Hey students!  Mr. Mike here… Are you working on a report about your favorite author?
You chose ME?  Wow, that’s pretty cool!

I gets lots of emails from students who need information.  I’m not always able to get back to everyone as quickly as I’d like to…

So, I thought it would be a good idea to answer some of your questions right here on the Mr. Mike Facts page. I hope this Q&A (question and answer) area is helpful.  Thanks for choosing me as the subject of your report and good luck with your writing!

Q: How many books have you written and illustrated?
A: Four.  My first book was Swimming in Chocolate, which is a compilation of about 140 poems
and line drawings.  I’ve also written Lemon Drop Rain and Over the Top – they’re also compilations like Swimming in Chocolate.  I’ve written and illustrated a storybook about a boy named Manny who brings home a stray elephant.  The title of that book is New Pet.

Q: How long did it take to write and illustrate your books?
A: Well, the three poetry books took about five years each to write.  They also took about one year each to illustrate!  Here’s where your math comes in handy… (3 books x 5 years each to write (15) + 1 year each to illustrate (3)… = 18 years of work total!  New Pet took about a year to write and illustrate.  It’s a shorter book, so it didn’t take as long.  Most of those years overlapped – so, I was often working one more than one book at a time.

Q: How did you get the name ‘Mr. Mike’?
A: I used to work at an elementary school where I was in charge of an after-school program.  The kids there called me “Mr. Mike”. They liked my poems and drawings and often asked me if I was ever going to make a book.  Many of the teachers and parents also asked me if I was ever going to make a book.  After a while, I stared to think maybe I should.  So, I took a look at all the poems I had written and realized that I actually could make a book, so I got started.  I decided to use Mr. Mike as my ‘pen name’ or ‘pseudonym’.  So, we can all thank those kids for ‘Mr. Mike’!

Q: Where do you do your book signings?
A: I try to do book signings at fun places.  When Lemon Drop Rain came out,
I did the first book signing in my favorite candy store.  It was lots of fun – and tasty too!  I also visit big book stores and specialty book stores as well as libraries and of course, schools!

Q: Does it take long to write a poem?
A: A very short poem might just ‘pop’ into my head, so it doesn’t take long to write it.  For example, ‘A baby with a beard?  That’s weird.’ only took a few moments to write.  A poem like Over the Top or Searchin’ For Treasure or Santa’s Big Mistake can take up to a year to complete.

Q: Which comes first, the poems or the drawings?
A: The poems.  I will sometimes draw a very quick sketch on the same paper that I’m writing the poem on – just to remind me of what I had in mind for the drawing – but I don’t actually draw the illustrations you see in the books until the poems are all finished.

Q: Do you write on the computer or with a pen and paper?
A: Well, I really don’t like spending a lot of time on the computer, so I do most of my writing using a pen and a pad of yellow lined paper.  I do several drafts on paper before I put the poem on the computer.  Since setting up the book to be printed is all done on computers these days, most writers have to put their work on the computer at some point in order for it to be published.  The poems usually get several rewrites after they’re on the computer.

Q: Where do you live?
A: I live near the beach in Southern California.  When I need to take a break I usually go out for a walk.  I often walk on the beach or to town.  I also travel a lot.  That means I have to be able to write when I travel.  I often get lots of new ideas when I travel so I stay pretty busy when I’m away!
If I visited your school during the day, then I’m probably back at my hotel writing that night!

Q: What’s your favorite food?
A: I like lots of vegetables and fruit.  Sometimes I snack on raw spinach!  Even though my books have titles like Swimming in Chocolate and drawings of sweets, I always eat the nutritious foods first.
A brain can’t work right with too much sugar.  When I go out to eat, I enjoy Thai food – usually with vegetables!  And I love special meals that people have made themselves.  If they have a special recipe that’s been with the family for a long time, I’m always up for that!

