Donna Galanti - Where heart and hope meet adventure!

Enlightenment, Going Home, Breathing in Nature & What I’m Reading

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Each week I read a chapter of Wayne W. Dyer’s Wisdom of the Ages: 60 Days to Enlightenment and journal my own insights. In this book, Dyer highlights 60 great thinkers of the past, provides his own take on their words, and poses questions on what they offer us today in modern times.

This week:
The poem “On Time” by John Milton (1608-1674)
First sentence…

Fly envious Time, till thou run out thy race,
Call on the lazy leaden-stepping hours,
Whose speed is but the heavy Plummets pace;
And glut thy self with what thy womb devours,
Which is no more then what is false and vain,
And meerly mortal dross;
So little is our loss,
So little is thy gain.

Milton goes on about how we can triumph over our earthly fate—by entering a sense of timelessness with the passage of time. There is no need to defeat it but rather we can smile at it. We can enjoy the rewards of eternity now in this earthly life. We can contemplate our physical selves and possessions and laugh peacefully at it all—for it’s only on lease. We can make peace with time. We’re not its victim. Instead, we can have a sense of knowing that our soul is where bliss resides with joy, love, and peace. Forever includes now.

These weekly passages give me pause when I need it most. And with so much busyness going on this past month, I also needed to breathe in all of nature’s green. And I did. I hope you have green to fill you up, too. Turn up the volume 🙂

I visited new and familiar forests and meadows full of music and magic. I went on for miles and finally had to turn around. I should really tell my husband where I am when I wander like this, in case the woodland fairies carry me away!

SPEAKING OF NATURE …
It was fun volunteering with an Audubon Society school program with Hopper the broad-winged hawk. Here he is flapping in his house.

Plus, I got to visit with all the other bird ambassadors on site like Oden the great horned owl, Ursa the Harris’s hawk, Abby a red-phase Eastern-screech owl, CC the pigeon, and more.

Fascinating fact about broad-winged hawks:
During migration to South America, they group together by the thousands, forming a tornado-like vortex known as a ‘kettle’ or ‘boil’. This is formed from the hot air on the ground. They rise up on the hot air into the sky to then glide along downward on their route and then do it again. This way they don’t use up so much energy flapping their wings for their long migration and have to constantly eat to keep up energy. Smart! Watch a video of this epic journey here.

GOING HOME AGAIN

May was also a travel month. I visited Albany, New York, where I (mostly) grew up to be the keynote speaker for the 136th commencement ceremony at my alma mater, Academy of the Holy Names. I connected with new friends and old friends. Total nostalgic fun.

I loved being back on campus 39 years after my own H.S. graduation to see so many accomplished young women beginning their new life journey. I spoke to them about the power of getting outside your comfort zone.

In my speech, I mentioned key things to keep in mind when stepping outside the familiar for a greater reward:

· You won’t always know what you’re doing.
· You will stumble.
· You will fail.
· You will not be perfect. And that’s okay because no one is perfect at anything when they’re new at it.

And if you accept that you will stumble and fail then you give yourself permission to TRY and FAIL. And you give yourself the gift of courage. The courage to embrace life and be unafraid to step into the unknown. And if faced with the chance to get outside your comfort zone, ask yourself—what is the cost of staying the same? Is it worth it? Only you can decide.

On this visit I also mourned my own youth a bit, wishing I could go back to that shiny, fleeting moment to truly embrace all the potential I held—and the blank canvas to color as I wished. Would I color it differently knowing what I know now and having had the experiences I’ve had the last 40 years?

WHAT I’M READING

My American Journey by Colin Powell with Joseph E. Persico
I’ve always admired Colin Powell, and his memoir is a wonderful dive into his life and thoughts on his personal and career journeys. I especially enjoy his self-deprecating manner and way of revealing how his path unfolded in practical and often unexpected—and lucky—ways.

Colin Powell is the embodiment of the American dream. He was born in Harlem to immigrant parents from Jamaica. He knew the rough life of the streets. He overcame a barely average start at school. Then he joined the Army. The rest is history—Vietnam, the Pentagon, Panama, Desert Storm. Here, Colin Powell himself tells us how it happened, in a memoir distinguished by a heartfelt love of country and family, warm good humor, and a soldier’s directness. My American Journey is the powerful story of a life well lived and well told.

MY NEXT BOOK COMING 3/3/26!

I’m so excited to have seen the final cover of my next middle grade book out 3/3/26 by Wild Trail Press, The Secret Winners Club, and I just finished the final edits. Full cover reveal coming soon!

