What would happen if a duckling decided to stay behind when its family flew south for the winter?  That's the premise of a new series of books about a duckling that does this, because he likes the pond so much, only to experience all kinds of challenges as winter sets in. A video for the series is at https://youtu.be/i8mkX3BLZ04.

            The five-part series, called The Story of Googala Duck, began as a story that author John M. Pluff told his young children, and later decided to turn it into five books, and now the series might be turned into a film.  In the first book, Saying Goodbye for the Winter, Googala parents urge him to fly south with them, but Googala doesn't listen and stays behind. But he soon finds that his friends, the otters, beavers, badgers, and muskrats, are preparing for the coming winter, and in the second book Getting through the Winter, he faces the growing cold weather and snow.

             Then, he faces even more challenges, including an encounter with a hunter who is preparing, to cook him for dinner, though he finds protection for a while from an owl who lets him stay in his nest. Will Googala make it through the winter? Will he see his family again when they return?  And what will he learn about himself as a result of his struggles?  The Story of Googala Duck tells this story, and it is not only a tale about what happens in nature, but a story about the importance of both learning from one's parents and gaining personal courage.

               Now Googala Duck takes his place among other classic ducks such as Disney's Donald Duck and Warner Brother's Daffy Duck, and more Googala Duck stories are planned that feature his adventures as he grows up on the pond.

               Since writing The Story of Googala Duck, author John Pluff has also been writing film scripts when not working in his main business as the owner of a successful building company, the American Building Group. The first of these, The Dragon of Locke, is about the theft of a sacred dragon from a Taoist monastery in China that is shipped to Stockton, California and then stolen from the warehouse, while a Tong group in Locke is after it because it is worth big bucks.  Now detectives Dan Sellers and Winnie Falk are on the trail to find out what happened to it and bring it back, while trying to find the missing brother-in-law of a local businessman.  Future detective stories about Dan and Winnie are in the works.

               For more information, visit the website at www.jmichaelpublishing.com, and you can contact John Pluff at J. Michael Publishing at info@jmichaelpublishing.com or call (408) 316-5553.