Behind the Scenes of a YA Fiction Series: Character Profile-Zachary Graham

On September 3, 2009, in Behind the Scenes, The Dream Doers Series, by Bonnie Jean Schaefer

Welcome to another edition of “Behind the Scenes of The Dream Doers Series”

In case you haven’t yet been in front of the scenes of The Dream Doers series, it starts with The Dream Doers and the Summer of Secrets. In this young adult novel that you can listen to for FREE here, best friends Alex and Tyler are forced to battle bullies, face their fears and keep strange secrets the summer they learn to do what they dream.

Featured in today’s post is big-time bully Zachary Brent Graham. Here are some basic facts about Zach as of the beginning of Book 1:

  • Age: 12
  • Birthdate: December 19
  • Parents: Brent and Sue
  • No sisters or brothers
  • Hair: Blonde
  • Eye Color: Bluish Green or Greenish Blue (no one really knows)
  • Height: 5’1”
  • Frame: Athletic Build

Zach was born a week before Christmas one cold December morning in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

His dad was on a business trip that day, so his mom tried to drive herself to the hospital. Only the roads were slick and icy from a winter storm, and she crashed into a tree on the way there.

She was hurt and trapped and had to be cut out of the car by the police. An emergency helicopter arrived just as they rescued her from the car and flew her to the hospital.

The doctors had to do emergency surgery to save her and baby Zach. Zach had trouble breathing, so the doctor had to hook Zach’s little lungs up to a machine to help him breathe. He had to stay in the hospital for two weeks until he was healthy enough to come home.

Even though he had a rough start to life, he was a cute, lovable, likable, adorable baby. He had wavy, bright blonde hair from the moment he was born, and after he was able to breathe on his own without the machine, he loved to smile and laugh and giggle whenever someone picked him up.

He loved being the center of attention.

That’s how the trouble started.

He wanted to be held all the time and would cry and scream and wail uncontrollably if he ever felt like his mom was ignoring him.

Since his mom thought he was too cute to ever do anything wrong, she always let him have whatever she thought he wanted.

His dad had to travel a lot with his job, but when he was home, he let Zach have whatever he wanted, too.

Zach was a smart kid who learned how to use his cute little smile to get his way even before he learned how to talk.

But when Zach was three years old, he found something he wanted that he couldn’t have. So stay tuned to the “Behind the Scenes” posts to learn more.

To Your Dreams,
Bonnie Jean

P.S. Hear the whole “Front of the Scenes” story for FREE. Just visit TheDreamDoers.com and fill out a super short form. Enjoy the story!

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Meet Sally ‘Super Fit’ Safari, ‘Personal Trainer for Dogs’

On September 2, 2009, in Fun Fiction, Motivating Stories, by Bonnie Jean Schaefer

It’s Weirdo Friends Day!

Welcome to another wacky, totally fictional interview of a ‘Weirdo Friend.’ Today’s story features Sally ‘Super Fit’ Safari, personal trainer for dogs. (Video of this interview is coming soon…)

*****

SALLY: I’m in the middle of a workout, so I don’t have a lot of time to chat. I’m Sally ‘Super Fit’ Safari, and I just wanted to say hi and let you know I’m totally pumped about finding a way to do what I dream by being part of the Dream Doer League and playing The Champion Creator Game.

Bonnie Jean: What is your BIG DREAM?

SALLY: My big dream is to be a personal trainer for dogs. I’m not really a cat kind of person, but if a cat asked me to get him in shape, I probably would. I’d probably help birds and zebras and fish, too. I mean, if an animal wants to pay me to go through my training program to get super fit and healthy, I don’t want to turn anyone away just because the only pet I have is a dog. Only I wouldn’t train a snake. They freak me out with their scaly, slimy skin and the way they slither around.

Bonnie Jean: How are you going to live your dream?

SALLY: I’m just going to start by training my dog. I’m making a training area for her in my backyard. She has to run and jump and doggie paddle and lift little doggie weights. When my neighbors see how super fit my dog is, they’ll ask me train their dogs…or cats or birds or zebras or fish. Then they’ll tell their friends and stuff like that.