Here’s a sneak peek of the cover and what The Secret Winners Club is about…

1st Club Rule: Do whatever it takes.

A girl with a visible autoimmune condition bands with other immune deficient friends to create a secret winner’s club to be known for more than just their diseases. Tired of always achieving second place in school competitions, they help each other become #1 before middle school is over—but they quickly discover crossing the line and hurting others can make them even more visible and even more of an outsider.

This is another personal story to me as I have five autoimmune disorders, some of them visible as well. It can be hard for kids to look different—and harder to embrace their unique selves.

LOON COVE SUMMER OUT A MONTH!

It’s been one month as of today that Loon Cove Summer released. I was thrilled to see the orange banner on Amazon with it being the #1 New Release in Camping Books for Children its first week out! Thank you, readers, for making this happen.

Loon Cove Summer is available here from your favorite bookstore in paperback, eBook, and hardcover by Wild Trail Press.

It can take months and even years to write, rewrite, revise, get rejected, and get a book published. After you do, the most satisfying thing is knowing other people read it and are moved by your story. Thank you to Therearenobadbooks for her review of Loon Cove Summer. Be sure to follow her wonderful book recommendations on FB and IG and check out her own books! See full review here.

Happy reading!

XXOO Donna

Spooky Season Reads: 7 Reasons to Love DAYBREAK ON RAVEN ISLAND

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It’s the spooky season and time for a good scary, suspenseful story with chapter cliffhanger endings that will keep you turning the pages! Check out my 7 reasons why to love Fleur Bradley‘s spooky book for kids of all ages–DAYBREAK ON RAVEN ISLAND.

About Daybreak on Raven Island by Fleur Bradley:

From the critically acclaimed author of Midnight at the Barclay Hotel comes a thrilling middle grade mystery novel inspired by Alcatraz Prison.

Tori, Marvin, and Noah would rather be anywhere else than on the seventh-grade class field trip to Raven Island prison. Tori would rather be on the soccer field, but her bad grades have benched her until further notice; Marvin would rather be at the first day of a film festival with his best friend, Kevin; and Noah isn’t looking forward to having to make small talk with his classmates at this new school.

But when the three of them stumble upon a dead body in the woods, miss the last ferry back home, and then have to spend the night on Raven Island, they find that they need each other now more than ever. They must work together to uncover a killer, outrun a motley ghost-hunting crew, and expose the age-old secrets of the island all before daybreak.

My review:

Daybreak on Raven Island sucks you in from the very first chapter infused with mystery, intrigue, and foreboding. This dark tale begins with three unlikely friends thrown together on a fieldtrip to Raven Island—home of tragedy, misery, and an abandoned prison with gloomy tales to tell.

Tori, Marvin, and Noah are soon trapped in a sinister puzzle they must unravel before the next day using all their knowledge, wits, and uncovered resources. This field trip quickly becomes more than just a day off from school when we discover Tori, Marvin, and Noah each have a secret connection to this haunted island. The suspense intensifies as these kids begin to experience unexplained phenomenon that shakes up their sense of self and what they thought they knew—and leads to darker dangers they could never have anticipated.

If you love ominous, atmospheric stories, then you’ll love Daybreak on Raven Island. The suspense quickly grows with this diverse set of characters who all carry woeful baggage. They work well in contrast to each other to unravel the secrets of Raven Island—and soon discover not all is as it seems.

7 things to love about Daybreak on Raven Island:

  1. A haunted island with an abandoned prison, lighthouse, mansion, and spooky forest (my fave combo!).
  2. Ravens who watch over the island … and follow you (think Hitchcock’s The Birds but in a good way!).
  3. History comes alive—literally before your eyes.
  4. Gobs of spooky foreshadowing to give you creepy chills.
  5. Ghosts galore (of course!).
  6. A dark and tragic history to be uncovered.
  7. New friendships forged under tough circumstances.

Fleur does a wonderful job of creating not only a unique set of characters but a unique setting that comes alive. The landscape and wildlife are eerie characters themselves that at times hinder and aid our three young investigators.

With each scene the situation worsens, leaving us to wonder if Tori, Marvin, and Noah will indeed survive their night on Raven Island to see daybreak. Throw in a ticking clock, ghostly help, tragic mystery to solve, and a terrifying world to navigate in the dark and you’ve got a chilling mix for a compelling story.

