About the Author

Martha M. Goguen
Martha Goguen lives on Canada's East Coast in St. Andrews, New Brunswick. When she isn't writing, editing or reading books, Martha spends hours in the garden contemplating the next story.

A graduate of St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia, Martha enjoyed a successful 20-year career in human resources management before retiring to take on new challenges. She decided on writing children's books and maybe some other stuff... as yet to be developed. Thus Martha's Musings Inc. was born.

Martha's goal is to give every child what Martha herself experienced as a child with The Wonderful World of Disney and Dr. Seuss. These book series provided laughter, excitement and the thrill of possibilities. From that ideal, the Dream Believe Achieve(tm) series emerged.

Children in Cayo Guillermo, Cuba, are enjoying Emily and Global Heart Warming in the photos above and below.


About the illustrators

Amanda M. Nolan -- EMILY
To create the illustrations for EMILY, I used watercolour pencils on paper, and also washes of colour with watercolour paint. My influences were probably the bright, bold colours of Ted Harrison's artwork for such books as The Cremation of Sam McGee (by Robert W. Service) as well as Michael Martchenko's illustrations for Robert Munsch's children's books. I tried to imagine myself as a child again, and what sort of things I liked about kids' illustrations: quirkiness, bright colours and friendly faces. Family, friends and pets (I have 2 friendly bearded dragons) are also a source of love and inspiration for me.

I'm currently living in Vancouver with my boyfriend Devin, on the 13th floor (although they label it as being the 14th) in a tiny one bedroom apartment, overlooking English Bay. At the moment I am in my final year of studies at Emily Carr University, studying Visual Art, and also working at a First Nations Art Gallery (Lattimer Gallery) here in Vancouver.

My personal thoughts on dreaming/ believing/ achieving: Following your dreams is the key to living a happy life, and believing that you can achieve what you dream about will only lead to success and happiness. "If at first you don't succeed, then try, try, try again." Don't be let down, or give up on your dreams. Live your dreams.
-- Cheers, Amanda

Jessica B. Sanderson -- GLOBAL HEART WARMING
Jessica has been chasing her dreams since elementary school. Inspired by her 9-year-old son Dreyden and her Mom, editor Jae Desmarais, she fulfilled a lifelong dream to illustrate a children's book! Jessica lives in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and is studying to fulfill another dream -- becoming a veterinarian.

Patricia M. Walker -- ANDROMEDA
Pat grew up on the BC West Coast developing her love of drawing and design on scholarship at the Vancouver School of Art (now Emily Carr College of Art.) At 20, she started to sail and ventured offshore; an itinerant illustrator in California for five years -- apprenticing at a Mendocino print shop along the way. Once again in BC, her adventures included a July first weekend cruise to the Gulf Islands where she moored her boat for a two-year stint at commuting between Vancouver and Salt Spring Island. Ultimately, she made the island her home where she is an illustrator and graphic designer in her cottage studio by-the-sea. She continues to sail.

Faith Fowler -- SISSY GOES TO WASHINGTON
Faith is a resident of St. Andrews, NB. She studied Fine Art at Mount Allison University, Sackville, NB, graduating with a B.F.A. in 1980. Faith enjoys print making, oils and watercolours. This was Faith's first children's book: "Sissy Goes to Washington was fun and engaged my imagination to play and create outside the box." Faith lives in a creative environment surrounded by four dogs, a cat, and a very active grandson!

Emili Naish -- The Doggie Lama
Emili Naish is an artist, illustrator and animal lover living in St. Andrews, NB. Growing up in small towns in rural New Brunswick, art quickly became an outlet and way of life. Passionate about capturing the light, spirit and character of her subjects - whether through paint, print or ink - illustrating children's books seemed like a natural next step. This is her first book.

Lili Truemner-Caron -- The Wildflower Bee & Bee
Lili Truemner-Caron is an illustrator and graphic designer based in Montréal, Québec. She studied illustration at the Ontario College of Art and Design University in Toronto where she was born. With a curious eye and a love of observation, Lili draws inspiration from the urban environment and the characters who inhabit it. When she is not exploring the corners of photoshop, she can be found long-distance running and searching the city for pastel colours.

Louise Sumner -- The Banyan Tree Club
Born in Calgary, AB and raised in Moose Jaw, SK, Louise Sumner is a prairie girl who has recently made St. Stephen, New Brunswick her home, along with her husband and two children. With a background in science (BSc. Biology, University of Regina) and a lifelong passion for art, Louise has combined the two into WolfWhale Creations, bespoke custom creations, work that includes pet and human portraits, skimboards and furniture. This is Louise's first book as illustrator.


 

About The Books


EMILY: Dream Believe Achieve
Emily's dream is to move back to their family farm that sits uninhabited on land ruined by a bug infestation. This is a story about how Emily's dream comes true in a fun and inspiring way.

EMILY: DREAM BELIEVE ACHIEVE encourages children to believe in themselves and in the power of their dreams, appreciating what they have and being excited by possibilities.

Beautifully illustrated in colour throughout. Ideal for age levels 7 - 11 years of age ("I Can Read" Level 4 "the perfect bridge to chapter books"). A lovely gift for grandparents to give. A fun read for the teacher, parent and babysitter too!

In the spirit of paying it forward, for each DREAM BELIEVE ACHIEVE(tm) series book sold, ten percent of the net profits will be donated to one of five charities. At Martha's niece Emily's request, donations from the sale of EMILY: DREAM BELIEVE ACHIEVE books will be donated to Oprah's Angel Network (www.oprahsangelnetwork.org).

