2024 © Copyright Special Editions, LLC

This site is designed as a fundraiser for a series of books designed to promote education, history, and the arts. Names and contact information will be collected for the purpose of distributing product and for continued communications. 

Why Willie?

Check out the PLEDGE REWARDS 

LAUNCH DATE MAY 2024

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This product is under development with a planned launch date in late April. If you would like to become a FRIEND of WILLIE and pick up products at bargain, fundraising prices, watch this video.

Prices start at 2 dollars for a selection of eight product offerings. You can have fun learning how to spell your name in hieroglyphics, or you may select product options, have your name added on the dedication page, or even be immortalized with your own customized flipbook.

Click the button below if you would like to participate in Willie's great adventures.

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To select your rewards:

• Click on the Rewards button below to be redirected to an order page.
• Pick the rewards of your choice.
• Enter your contact information.
• Make note of the order total
• Click on the SUBMIT button.
• When you are re-directed to the GoFundMe site, enter your name and the order total.

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We will send you a confirmation of your order and will keep you informed about deliery dates. If you would like to discuss a different product mix or quantities, please add that to your order form or contact me directly from this website link.

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Watch the video below for a more thorough preview of the storybook.

The video below provides a brief introduction to the author, the book series, and this first edition of the storybook:

Willie and the Time-Traveling Locket: Discover King Tut's Tomb 

Note from the Author

I started a business with my late husband in 2000, publishing memoirs and business histories for others. After his death, I needed to do something different.

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One major thing I gleaned from writing books for others is that facts alone are not engaging until you add the historical background and describe life as it was during that era. Reading letters and hearing firsthand accounts, I could understand the subject’s outlook on life and their mannerisms. Adding those details when writing the story breathes life into personalities and makes you feel like you’re living in that bygone era, witnessing events as they happen.

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I realized I was successful at this kind of writing when one of my Fortune 500 business owners said I made him cry. He knew his grandmother's story but did not understand the depth of hardships she faced. Telling her story in a way that placed him in her shoes changed his outlook and gave him a newfound appreciation—in addition to the tears.

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That’s what I want to capture in my book series. Not to make people cry—but to breathe life into historical events and figures. To make readers feel like they are there, knowing the people and witnessing history as a living experience.

What’s Special About this Book Series?

Using a little magic makes these stories possible in this living-history way. With his magic locket, Willie gives us a firsthand view of the world he is experiencing. His precocious nature adds to the fun because he describes what he sees and explains what he knows, often adding his commentary based on life experiences. Willie is thoughtful, eager, and funny—and people of all ages can relate to him.

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In addition to helping younger readers discover a new-found passion for history, I will strengthen their learning experience with a pictorial glossary and pronunciation guide for larger words. An audiobook will also be available for children to listen to as they read. To add to the fun, three activity books will address different skill levels with puzzles and coloring pages. Each activity book will reinforce the learning from the storybook while providing hours of fun for children and adults.

What Next?

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Discovering King Tut’s tomb is just the beginning. With the magic locket safely hidden at home, Willie will plan his next adventure based on his favorite television programming, The History Channel. The knowledge gleaned from it helps him effectively narrate what he sees and hears. This information equips him with insights and makes him keenly aware of how privileged he is to experience these precocious moments in time.

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Each storybook added to the series will also include the three levels of companion activity books, and an audiobook.

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What’s in this for You?

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If I can help people discover that history is fun to read and help them with their reading ability and other skills, I’ll feel like I am contributing to a better society. I am also having fun while I do it!

Risks and Challenges

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Time is my biggest issue. Plus, I am concerned that I am not earning income until I receive revenues from my book sales. Bridging that gap is a huge challenge because the design of these books is very labor-intensive. I write my own stories, I create my watercolor designs, and I spend a lot of time taking photos of my very real dog, Willie. (This is a challenge, because he teases me by turning away from the camera when I try to take his picture—and, yes, he knows what he is doing!)