I’m a big lover of touring historical prisons, imagining them in their heyday and the people who lived there—and died there. I checked off a bucket list item to tour Alcatraz several years back, and would have given anything to stay overnight on that island with an abandoned prison! This book happily fulfilled that yearning . Be sure to check out Fleur’s new, Alcatraz-inspired story. It’s scary, has a murder mystery, and tons of real history folklore as its inspiration. And don’t forget the very Hitchcock-y ravens…

About Fleur:

Fleur Bradley is the author of the (scary) award-winning middle-grade mystery Daybreak on Raven Island, and award-winning mystery Midnight at the Barclay Hotel (Viking/Penguin Random House). Her story The Perfect Alibi appeared in Mystery Writers of America’s middle-grade anthology Super Puzzletastic Mysteries, edited by Chris Grabenstein (HarperCollins). Fleur regularly does school and Skype visits, as well as librarian and educator conference talks on reaching reluctant readers. Originally from the Netherlands, she now lives in Colorado Springs with her family.

Connect with Fleur:

Website: Fleur Bradley (ftbradley.com)

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fleurbradley/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/FTBradleyAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/FTBradleyAuthor

 

My New Middle Grade Book Coming 2025 + Fall Comfort Food!

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I’m super excited to share the release of my next middle grade book, LOON COVE SUMMER, coming out May 2025!

This story took hold of me in 2013. It’s grown and evolved, but never let me go. As a child, my parents owned and operated a rural campground in New England and it was a magical place to live. This story is a love letter to my childhood there.

Here’s what LOON COVE SUMMER is about:

Thirteen-year-old Sarah Richardson is determined that her life will finally get unstuck this summer. She just knows it. Her to-do list? Brave the lake again. Save the loons. Stop missing Mom. Her one bright spot: volunteering at the local wild bird rehabilitation center.

The summer looks even brighter when Sarah meets Theo, the boy staying at her family’s Maine lakeside campground who cares about protecting the loons just like she does. But when Sarah’s family may have to move, she adds a new to-do item: save their home. And when Dad starts spending too much time with Theo’s aunt, the naturalist helping research environmental dangers to the loons, Sarah is caught in a world of grief and guilt.

With the looming reality of losing her dad, her home, and the loons, Sarah must make a big statement to take control of her life. Capturing inspiration from her mother’s Appalachian Trail hiking journal, she boldly plans a solo wild adventure. But as her challenges mount, she wonders if her courage will earn her the voice she seeks—or if she’s made a reckless choice that just might claim her life.

And here’s a sneak peek teaser of a small snippet of the unfinished cover—still in the illustration process!

I fell in love with nature, the woods, and lakes at the age of nine when I lived at my family’s campground in New England by Squam Lake in Holderness, New Hampshire.

Here’s the amazing view of the lake from the top of Rattlesnake Mountain.

Here I am on Squam Lake where we lived and where I caught my first fish with my dad in his Boston Whaler.

The fish was a pike, and he nearly rammed his boat into a rock island just so I could get it! I’m the one in the white hat. 🙂

Back in 2015, I visited Holderness and Squam Lake when I was working on LOON COVE SUMMER. You can read about that adventure here. It was like stepping back in time, wrapped up in the comfort of being a kid again.

With the one-year anniversary of my dad’s death coming up on October 30th, I love reminiscing about our time at the campground. It helps me smile from our memories together rather than be sad. My dad loved fishing and camping and we spent many family vacations doing both in Canada and throughout New England.

It was beautiful to experience the Lakes Region of New Hampshire on my recent visit in fall. And I’m so excited that fall is here now. The golden colors, flying leaves, crisp air, fires and hot cider, bundled up in coats and gloves. I love it all!

Because I love fall, I want share with you my favorite autumn comfort recipe that I created long ago:

Meat scramble bowl with veggies!
Ingredients:

1 lb. lean ground beef (or poultry if you prefer)
Several butter gold potatoes
Two crowns of broccoli
2 sweet onions
2 large red, orange, or yellow peppers
2 large carrots
Organic vegetable bouillon cube
½ cup of marinara sauce (or canned tomatoes)
½ cup beef broth (or poultry)
2 tablespoons almond butter or peanut butter
2 cloves of garlic diced
Olive oil for tossing vegetables and pan
Seasonings (curry, Italian seasoning, chili powder, cumin, salt)
Optional:
Parmesan cheese to taste (about 2 tablespoons)
1-2 tablespoons of dehydrated coconut milk to mix in for creaminess

