Middle School in Tennessee
From concept to publication, it took 13 years to make Cry of the Sea the story I wanted it to be. My presentation for schools, libraries, and special events is about the process of revision. Sometimes the first version of a story, poem, song, drawing, etc. isn't the best it could be. Sometimes it takes stepping away for a while and looking at it with fresh eyes. Sometimes it takes several times to get it right.
I tell the story of how I came up with the idea for this novel about a teen environmental activist who discovers real mermaids and the process I went through to write it and revise it until it was of publishable quality. It is an educational and motivational presentation perfect for students 6th-12th grade or any creative people!
In addition to speaking about writing and revision, I have an alternate presentation available about the environmental themes in this award-winning series. I will be happy to speak to classes about the effects of ocean pollution, oil spills, and logging.
I tell the story of how I came up with the idea for this novel about a teen environmental activist who discovers real mermaids and the process I went through to write it and revise it until it was of publishable quality. It is an educational and motivational presentation perfect for students 6th-12th grade or any creative people!
In addition to speaking about writing and revision, I have an alternate presentation available about the environmental themes in this award-winning series. I will be happy to speak to classes about the effects of ocean pollution, oil spills, and logging.
Lost on the Water - A Ghost Story is a spooky contemporary adventure story perfect for middle school and younger high school readers. It's the story of a girl visiting her grandmother in rural Tennessee who sneaks out in a rickety old rowboat to catch up to a group of boys camping overnight on an island in the lake. Only, the boat just might be haunted.
The writing of this book got a little lost, too, as I went through many rewrites to find the right setting and traits of the main characters to tell the story effectively. I do a presentation about choosing setting and characters and why they make a difference. This is an especially fun book and presentation for schools in middle Tennessee, as this book is set at Center Hill Lake, TN.
The writing of this book got a little lost, too, as I went through many rewrites to find the right setting and traits of the main characters to tell the story effectively. I do a presentation about choosing setting and characters and why they make a difference. This is an especially fun book and presentation for schools in middle Tennessee, as this book is set at Center Hill Lake, TN.
I have been a speaker or panelist at many schools, libraries, and special events. Some of my favorites include: Middle TN Youth Writing Workshop (at MTSU), Alabama School Library Association conference, Tennessee Association of School Librarians, Wizard World Comic Con Nashville, Southern Kentucky Festival of Books, LibertyCon, Chattacon, and Hypericon. I would love to speak at your special event, so please contact me at donnadriver68@gmail.com.
What am I working on right now? (as of April 2, 2022)
The last time I updated this post, I was writing my book Songwriter Showcase (sequel to Songwriter Night: A Musical Romance). I released that book back in October 2022. I think it turned out fun, and I'd love to continue this series. I have lots of ideas for what my characters can do next.
So far this year, however, I haven't been working on any new fiction. I spent January doing a big rewrite of a fantasy novel I've co-written with my friend Jeni Bautista Richard called Dragon Surf, changing it from middle grade to YA. We submitted it to Fire and Ice YA Books, the publisher of my other YA novels, and they accepted it. Yay! It'll be release in spring of 2023, so we're waiting for our editor to send back all the notes for revisions. I expect that'll keep us busy all summer.
I'm also busy revising Songwriter Night to turn it into a musical we can perform live on stage at some point in the next year or so. This was always the plan when I wrote it to be recorded as a full cast musical audiobook. The stage version will have a few new songs and a lot less narration.
I've started a TikTok and that's taking up more time than I expected, but it is a lot of fun. I'm also about to go into rehearsals for a show I'm directing this spring (Once Upon a Mattress), and I'll be performing in Into the Woods in the fall. You know I love fairy tales.
My women's fiction novel is still going through the querying rounds. That said, I'm beginning to toy with the idea of trying a small press or even self-publishing. My heart is in this book, and I believe there is an audience for it.
To keep up with my progress, please follow me at Facebook https://www.facebook.com/donnagdriver/
Or follow me on Instagram and Twitter.
The last time I updated this post, I was writing my book Songwriter Showcase (sequel to Songwriter Night: A Musical Romance). I released that book back in October 2022. I think it turned out fun, and I'd love to continue this series. I have lots of ideas for what my characters can do next.
So far this year, however, I haven't been working on any new fiction. I spent January doing a big rewrite of a fantasy novel I've co-written with my friend Jeni Bautista Richard called Dragon Surf, changing it from middle grade to YA. We submitted it to Fire and Ice YA Books, the publisher of my other YA novels, and they accepted it. Yay! It'll be release in spring of 2023, so we're waiting for our editor to send back all the notes for revisions. I expect that'll keep us busy all summer.
I'm also busy revising Songwriter Night to turn it into a musical we can perform live on stage at some point in the next year or so. This was always the plan when I wrote it to be recorded as a full cast musical audiobook. The stage version will have a few new songs and a lot less narration.
I've started a TikTok and that's taking up more time than I expected, but it is a lot of fun. I'm also about to go into rehearsals for a show I'm directing this spring (Once Upon a Mattress), and I'll be performing in Into the Woods in the fall. You know I love fairy tales.
My women's fiction novel is still going through the querying rounds. That said, I'm beginning to toy with the idea of trying a small press or even self-publishing. My heart is in this book, and I believe there is an audience for it.
To keep up with my progress, please follow me at Facebook https://www.facebook.com/donnagdriver/
Or follow me on Instagram and Twitter.