Dolly Donut

A charming and beautiful children’s story with colour illustrations

About the Book:

Wow! When you walked in, so different, fantastic, the shop amazing and unique. Beautiful hand-carved display cabinets filled with amazing bakes, bread and delicious cakes.

Jack Jolly, the finest baker, a happy, gifted man, friendly and helpful with a big warm smile to greet all who came in to his lovely shop. 

Things were changing! Mr Jolly’s helpers had left and, by himself, Jack began to feel very tired. What could he do? There was no-one in the village to help him! 

Well now something magical happened at the bakery, little Dolly Doughnut. How had she come and why? Who was she? What did she do? What changed?

About the Author:

Jenny Ashford is sensitive with an artistic creative interest in many things. She loves nature, sitting or walking in the woods and she loves to see fields filled with wild flowers, hearing birds singing sweetly and peaceful sounds calm her senses. A still moment is just bliss, watching wildlife and the natural world is just amazing and wonderful to her.

Her other interests include art, yoga, healing and natural therapies, national trust properties and gardens, theatre and a variety of music. She enjoys cooking and sharing food with friends and family and eating out is a nice shared treat too.

She enjoyed each fascinating and precious stage of her children’s development. Her writing began with them in mind. Stories for young children first, then poems. Another inspiration for a story came out of the blue. The need to have something to write her thoughts and ideas on became important, so she kept paper and pencil with her almost always.

Excerpt from the book:

“Dolly Doughnut” by Jenny Ashford is available to purchase in hardback from Amazon.co.uk at:

Press/Media Contact Details:

Grosvenor House Publishing
Tel. 0208 339 6060
E-mail: [email protected]

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Tumbleweed Children

About the Book:

Born at home and never registered, John didn’t apparently exist. John has five years of experience, but no one person has his full picture. It might have lacked love, but it did lack care. There may have been some joy, but the courts have decided that the care system can do a better job; give the boy a chance.

About the Author:

Sharon Watters is the eldest of three sisters.  She was brought up in the 1970s when parenting seemed optional and as a result considers herself a bit wild. Sharon has always loved learning but hated being at senior school as she always felt trapped.  She left school angry and bored at age 15.

Sharon is the mother of three grown men, the grandmother of angels and the wife of the most patient man in the world.

Her first qualification was her driving test at the age of 27. At age 29, she passed her first GCSE, and when she reached age 30, she had passed two more. She continued to study and eventually went on to University to read Environmental Science. Sharon then trained as a teacher and later became a dyslexia specialist.

Sharon spent the rest of her full time career in the Special Educational sector, helping children with social, emotional and mental health challenges.

“Tumbleweed Children” is her first novel.  It is a fact-based but fiction ‘social exposure’ story that she hopes raises questions. Sharon has tried to gain the ears of the powers who could change an immoral system but no one is listening. She has written “Tumbleweed Children” in the hope that someone will hear.

Sharon has often been called a social misfit and only recently gave up trying to understand what that means.

Excerpt from the book:

“I threw the bottle of glue and the pots of glitter at the door followed by a chair. Mr Cheval’s face was at the window in the door and was calling out my name and asking me to open the door; first in English and then in French.

The first time my fist hit his pudgy little face, I was surprised just how much it hurt and wondered why he hit Sophie so often but remembering Sophie’s torment, the blows rained down on him. The blood spurted from his nose as I stepped away to admire my handy work. He hadn’t cried yet but for Muriel’s sake he was going to. I dragged him by the front of his jumper towards the masks and pushed his face hard into one. It stuck at an angle into the glue and then I pushed him back onto the seat of a chair.

Morgan’s plight crept into my mind’s eye. I took his bag and emptied it onto the floor and took great delight in crushing the junior toys under my shoes. There was a reading book that I recognised from my early years of primary school so I picked it up and ripped each page out and into half yelling, “you can’t read, you don’t need books.” It was tears I wanted for Muriel and tears I got. He begged me to stop, Mr Cheval called to me to stop, my head teacher ordered me to stop but I hadn’t finished.

Riley saw a chance and dared to move. He wasn’t scared enough and probably believed that he could still be the ruler. With management desperately trying to stop the situation, I knew that I had to up the dominance or I was lost, and no other odd little soul would ever have power again. He was an adolescent male and I was casting him out.

I reached for the fireworks. This was for Ben. Let’s see how you feel when you can’t breathe Boarer.

The hammering on the door became more urgent and was added to by Riley from the inside. I remember the look of disappointment and betrayal on Mr Cheval’s face. The fireworks were made together because I could be trusted. But he had taught me that everyone has a social responsibility to stand up to evil and it would be rewarded.

I lit the first firework. After the first initial burst of sparks died down a plume of smoke belched out, so I lit the other seven in quick succession. The room filled with smoke, the alarms started screaming, and with great performance, the window at the back of the room was shattered inwards. The huge site manager stepped into the room and just calmly stated, “Out.”

He had broken the spell and as he moved the chair from under the door handle the adults spilled in and swiftly dragged us both out.

The fire alarm screaming after 3:30 only brought adults out onto the tarmac. No one said a word to me. I knew that I would not see the year out, but Riley probably would.”

“Tumbleweed Children” by Sharon Watters is available to purchase in paperback from Amazon.co.uk at:

Press/Media Contact Details:

Grosvenor House Publishing
Tel. 0208 339 6060
E-mail: [email protected]