All About the Donuts: Local Donut Shop Review – Dona Queen Donuts and Deli – Seattle, WA

Dona Queen Donuts and Deli

Seattle, WA

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View my LIVE review HERE

7018 Bothell Way NE, Kenmore, WA 98028
(206) 496-3670

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Review criteria:

Most popular donut at the shop: “All of them”
Signature shop donut: NA
Most popular US donut: glazed
2nd most popular US donut: Boston crème
Donut Hole: Glazed

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What I tried:

Maple Bar, Glazed, Boston Crème, cake donut

$15.97 total for an assorted dozen

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What to expect:

This little shop has its own little parking lot – so don’t despair for Seattle parking as there are plenty of compact spots for you to use. It’s an easy turn to get into the lot and easy to spot this little donut place. Dona Queen Donuts isn’t just donuts! They are also a deli so you can get real food there too! This place is your run of the mill donut shop where you can get all the classics, as well as sandwiches and Korean favorites.

 

My favorite:

I liked how you can get Bulgogi and a glazed donut at the same time! You might be able to convince them to make a sandwich out of a donut if you try hard enough.

All About the Donuts: Local Donut Shop Review – Evergreen Donuts – Lynnwood, WA

Evergreen Donuts

lynnwood, WA

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20101 44th Ave W, Lynnwood, WA 98036

(425) 673-5331

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Review criteria:

Most popular donut at the shop: “All of them”
Signature shop donut: NA
Most popular US donut: glazed
2nd most popular US donut: Boston crème
Donut Hole: Glazed

 

What I tried:

Glazed, Cake Donut, Boston Creme

$3.25 total

 

What to expect:

This little shop is small and clean with normal-sized donuts. There is nothing amazing or spectacular about this shop. If you want a donut that’s fresh and decent, then this is a great place to get a donut. Don’t expect overly large or intricate or specialty donuts here, just the usual.

 

My favorite:

I liked how the Boston Creme had a full serving of cream inside that was spread out throughout the inside of the donut so every bite was creamy and delicious. The chocolate glaze on top was not overly sweet. It was the perfect blend of sweet chocolate on top and cream in the middle with the right amount of dough.

All About the Donuts: Local Donut Shop Review – Donut Factory – Lynnwood, WA

Donut Factory

lynnwood, WA

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20815 67th Ave W, Lynnwood, WA 98036

(425) 361-7923

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Review criteria:

Most popular donut at the shop: Crobar
Signature shop donut: Crobar
Most popular US donut: glazed
2nd most popular US donut: Boston crème
Donut Hole: Not available

 

What I tried:

Glazed, Cake Donut, Boston Creme, Crobar

$6.20 total

 

What to expect:

I almost thought I was walking into a Krispy Kreme! This place is modern and very clean and open. The counter with all the donuts was so large that it was quite a bit taller than my head and I had to stand on tiptoe to see the donut employee behind the display case. Donut Factory has so many different choices! I had high expectations for the crobar, their most popular and shop specialty, but thought the glaze overpowered the croissant dough. I couldn’t taste anything under that powerfully sweet glaze. I would not order the crobar again. Donut Factory celebrated their 2-year anniversay May 7th, 2016.

 

My favorite:

Out of the three donut shops in Lynnwood, I thought Donut Factory had the best glazed donut! The glaze was not a milky crystallized glaze, but a sticky, dewy, sugary sheen that tasted phenomenal. The dough itself was slightly sweeter than normal and complemented the glaze on top.

All about the Donuts – Donuts Aftermath! How sales channels/marketing/promotion worked

Percentage of sales from different outlets:

Ingramspark =42%
Amazon =24%
Createspace =4%
In person =14%
Sales events (MVD/Oddmall/release parties) =16%

 

Marketing prior to book release: Accounts for 10% of total sales (tracked with pre-order sales)

 

Marketing post book release: Accounts for 52% of total sales

 

 

Marketing going forward: Accounts for 38% of total sales

  • Ingramspark Third Place Books order = copies still available for purchase account for 38% of total sales
  • Weekend Writing Warriors
  • Newsletter
  • All About the Donuts
  • Local Donut Shop Reviews
  • Word of Mouth
  • Future sales events
    • Capital Indie Book Con
    • Oddmall Holiday Event

 

All About the Donuts Newsletter from May:

newsletter1

newsletter2

newsletter3

 

 

Upcoming Local Event: Neverending Bookshop in Bothell, WA

Poster_Promo_June25_Neveredning Bookshop

RSVP to the Meetup HERE or the Facebook HERE

 

Celebrate the release of For the Love of Donuts Book 1: Rachel Barnard will be there to sign books, especially the new Donuts in an Empty Field (For theLove of Donuts Book 1). Her other books, Ataxia and the Ravine of Lost Dreams, At One’s Beast, and Vanessa’s Book of Awesome Things will also be available.

