This Angel will make you laugh. And smile. And just plain feel good. Which is what Deirdre Donovan was hoping when she wrote “Angel in Paradise,” which just happens to use her best friend, a 15-year-old Pomeranian/Yorkshire, as the main
This Angel will make you laugh.
And smile.
And just plain feel good.
Which is what Deirdre Donovan was hoping when she wrote “Angel in Paradise,” which just happens to use her best friend, a 15-year-old Pomeranian/Yorkshire, as the main character.
“She is very funny, very amusing,” Donovan said.
The Haena woman recently published her first book that carries with it messages of love, adventure and friendship. It’s a quick, easy read that both children and adults will enjoy.
Angel lives in paradise, Hawaii, and shares adventures with her stuffed animal buddies: Cleopatra, Tiny Tot, Snowpea and Camelot.
Tiny at one point is swept into the ocean by a big wave, but rescued by a brave Angel.
“This book is about respect for the ocean,” Donovan said.
It’s about sharing a message with guests of Kauai to be aware of the ocean dangers and take care. Donovan wants to drive that point home to keiki.
“You might as well teach the children early and delight them at the same time,” she said.
Included with the story are colorful, amusing pictures of this group at beaches around Kauai. Of particular delight are pictures of four-pound Angel sleeping, doing a hula, in a firetruck, running to the rescue on the beach and checking out a rainbow. Angel’s dog house doubles as a surf shack, complete with surfboard. On the back cover is a beautiful photograph of tiny Angel standing strong on a North Shore beach, surveying her surroundings.
In the story is a place called Toad Rock, the sight of the rescue, includes a rock with a monster head and sharp teeth — for a good reason.
“Boys need monsters and firetrucks,” Donovan said.
Each character even has its own font to give it more personality.
Donovan had fun creating the pictures used in the book to set the scenes.
“You layer different photo together, so you get a kind of magical realism,” she said.
The book, Donovan said, brings her joy — a joy she wants to share with others. It’s simple and sweet.
“I’m very proud that Angel is such a good actress,” she said.
Angel in Paradise is Donovan’s first book. She started it when Angel was two years old.
“It’s been a long process and here it is,” she said, adding, “she’s aging very well.”
It came about because people on the beach would comment how adorable her little dog was.
“She ought to be in pictures,” one person said.
Donovan agreed.
“I said ‘Yes,’ and the pictures should be in a children’s book.”
Thus, a star of sorts was born.
Donovan, who is from Virginia, got her perfect Angel, ironically, as a ferocious watchdog to protect her home.
“In Germany, Pomeranians are bred to be guard dogs,” Donovan said. “I’m sure she has kept people away. She’s been an excellent guard dog.”
And an even better lead character and model for her book.
“This is an homage to Angel because she deserves it,” Donovan said.
The cover shot of Angel with sand on her nose was all Angel.
“When I took her to the beach and put a lei around her neck, she stuck her nose in the sand and said, ‘Take my picture.’”
So she did.
Angel doesn’t run alone.
Her companion is her best friend, Bruiser, a five-year-old Pomeranian Shih Tzu, who could be the subject of a second book.
Donovan, an artist who owns Silent Poetry Art Studio, gives all the credit to Angel for the delight and laughter found inside the pages of Angel in Paradise.
“She was the star. She was so patient. she’s a good little actress,” Donovan said.
Angel in Paradise is available at Amazon.com.
