Page 61 - Winter Breeze 2

THE LEGEND OF THE

GOLD SPECKLED DOGS
By Julie Juselle Jansen
s a dog lover, I have always been saddened
A
to see the street dogs in San Felipe. A few
years ago, I had the idea that if I could come up
with a special name for these dogs, it would help them
find their forever homes.
One day, as I was driving by the gold mine north of San
Felipe, I came up with the name Gold Speckled Dogs.
I was happy with the name but needed to come up with
a reason why San Felipe’s dogs would be called Gold
Speckled Dogs I started writing down different ideas
and a month later the first draft of the children’s book, “The Legend of the Gold Speckled
Dogs” was complete. I trademarked marked the name “Gold Speckled Dogs,” and then I
spent several hours researching online about how to write and publish a children’s book.
I found the website www.Reedsy.com which offered over 40 free courses including Chil-
dren’s Books 101, Publishing a Picture Book, and Book Marketing 101. The website also
had a listing of editors, designers, publishers, and marketers. Through this website, I hired
an editor who changed some of my wording; a copy editor who checked my spelling and
punctuation; and an illustrator who drew the pictures that told my story.

Having never written or published a book before, I wondered if anyone would want to buy
“The Legend of the Gold Speckled Dog” let alone understand its purpose. In 2022 I was
nervous as I placed the first order with my publishing company. I am very proud to say that
I have placed 9 additional orders over the past 2 years.
A few months ago, a young boy walked up to me at a swap meet. He excitedly told me that
because of my book, he had adopted a dog from the San Felipe Dog Rescue, and that he
named his very special dog Nugget, the name of one of the Gold Speckled Dogs in my book.
What he said made me realize that my book was worth the time and effort because if he
was able to understand its purpose, then other children would be able to understand as well.
A Publisher’s Note; Julie is one of our regular writers at SF Breeze, and has promised to
come back in the fall with more of her fun stories on Finding San Felipe.
“The Legend of the Gold Speckled Dogs” can be purchased at the My Baja Nest store,
which also sells book by other local writers.
Julie, makes a donation to the San Felipe Dog Rescue for every book sold.
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