Donna Rathmell German (Carolina's Story and Octavia) is the author of 16 cookbooks, four of which were New York Times best-sellers including The Bread Machine Cookbook Series, which have sold more than 3 million copies. The 1990's brought extensive media experience promoting her cookbooks, with appearances on such nationally respected programs as The Today Show, The 700 Club, Attitudes with Linda Dano, QVC, and a host of other radio and television programs. Donna is a volunteer at the South Carolina Aquarium, where she has developed a keen interest in their sea turtle rescue program. It was there that she met Barbara Bergwerf, the photographer for Carolina's Story. Two of life's inspirations led to the writing of Carolina's Story: one day, several years ago, the dock master at the marina called to ask Donna to safeguard an injured sea turtle that stranded nearby. As she and her daughter waited for the rescue team to arrive, she began to think about the importance of helping endangered turtles thrive in their natural environment. The second inspiration occurred when Donna was introduced to the Sea Turtle Hospital. She recalled an incident from years before when her then five-year-old daughter was injured in a fall and had to be rushed to a nearby Children's Hospital. The terrifying experience of emergency surgery and the attendant tests and medications brought to mind the same treatments she was seeing with the turtles. She saw both experiences as a way to increase children's awareness and respect for the natural world, and wrote a book that is also an invaluable resource for educating children on what to expect from their own medical treatment.