With the help of illustrator Sandy Silverthorne, I have updated the covers on the Follow the Star series of Christmas piano books. Also, I’m especially excited to announce that Follow the Star Level 5 is now available on Amazon and other online retailers for the first time.
Level 5 contains early intermediate arrangements of Mary Did You Know?, Pachelbel’s Canon, Russian Dance (Nutcracker Suite), O Holy Night and more!
Check out these graded piano books from Primer Level through Level 5!
Announcing the upcoming release of Worship at the Keys: A Method Book! This one-of-a-kind book is a step-by-step method, paced for teens, explaining how to play praise and worship songs with a church band. It covers reading chord charts and lead sheets, playing with different groups of musicians, understanding practical concepts in music theory and playing by ear. It includes 23 contemporary worship songs written in simple keys and user-friendly format. This book is a great place to get started for students who have taken a couple years of piano lessons and would like to learn how to play worship songs.
Songs included are: Here I Am to Worship * This is the Day * He’s Got the Whole World * What a Beautiful Name * Cornerstone * Jesus Paid it All * Lord, I Need You * Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone) * Holy Spirit * At the Cross (Love Ran Red) * From the Inside Out * Breathe * You Never Let Go * Every Move I Make * Happy Day * 10,000 Reasons * My All in All * Your Love Awakens Me * Jesus, Lover of My Soul * Our God * Open the Eyes of My Heart * You are My King (Amazing Love) * Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) *
I am very excited to make this book available to the public and hope it will be a blessing to students, teachers and worship leaders. It contains everything about playing worship songs that I wish I knew when I was a teen! You can check it out on Amazon here!
I’m excited to announce the release of new piano books from Spencer Meadow Press: Follow the Star: Christmas Songs for Piano Levels 4 & 5!
Follow the Star: Christmas Songs for Piano (Level 4) for the early intermediate student contains arrangements of Deck the Halls, Away in a Manger, Good King Wenceslas, Silent Night, March of the Toy Soldiers (from the Nutcracker Suite) and more! Arrangements are by Donna McFarland, Cherry Wilson and Tami Wilson. Cute black and white illustrations by artist Sandy Silverthorne.
Follow the Star: Christmas Songs for Piano (Level 5) is a collection for the intermediate piano student. Selections include the beautiful Mary, Did You Know?, a Pachelbel’s Canon with a Christmas twist, Russian Dance (from the Nutcracker Suite), O Holy Night, a sing-a-long carol medley, an original carol by composer Gene Skinner and a lively First Five Days of Christmas, which is based on the traditional 12 Days of Christmas. This fresh new version ends with a boogie woogie on Day 5 as the gift recipient pleads for no more birds. Arrangements by Donna McFarland and Cherry Wilson, illustrated by Sandy Silverthorne.
Both books are available in print in the new Spencer Meadow Press store. Level 4 is also available on Amazon in print and kindle formats. To celebrate these new releases, the kindle version of Level 4 is available for free download on Amazon today through 10/21/15. Click here to get your free copy!
I am excited to announce the release of Medieval Mars: The Anthology! This anthology is a collection of stories that take place in Travis Perry’s world of Medieval Mars.
It’s been about a thousand years since Mars was terraformed and settled by people from earth, but then the civilization collapsed and people returned to a way of life reminiscent of medieval times. Knights called Riders patrol the roads and contend with dragons, bioengineered by the early settlers who added wings to Komodos. Apparently they couldn’t figure out how to make the dragons breathe fire, so they made them spit acid. Yipes!
Read about the war between the mons, a wild west style snake-oil salesman, a young man who would brave anything to save his bride from a mysterious illness, a woman who finds herself too old to continue her passion as a racing bird jockey, and more! My novel Sam and the Dragon is included, along with stories from eight other authors.
Available in kindle and print versions. Check it out!
Just in time for Christmas, it’s Release Day for Sam and the Dragon: A Medieval Mars Story! The ebook is available on Amazon for 99 cents for a limited time only, also available in paperback. Kindleunlimited members can read the ebook for free. (Did you know — every time you read a book for free on kindleunlimited, the author gets paid?!!)
Sam and the Dragon is a fun story for ages 9-12, or their parents. 🙂 The “look inside” feature on the ebook gives a nice preview of the story. Check it out!
I just completed a free giveaway for another author’s new book and it was so much fun that I’ve decided to give away one copy of Sam and the Dragon! Paperback or ebook, whichever you choose. Please leave your name in the comments below if you’d like to enter the drawing. I will pick the winner this Sunday night.
I am excited to announce my newest release: Sam and the Dragon: A Medieval Mars Story will be available on Amazon on November 14, 2014! Available for pre-order here.
At the age when other boys are beginning apprenticeships like blacksmithing or masonry, Sam dreams of bygone days when his ancestors could fly. It has been one thousand years since Mars was colonized and terraformed by people from Earth. When the civilization collapsed centuries later, most technology was lost. Now flying machines are considered fairy tales born in the Time of Magic. Still, Sam yearns for a life where anything is possible.
Things aren’t going too well at the home Sam shares with his aunt and uncle and his cousin Ahni. His aunt is growing mysteriously sicker by the day and his frail uncle is unable to deter a dragon who is stealing their goats. Without the herd, they won’t have money to pay the rent and will end up living in the wild.
Sam and Ahni embark on a perilous journey where they encounter a cave full of strange treasures, come face to face with a dragon and form unlikely alliances that just might prove to save the day. For ages 9-12.
I am excited to announce the release of my new piano book! Follow the Star: Christmas Songs for Piano (Primer & Level 1) is now available on Amazon! This book contains one-handed and two-handed arrangements that are perfect for beginning piano students who want to play music for Christmas and it turned out really cute with Sandy Silverthorne‘s illustrations. It sells for $5.95 on Amazon. Teachers’ discounts are available if you order directly from me. For more information, email me at: donna@duckandfriends.com
Welcome! Here is the blog page for my brand new website! In this blog I plan to post news about upcoming book releases and events, but I will also post reviews of other children’s books, occasional author interviews and other interesting tidbits relating to children’s literacy or whatever I want to write about.
In today’s news, I am excited to announce that my newest music book: Follow the Star: Christmas Songs for Piano (Primer & Level 1) is going to be released very soon!
I am expecting to receive the proof in the next couple weeks. This book is designed for new piano students who are still at the primer level or maybe beginning a level one method book. It begins with a very simple, middle C position “O Come Let Us Adore Him.” There is a one-handed “Jingle Bells” with optional teacher accompaniment, “Silent Night,” “We Three Kings,” and lots more. In the Level 1 section the arrangements contain more hands-together playing on songs like “Joy to the World,” “Pat-a-Pan” and “O Come Little Children.” The book is illustrated with cute drawings by artist Sandy Silverthorne.
Books 'n stuff by Donna 