Instructions:
Cut up peppers, carrots, broccoli, and 1 onion into chunks
Toss these cut up vegetables with olive oil, your fave seasonings, and roast in oven on parchment paper at 400 degrees until done (caramelized and bit darkened)
While the veggies are roasting, make mashed potatoes in your style
Dice up the remaining onion and cook until opaque in deep skillet on medium with olive oil
Add diced garlic to skillet once onion is done
Add in meat and break up into small crumbles until mostly cooked
Add marinara, broth, bouillon cube, coconut milk powder, and almond/peanut butter and stir
Cover skillet and turn heat to low to simmer
Stir occasionally
When done add in seasonings (I love curry especially!) and parmesan to taste

To serve warm:
Place generous scoop of mashed potatoes in a large serving bowl
Top with generous scoop of meat scramble and roasted veggies
Enjoy – and leftovers too!
Time saver tip: Instead of making a pot of mashed potatoes. Cook one potato in the microwave, mash hot with a fork with butter or olive oil, and place in bottom of a serving bowl then top with meat scramble and veggies.
Time saver tip 2: Cut up sweet potatoes and roast with other veggies instead of making mashed potatoes.

Happy fall! I’ll leave you with an autumn photo from Squam Lake to enjoy.

 

Celebrating the 3rd book in the Unicorn Island series, Beyond the Portal!

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It was so fun to do a book event to celebrate the third and final book in the Unicorn Island series, Beyond the Portal, at my favorite bookstore, The Doylestown Bookshop on June 10th! You can order a signed copy from them here! We even had a special visitor as you can see!

We had a fun time with a scavenger hunt, unicorn light giveaway, goodies, a reading–and young readers (and older, too!) got their photo with my extra special friend, Tiffany the Unicorn!

Also, it was a wonderful surprise to finally meet my editor, Andrea with Epic for Kids, in person! She helped me make Beyond the Portal shine . Thank you all who came out and purchased books as well.

I was also super grateful to spend a week in Cape Cod this spring re-plotting one of my middle grade books into a new spookier version. Because spooky is fun! Cape Cod also has an eerie, haunted kind of feel to it with its wintry landscape still in April. Here is a favorite spot with a desolate sweeping vista by the sea. I even saw a coyote swimming toward me in a marsh channel. He got close then lumbered out, shook off his fur, and dashed away.

May was an up and down month. I was happy to celebrate our son, Joshua, moving home after nearly two years of living in Hawaii and spend time with him this summer before he travels around Europe but also distressed as my 88-year-old dad suffered more multiple strokes in North Carolina. Hospice let me know his passing was imminent and so I flew down, only to see him miraculously recover! Josh came home and had to check up on his Grampy so we then drove down to visit. While my dad’s a bit weaker and confused, he still insists Josh cuts that hair .

And now on to book recommendations! I was sad to finish this book, How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. Published in 1936 it is still so timely today–and one of the first self-help books. While, some parts have been updated for today’s generation, I loved the cultural snapshots in time from stories used to demonstrate principles (especially from people I greatly admire–like Teddy Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln). Dale has a breezy and friendly voice that is compelling. Definitely a book to re-read. Highly recommend! Star recommends, too.

I celebrated my birthday this month and found this birthday blast from my past. A photo from my 10th birthday! Maybe you can see why I’ve always ventured to the thrilling side of adventure in my story telling. Heh heh heh. I do love tormenting my characters. Whether writing thrillers for grownups or kids. Guess I started young!

I love living in the countryside and I’ll leave you with some idyllic, peaceful morning photos among the woods and fields today. No one out but the butterflies, birds, and a lone horse and buggy.

Happy reading—and happy summertime!

P.S. You can order Beyond the Portal HERE from your favorite bookseller–and all the Unicorn Island books.

P.S.S. Here is an excerpt from Beyond the Portal:

Sam let go of the handle with an exasperated sigh and sat back on her
heels. “We’re doing something wrong. What are we missing?”
Tuck scanned the poem again, then tapped the paper. “We forgot about the magical talisman.”
“But doesn’t Barloc count?” Sam asked. “He’s magical.”
“He is, but that’s not the same,” Tuck said. “A talisman is an object you wear that provides protection. I think it’s supposed to tie us to this world.”
Sam raked a hand through her tangled curls. “Well, where are we supposed to find something like that?”
“I have no idea,” Tuck said. “Maybe there’s something in the cave that we could use?”
“We don’t have time to look for some mystery magical object,” Sam said. “This is ridiculous. We should have been more—”
Samantha.
She’d almost forgotten that Barloc was there. His purple eyes sliced through the darkness of the cave.
Your necklace, Samantha. Where is it?
Sam’s hand went to her throat, where the unicorn tail necklace usually hung, but there was nothing there.
“Oh—I do have it!” she cried, remembering. She pulled her backpack off her shoulders and rummaged in a side pocket before holding the necklace up triumphantly.
“Will this work?” she asked, turning to Barloc.
The unicorn nodded.
Sam looped the chain around her neck and tucked it beneath her shirt. It might have been her imagination, but she was sure her skin felt warmer the instant the unicorn tail touched it. She knelt on the
ground and reached for the handle. She took a steadying breath and turned the handle three times.
The cave was suddenly filled with a swirling wind. Sam’s hair blew against her face, tendrils whipping across her cheeks. She looked at Tuck, who met her gaze and pointed to the cave wall.
A small ring of white light was expanding in a blaze that was every color of the rainbow. It grew until it was large enough for all three of them to walk through, side by side, and then it seemed to swell and shrink, almost as if it were breathing.
Sam didn’t know whether she felt amazed or terrified.
They’d done it—but now they had to go through to whatever was beyond.
Sam looked at Tuck. He stared, mesmerized, at the swirling vortex in
front of them. He raised one hand toward the vibrant colors, as if he wanted to touch them.
It’s time.
Sam grabbed Tuck’s outstretched hand. He gripped her fingers tightly, and, together with Barloc, they stepped into the light.

Beyond the Portal Out Today, Book Events PLUS Enter 12-Book Giveaway!

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Yippee! April 4th is finally here. The day Beyond the Portal is out in the world!

I’m sad and happy all at once. Sad that this is the final and third book in my Unicorn Island series but happy that all secrets come to light in the story–and all mysteries solved! You can order Beyond the Portal HERE from your favorite bookseller.

If you’re close to Southeastern Pennsylvania, I’m super excited to be having a special book event at my favorite local bookseller. Join me Saturday, June 10th, 2023, at 1pm at The Doylestown Bookshop to celebrate the release of Beyond the Portal! I’ll have all 3 Unicorn Island books there to purchase and get signed, as well as my other books. Plus, there will be a scavenger hunt, unicorn light giveaway, goodies, a reading–AND your kiddos can get their photo with my extra special friend, Tiffany the Unicorn! Set the date now for a fun afternoon.

Check out this Kirkus Review of Beyond the Portal:

Here is an excerpt from Beyond the Portal:

Sam shielded her eyes against the glaring light. When it disappeared, they stood in another cave. The same blue lightning bugs scuttled around them, illuminating the walls. Sam shivered. It felt more like November in Brooklyn than August in South Carolina.

Sam glanced at Tuck and Barloc and exhaled in relief. “We made it,” she said.

Barloc whinnied softly and pressed his nose against Sam’s shoulder.

“Now we just need to find a way out of here,” Tuck said, his eyes darting around the stone walls. “There!” He pointed to a sliver of hazy light in the distance and motioned for them to follow.

When they stepped out of the cave, they found themselves deep in an unfamiliar forest. There were no live oaks with mossy beards, longleaf pines, or seagulls here.

Instead, tall evergreens loomed beside gray beech trees. Crows cawed overhead, and a lone hawk shrieked across the sky. Jagged, snow-covered mountain peaks loomed in the distance, just as Barloc had described.

A bright moon shone overhead, casting the world in light and shadow. All around them, things moved. It seemed as if the forest were alive, its spindly wooden fingers reaching for them.

Sam moved closer to Tuck. His face was tense as he scanned their new surroundings.

I love reading reviews from book bloggers! Did you know that the best way to help an author is to leave an honest review for books you read? I’d love for you to leave one for Beyond the Portal. 😊

Here’s an early review from Log Cabin Library: “I enjoyed how Galanti explored the grays of the world and that sometimes not everything is as it first seems … This last book showed a lot of character growth and emphasized standing up for your principles … It has strong kid appeal.”

My publisher, Andrews McMeel, also sent me bookmarks and bookplate labels. If you order the book, I’d love to send you a bookmark and personalized bookplate label for you or your favorite unicorn lover. Just email me at donna(at)donnagalanti.com.

My publisher is also so amazing as they are giving away a set of TWELVE of their middle grade books in print to 5 lucky readers! That’s right–12! One book just happens to be Beyond the Portal. Ends April 8th and U.S. only. Check it out and enter here.

Lastly, it’s so amazing to get these lovely surprises in my email from teachers and their students! It warms my heart to know young readers are touched by my stories.  Mrs. Christie said her students love Unicorn Island so much that they decided to write me an opinion letter about it. Here it is in their words.

Happy reading—and happy spring!

P.S. Be sure to take your own magic with you wherever you go