Add the book to your Goodreads shelf:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30052109-donuts-in-an-empty-field

There’s a raffle: Free to enter. Drawing will take place towards the end of the event. Don’t miss out on the donut swag!

Vote on your favorite donut: It’s a blind tasting! Compare the same donut from several local donut shops and vote on your favorite!

Bring your used books and get store credit!

Got something cool to say about donuts? Don’t forget to add it to the “All about the Donuts” comment/quote box.

First five purchases after 3:00 P.M. will receive a FREE mini donuts swag pack.

After this event, drive down to Third Place Books for a dual author event with Rachel Barnard and Ksenia Anske here:
https://www.facebook.com/events/919472141499694/

All About the Donuts: Local Donut Shop Review – Sunrise Donuts – Redmond, WA

Sunrise Donuts

Remond, WA

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7299 West Lake Sammamish Pkwy NE, Redmond, WA 98052

(425) 885-6112

Website: http://eatsunrisedonuts.com/

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Review criteria:

Most popular donut at the shop: Maple Bar and Apple Fritter
Signature shop donut: “a dozen”
Most popular US donut: glazed
2nd most popular US donut: Boston crème
Donut Hole: glazed/powdered/cinnamon/and cruller (a dozen for $2 and 3 for $1)

 

What I tried:

Maple Bar, Glazed, Donut Holes, Cruller bite, Boston Crème, jelly filled

 

What to expect:

Although the shop hours are from early in the morning until 2PM, if you show up too late they may have closed shop because they’ve sold out for the day. This place is popular and sometimes sales guys or businesses will buy out the inventory and you’ll lose out, so go early! They have cruller bites, which is neat and a cool addition to the donut hole. The shop is warm and inviting, though small in physical space. The plaza they are located in has enough parking and it’s not impossible to make a left hand turn out onto the street (there’s a nifty turn lane).

 

My favorite:

Normally I’m a fan of the boring old – yet delicious – glazed donut, but after I took one bite of the jelly filled I was converted. Sunrise Donuts makes such a fluffy dough that is thick but not heavy and is everything you wanted from a krispy kreme and more. The jelly filling is not too sweet and perfectly smooth and is very, very delicious and is my new favorite from Sunrise.

Foodie Fridays: Nano Win Reward – Daddy’s Donuts Kenmore “one of everything”

Nano Stats coming Monday – but I decided to reward myself with an immediate donut foray for accomplishing all my goals in November for NaNoWriMo and a challenge/reward to come in 2016 (stay tuned for what it is on Monday).

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My first reward for finishing both first drafts of my For the Love of Donuts Book 2’s was to buy “one of everything” from my new favorite donut vendor and local business Daddy’s Donuts in Kenmore.

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I chose today as the big day and headed over when they open (8AM) but had to wait for their new machine to be setup, and Daddy himself (Eduardo) gave me a complementary mocha (how nice!) to enjoy while I waited.

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See how excited I am as I wait to ask for “one of everything.”

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Check out the ‘tip’ jar.

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And the donuts start coming out!

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Thanks Daddy’s!

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The guys at the office loved ’em!

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About my series, For the Love of Donuts, and the two books I wrote first drafts of this November:

The Optimist Sees the Donut (For the Love of Donuts Book 2) & The Pessimist Sees the Hole (For the Love of Donuts Book 2)

Genre: Young Adult

Synopsis

Their friendship has been the one unbreakable thing, the one certainty in their lives, but Nichole Adams and Vanessa Smith are developing into their own persons and their individual life dramas distract them from each other.

Vanessa has never had many friends in her life and even though she wanted to stay friends with Nichole, she met new people in college and is moving on. She has school, she has social activities, and a new group of friends even though she can’t seem to find the right guy.

Nichole is jealous of Vanessa’s ease of everything in the real world. Nessa has no trouble with jobs, money, school, or getting and going places. Nichole, on the other hand was preemptively kicked out of her mom’s house after graduating high school and has been floundering ever since. The only thing she has easy in her life is flirting and getting dates, or at least a guy that will let her crash at his house. Nichole doesn’t always have the best of luck with men.