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When I receive funding, I will be able to purchase software programs that will help me speed up my production, especially with the activity books. Each book in this series requires creating four books at one time. If I have more funds to work with, I am hoping to find a skilled assistant who can help me with the activity books.

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Funding will also help with the costly requirement of purchasing original photos from a given period. They are an essential part of making an accurate record of an event. Even though the story is written whimsically with a dog as a narrator in a not-too-realistic approach—the historical events must be accurate in every detail. Having original, licensed photographs is an important element of this entire series.

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To meet my goal of creating three book sets per year, this funding will allow me to hire researchers who can find, verify, and document source material. My approach to doing this type of writing is to read everything beforehand. Think about it, create an outline, and then start writing and integrating imagery. Sometimes, I start my story by studying an image and supporting it with factual information.

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By adding in the element of Willie, I integrate little side thoughts and observations that the reader can relate to and feel even more involved in the story. After all, Willie's role is to give us the sights, sounds, smells, and emotions that we would experience if we were transported in time with him—which is the magic of making these books living histories that are engaging while being educational.

Like Rick, Willie makes me laugh. He also knows when I am hurting or if I am sad. When our Hospice chaplain paid her weekly visit, Willie would jump on Rick’s lap whenever he saw tears and would shower him with doggie kisses until tears turned into a smile. If I started crying, I would hear Willie wimper. Then he’d jump from Rick’s lap to race over to me with the same comfort-giving attention. It amazed me that even as a little puppy, he could identify our emotions and feel duty-bound to offer comfort. 

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In addition to responding to emotions, Willie also understood sacred moments. Not possible— you’re thinking! I wouldn’t have believed it either. However, at the close of our weekly visits from the chaplain, we would join hands in a prayer circle, and Willie always insisted that he be included. We often sat outside on the patio while Willie explored the flower beds and chased butterflies and squirrels. Yet when the moment arrived for our farewell ritual, Willie suddenly appeared at my feet, begging to be picked up and be included in our prayer circle. In his little doggie brain, he sensed it was a special moment and seemed to savor every word of that prayer.

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One day, I asked Rick, “You’ve had house pets before. You’ve had dogs. Were they all like Willie?” He said, “No, Willie’s special. It’s almost like there’s a real person inside there.”

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Willie is like a real person, which makes it easy to designate him as my hero in this new book series.

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He is smart—so smart we often resort to spelling certain words if we don’t want him to know. Even still, he figures it out. It's like he has a sixth sense—whatever that is!

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He also likes to watch television and prefers doing it as a family. If I am working in the office, he lets me know when it’s time to stop and join the family for an evening of relaxation. At the same time, when I say it’s time to go to work after my morning coffee, he immediately goes to his office chair and waits for me to get there.

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I remember hearing that in certain languages, there are different words for our English word—Love. For instance, loving pizza and loving your spouse would not be the same word. I feel that way about the word—dog. Willie is a dog, but not in the same way that I’ve thought about dogs in the past.

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Like Rick said, he’s special—special enough to be the hero of my book series.

One might ask, why am I writing a series of books about historical events, using a dog as the main character. The answer is, he’s special!

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If someone had told me years ago that I would be a dog lover, I wouldn’t have believed them. I grew up on a dairy farm. Animals dwelled in the barn, hay mows, sheds, and other shelters—not inside the house. However, when it’s at the top of your husband’s bucket list, you get a dog.

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Rick later told me, “I wanted Willie for you, not me. I won’t be here much longer and when I’m gone, I want you to feel my unconditional love through him.”

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Rick knew. When I open my eyes in the morning, Willie is inches away from my face, looking at me with total adoration. His wagging tail exudes pure joy that my opened eyes signal a start of our day together.

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Willie is Rick’s namesake—Richard William—and sometimes I see traits in him that remind me of my late husband. His love of people, his curiosity, and always being at the center of attention. If Rick and I were ever separated in a crowd, I would listen for the laughter because I knew I would find him there. Laughter was a huge part of our life together.