 



 

GLOBAL HEART WARMING: book 2 of the Dream Believe Achieve series

Join the fun and fly along with Dream Star as he looks for a way to send an important message that every human on Earth will understand.

GLOBAL HEART WARMING: DREAM BELIEVE ACHIEVE encourages children to believe in themselves and in the power of their dreams, appreciating what they have and being excited by possibilities.

Beautifully illustrated in color throughout. Ideal for age levels 7 - 11 years of age ("I Can Read" Level 4 "the perfect bridge to chapter books"). A lovely gift for grandparents to give. A fun read for the teacher, parent and babysitter too!

In the spirit of paying it forward, ten percent of the net profits received by Martha's Musings Inc. from the sale of GLOBAL HEART WARMING: DREAM BELIEVE ACHIEVE will go to World Vision (www.worldvision.com).

 



 

ANDROMEDA: book 3 of the Dream Believe Achieve series

The story continues... Dream Star, hero of Global Heart Warming, travels to another galaxy to solve a great mystery. With the help of Tanner, an Andromeda boy, Dream discovers that World Peace is possible!

ANDROMEDA encourages children to believe in themselves and in the power of their dreams, appreciating what they have and being excited by possibilities. Beautifully illustrated in color throughout. Ideal for age levels 7 - 11 years of age ("I Can Read" Level 4 "the perfect bridge to chapter books"). A lovely gift for grandparents to give. A fun read for the teacher, parent and babysitter too!

 



 

SISSY GOES TO WASHINGTON: book 4 of the Dream Believe Achieve series

Join Sissy, a creative cat, and her cousins on their wacky adventure from Canada to the USA to return a lost Very Important Puppy (VIP) to his home.

SISSY encourages children to believe in themselves and in the power of their dreams, appreciating what they have and being excited by possibilities. Beautifully illustrated in color throughout. Ideal for age levels 7 - 11 years of age ("I Can Read" Level 4 "the perfect bridge to chapter books"). A lovely gift for grandparents to give. A fun read for the teacher, parent and babysitter too!

 



 

THE DOGGIE LAMA: book 5 of the Dream Believe Achieve series

Follow a lovable lab's noble adventure to gather all the animals of the Earth and deliver an inspiring message of Peace and Love.

THE DOGGIE LAMA: DREAM BELIEVE ACHIEVE encourages children to believe in themselves and in the power of their dreams, appreciating what they have and being excited by possibilities.

Beautifully illustrated in color throughout. Ideal for age levels 7 - 11 years of age ("I Can Read" Level 4 "the perfect bridge to chapter books"). A lovely gift for grandparents to give. A fun read for the teacher, parent and babysitter too!

In the spirit of paying it forward, ten percent of the net profits received by Martha's Musings Inc. from the sale of THE DOGGIE LAMA: DREAM BELIEVE ACHIEVE will go to CWF - Canadian Wildlife Federation.

 



 

The Wildflower Bee & Bee: book 6 of the Dream Believe Achieve series

The Wildflower Bee & Bee… where everyone feels like a Queen Bee.
In St. Andrews By-The-Sea, Canada's Province of NBee.

In this delightful combination of fact and fiction, join the Buzzbee family on their journey to fulfill a life-long dream to have their very own buzziness.

Written by Martha M. Goguen and illustrated by Lili Truemner-Caron.

 



 

The Banyan Tree Club: And Now Yoga - book 7 of the Dream Believe Achieve series

The Banyan Tree Club is a very curious bunch
At first glance they appear quite out to lunch
But a mystery hidden within is my hunch.
A whole village in an upside-down tree?
With strange characters like an Elephant Yogi?
I don't know about you, but that sparks my curiosity!

Written by Martha M. Goguen and illustrated by Louise Sumner.




Read an Excerpt

Check Amazon's Search Inside and Google's Book Search.
Or, download this PDF EMILY sampler (first few pages);
this PDF GLOBAL HEART WARMING sampler;
this PDF ANDROMEDA sampler;
this PDF SISSY GOES TO WASHINGTON sampler;
this PDF THE DOGGIE LAMA sampler;
this PDF THE WILDFLOWER BEE & BEE sampler;
this PDF THE BANYAN TREE CLUB sampler.


Buy this Book

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Reviews/Appearances

Martha and friends

Lily Stemple really eating up Sissy at the White House. Photo courtesy of father Ruben Stemple

"Loved your book. Hey, it isn't often I read a whole book in one sitting! Once again you have struck a nice balance between uncomplicated language and clever wording. I enjoyed the many humourous nudges which only the older readers would get. The concept and telling thereof were most illuminating. Great illustrations too; a most attractive presentation." -- Joseph Casey

"Greetings Martha, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you so much for sending me a copy of your newest book, Global Heart Warming. We are so blessed and thankful that you have generously decided to donate 10% of the book's net profits to World Vision. It is through generous gestures like this that we are able to help the world's poor children. Blessings." -- Dave Toycen, president of World Vision.

"Author returns to St. Stephen to pen next book" -- read the article from the Telegraph-Journal at this link: www.telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/search/article/1390337.

RECENT AND UPCOMING APPEARANCES

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To arrange to interview the author, please contact us or visit the author?s Instagram account @mgauthor.nb



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