Forever hopeful that things will change, Nichole still clings to the hope that Vanessa will come back to their friendship and be the best friend from high school that Nichole misses. When guy after guy doesn’t work out for her, Vanessa changes more and more of her personality to attract the right guy, drifting farther and farther from who she really is. Something’s gotta give and this story of how friendships get off track, lies become reality, and bad luck tails bad choices will bring you in and around the little town of Sarasota, Florida that you grew to love in book one of the series – Donuts in an Empty Field.

 

 

Nano November: Day of Donuts Halfway Hustle – 10,321 new words!

Here are my spoils left at the end of the day:

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Daddy’s Donuts – open 8am – 7pm Sunday November 15th

Address: 7018 NE Bothell Way, Kenmore Wa 98028

Writing Time: 8:20AM – 9:10AM

Words written: 1,762

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Daddy’s is a small little place with a plethora of donut signs indicating the little house actually sells donuts. They specialize in mini donuts that rival Pike’s Place mini donut vendor. They are fresh and not bogged down in oil. Unlike Pike’s, I could eat a dozen of these babies without feeling sick. They are like cake and I loved every bite of them. Prices are decent, but don’t come if you want a donut as big as your fist. They are mini, they are lovely, and the employees are bright and helpful.

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Sampled/Money spent: $9.32 for the straw-bella and the plain and $1.64 for a 8 oz. hot chocolate

 

CountrySide Donut House – open 5:30am – 3pm Sunday November 15th

Address: 10032 Main St, Bothell, WA 98011

Writing Time: 9:30AM – 10:45AM

Words written: 2,547

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It’s cold in here, the double doors let out any heat that comes from the back, if there is any. The donuts are displayed prominently, proudly in a large display that you see as soon as you step inside. The most popular is the maple bar, hands down but I was more intrigued by the cinnamon roll. They only take cash and checks (who still takes checks? Who would write a check for donuts?) The worker was short and snappy behind the counter, making sure he moved the customers along and that no line developed. There’s almost no standing room.

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 Sampled/Money Spent: $2.20 for a french cruller (one of my favorites) and a cinnamon roll donut.

 

Factory Donuts – open 5AM-2PM Sunday November 15th

Address: 12505 NE 144th St., Kirkland, WA 98034

Writing Time: 11AM – 12:15PM

Words written: 1672

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 Why are donut houses so cold? I’ve been here before. You can’t go wrong with a croissant and as much as I like odnuts I was glad for the change. It was very delicious and I ate it up! The lady behind the counter is hilarious with a great sense of humor.

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Sampled/Money spent: Apple fritter and ham & Cheese croissant $4.11

 

 

Sunrise Donuts & Espresso – open 6AM – 2PM Sunday November 15th

Address: 7299 West Lake Sammamish Pkwy NE, Redmond, WA 98052

Writing Time: 12:30 – 1:45PM planned, showed up at 12:15PM to see the closed sign

Words written:

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Better get here early because by noon ish they were closed for lack of inventory.

Money Spent/Sampled: none

 

Westernco – Bellevue – open 4AM – 5:30PM Sunday November 15th

Address: 1412 156th Ave NE., Bellevue, WA 98007

Writing Time: x, got my donuts and left because I was tired of being cold

Words written: 0

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Sampled/Money spent: $2.00 on a jelly donut and a custard donut.

I Decided I wanted a warmer writing place and hopped North to join my new favorite bookstore’s write in at Neverending Bookstore in Bothell.

 

Words written at the Neverending Bookstore with my apples: 2181

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Top Pot – Bellevue – open 7AM – 5:30PM Sunday November 15th

Address: 10600 NE 9th Place, Bellevue, WA 98004

Writing Time: 3:30PM – 4:30PM

Words written: 2160

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Money spent/Sampled: $2.18+3.82 for a regular old fashioned and a raspberry old fashioned.

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Decidedly the most open/most space/most expensive/least exciting donuts of the bunch. It’s hard to go wrong in Bellevue though and I was glad Sheri joined me!

Total donuts consumed: 13 mini donuts at Daddy’s, 1/2 French Cruller at CountrySide Donut House, 1 croissant ham n cheese sandwich at Factory Donuts, 3/4 Old Fashioned at Top Pot. Total words: 10,321. Total time: 7:30AM – 5:30PM from leaving my house to getting back to my house.