Dorothy McPartland is a local Long Island author who has a heart of gold and an amazing artistic talent in writing and painting.

Dorothy is a local Momee with 2 grown daughters and 2 beautiful granddaughters. When she is not working with kids in the afternoon school program SCOPE or spending time with her beautiful family. She is writing, painting and doing things with Long Island author groups.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Dorothy after meeting her in May at the Connetquot Literacy Luau and wanted to share it with all of you.

What was your first published book and when was it published?

Dorothy: “My first and only published book so far is Wishing Stars and it was published in the Fall of 2004.”

What made you write about wishing stars as your first book?

Dorothy:  “At the time of writing the book I was a pre-school teacher. I love the night sky and talking to children about the stars and how we are all made of pieces of stars within us. I feel that we can all make a difference with our “star magic” and that is a beautiful thing.”

Besides writing Wishing Stars I notice you paint as well. Did you paint star paintings before you wrote the book Wishing Stars? 

Dorothy: “In the case of Wishing Stars the words came first and then the paintings. Lately when I write the paintings come first and then I come up with stories from the paintings. I am a free spirit and a Pisces so I feel painting comes easier and then I am able to come up with the words that describe what I am portraying in the photos.”

Do you enjoy writing or painting more? 

Dorothy: “I love painting and writing but my heart is in my paintings. Paintings go on and on and that’s where the stories come from.”

I love your Wishing Stars paintings where can we purchase them?

Dorothy: “Thank you so much, and you can purchase my paintings and the book Wishing Stars on my website http://wishingstarsart.com/ . My paintings at first were always set sitting on the grass but I have recently been going around Long Island beaches and collecting the sand and seashells and incorporating them into my paintings. I love Long Island and the beaches so my scenes have been on the beach lately as well.”

   

Dorothy describes herself “as a baby soul not an old soul”.

I think that’s a great thing since we all wish we could remain young and innocent like children but to remain thinking like a child and creating for children is a special gift.

It must be great to be part of the Long Island Authors group and be the President of it as well?

Dorothy: “I love being part of such a wonderful organization that was founded in 2007 by a Long Island Author John Cardone. We are a group of local Long Island authors who have joined together to conduct activities and events that add to the availability of our published works while promoting the Long Island writing community. I love being able to meet with and talk to authors of every genre. John Cardone the founder himself writes mystery novels for adults.”

Besides working with the afternoon program for children SCOPE I see you like to work with Long Island charities as well. What charities are you currently working with?

Dorothy: ” Project Sunshine is a great charity and non profit organization that provides free educational, recreational and social programs to children and families with medical challenges. Also Splashes of Hope is a great charity and since I love to paint the mission of this charity is wonderful. They dedicate themselves to healing with art. A family I was really touched by while reading the NY Daily news was the Gaynor family and their charity Sophia’s Cure that they created after their daughter was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy. Her dad’s words about his daughter are inspirational –  “We spend every second of every day making sure that every moment is memorable.” He knows his daughter’s life has been meaningful. “It’s not about how long you’re here, it’s about what you accomplish,” he said. The hope with this charity is that every child affected with SMA will be able to live a long, healthy life and I hope their charity continues to be successful and help families who also have children with the same disease.

Can we expect another book from you in the near future?

Dorothy: ” I am hoping my next book Moonlight Dance will be out by Fall of this year or Spring of 2014. The book captures the magic of the full moon.”

This concludes my interview with Dorothy!

It was my pleasure being able to interview such an amazing woman who wears many hats ( Momee, Grandma, author, painter, teacher, president of LI authors group, charity volunteer, etc.) She is not only amazing but inspirational and very kind. I look forward to talking with Dorothy in the future and possibly doing some charity work with her in the future.

If you would like to purchase her book: Wishing Stars or her paintings please go to her site Wishing Stars Art

or you can also purchase her book Wishing Stars on Amazon.

If you would like to contact her please do so through her site or wishingstars34@gmail.com

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