Bonnie Jean: Why are you playing the Champion Creator Game?

SALLY: I get distracted a lot, just like that character Tyler in The Dream Doers and the Summer of Secrets. Well, if playing the game can help him learn how to focus and live his dreams, I figure it can help me learn how to focus and live my dreams, too. I have to find my dog so we can run. She seems to be hiding from me a lot lately…

*****

We’ll check back in with Sally in a few weeks to see if she’s making any progress toward achieving her goals. She does have a few weird quirks (which you’ll be able to see in the video of the interview that’s coming soon), but as long as she follows through with the missions, she’ll be able to find a way to do what she dreams.

Weird quirks or not, you can find a way to do what you dream, too. Life is really much more fun when you set goals and take action to make them happen. So…

Join the Dream Doer League. Play The Champion Creator Game. And DO what you DREAM!

To Your Dreams,

Bonnie Jean

P.S. Stay tuned for details about how you can play The Champion Creator Game. (‘Sally’ may be made up, but the game is REAL!) Until then, enjoy listening to the entire bestselling young adult novel The Dream Doers and the Summer of Secrets by clicking here!

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Why You Can’t Live Your Dreams Without Confidence

On September 1, 2009, in Motivating Stories, True Stories, by Bonnie Jean Schaefer

Unshakable, Unbreakable, Unstoppable Stories

Bonnie Jean Schaefer here, author of The Dream Doers and the Summer of Secrets.

Altogether, it took me NINE years to write that book and get it published. So you think I’d be thrilled when I saw it reach #13 on the Amazon bestseller list, right?

Not so much. I mean, I was glad that after spending nine years writing, editing, rewriting and editing some more, people were buying my book that I worked so hard on for so many years.

Only that was the problem. People were buying the book. If they bought it, they would probably read it. And the thought of lots of people reading my book freaked me out.

What if they didn’t like it? What if they thought the story was horrible? What if they thought I was a terrible writer? What if they realized I was just pretending to be a writer when no one gave me permission to publish my book?

I wasn’t used to letting people read what I wrote. I was more comfortable writing because I like to write, not writing because I thought people would want to read my story.

The only way I could think of to stop my fears and doubts from coming true was to stop promoting my story. If I didn’t market it, then no one would know about it. If no one knew about it, they wouldn’t buy it. If they didn’t buy it, they wouldn’t read it. And I would be safe.

What I was missing was CONFIDENCE in myself and my writing ability. I didn’t believe I could be a #1 bestselling author, so I didn’t let it happen. I didn’t believe I was a gifted writer, so I stopped letting people read what I wrote.

I was very good at doubting myself, but I wasn’t very good at living with unshakable confidence. Until recently, that is. You see, I’m getting more and more confident in myself every day. (Plus I’m so confident you’ll love my story that I’m giving it away here.)

How have I been able to gain confidence in myself and my dreams? Well, that’s a long story, and I’ll get around to telling you all about it. First, though, I want to take you back to when I was a kid.

When I was growing up, I found it easier to doubt myself than believe in myself. I found it easier to be shy and timid than I did to be the bold, adventurous me I dreamed of being. And when you don’t have confidence in yourself, it’s hard to make friends.

For instance, when I started a new school in the fourth grade, I was so nervous and scared and unsure of myself that it took me until the fifth grade to make my very first friend in that school.

In next week’s post, I’ll share how I went from having no friends to making a friend for life.

To Your Dreams,
Bonnie Jean

P.S. Please don’t wait as long as I did to find your unshakable confidence! Life is really much more fun when you set goals and take action to make them happen. No matter how old you are, you can be an unshakable, unbreakable, unstoppable Dream Doer today! To help, I want to give you three FREE gifts, which includes the entire audio book of The Dream Doers and the Summer of Secrets. To claim your FREE gifts, visit TheDreamDoers.com now.

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