Q: Does anybody help you make your books?
A: Yes.  It takes a lot of people to bring a book to life.  Of course, I write the poems and draw the illustrations, but there’s more to it than that.  Since I sometimes make mistakes – maybe I’ve misspelled a word or forgotten a comma or a period… or maybe the rhythm could be improved… that’s where the ‘editor’ comes in.  My editor reads everything I’ve written and gives me feedback on things that need to be fixed.
I also get help from a ‘colorist’.  He helps with coloring the black and white line drawings on a computer.  The colorist also prepares the color files for printing.  The ‘printer’ is the company that actually prints (or copies) all the pages of the book and prints the covers.  There are lots of people at the printing company and they all have a different job.  Some people help with getting the digital files in order.  Others help by running the giant ‘printing presses’, which can be as tall as several people and often as long as a lunch room!

Q: Do you visit lots of schools?
A: Yes.  I started visiting schools over ten years ago.  I visit about 50 schools each year.  I really enjoy visiting schools because it gives me a chance to meet the people who read my books and it’s lots of fun!  I also like to read new things I’m working on that haven’t been published yet – if I’ve been to your school, you might remember me saying, “I have some new poems – let’s see how you like them!”

Q: Do you ever get ‘writer’s block’? (That means, do I ever run out of ideas or can’t think of anything when I’m trying to write.)
A: No.  Never.  I have no problem sitting down and writing as much as I need to.
I keep all my ideas very organized.
So, when it’s time to write – I can choose from any of the hundreds of ideas that are waiting for me!  The fact is, I have so many ideas and projects that I’m working on that I will be writing for the rest of my life.  I hope I live a long time because I have no plans to stop!

Q: Why did you title your first book ‘Swimming in Chocolate’?
A: Well, that certainly is a popular question… It all started a long time ago when I was just a kid.  I was probably in kindergarten or first grade – can’t remember exactly – but I do remember very clearly… we took a field trip to a chocolate factory in Los Angeles, California (I think it was Hershey’s, but I don’t think it’s there anymore).  They showed us the factory and how the chocolate candy was made.  We even got a sample to eat (after lunch, of course!).  I remember seeing lots of warm, melted chocolate swirling all around.  I also remember a small ladder leading up to the chocolate.  I thought to myself that it sure would be fun to spend the night in the factory and after all the workers were gone, I could have the whole place to myself and go Swimming in Chocolate as much as I wanted to!  So, I decided to hide from my class.  I remember standing behind a big pipe and watching as my teacher led the class away.  I wish I could say that I got to stay all night long… but my plan didn’t really work out that way!  My teacher saw me hiding and I had to join up with the class again.  It’s just as well.  Can you imagine the trouble I would’ve been in if I really did stay?  I’m sure someone would have missed me!  Anyhoo – I always remembered wanting to go Swimming in Chocolate.  I even dreamed about it a few times!  So, when it came time to write my first book and think of a title… I simply chose to use that memory!

Q: What about the title ‘Lemon Drop Rain’?
A: As soon as my first book Swimming in Chocolate came out, people were already asking about my next book.  I knew I wanted to have some kind of candy falling down from the sky, but didn’t know what kind.  I didn’t want a mix of candies -
I wanted an old-fashioned something…
then one day, when I was in my favorite candy store, I saw a big jar of lemon drops sitting on a shelf.  The moment I saw those lemon drops I knew my next book would be called Lemon Drop Rain!

Q: And the other titles, ‘New Pet’ and ‘Over the Top’?
A: New Pet seemed like a good title for a story about a kid who’s trying to convince his parents to let him have a New Pet.  If you’ve seen the book, you know that this isn’t just a little kitty or hamster – it’s an elephant – and that’s some serious business – don’t you think?
I decided on Over the Top for the title of my third poetry compilation because I needed something catchy, easy to remember, and that would go good with the idea of climbing up a giant candy mountain, reaching top and going over and down again.  If you read the poem Over the Top you’ll find out what you win if you make it to the top!

Q: Where do your ideas come from?
A: Oh, ideas come from lots of places.  Have you ever had a weird dream?  I try to write them down – as much as I can remember anyway.  Sometimes I see things that I think would be fun to write about.  My ears are always ‘on’ – I’m always listening – and sometimes I hear people say things that I think would be fun to write about… like have you ever heard people say, “I’ve got a frog in my throat?”

Q: Are you rich?
A: Sometimes people ask me how much money I make.  They ask if I drive an expensive car or if I live in a great big house… all those kinds of things…  What you need to know is that none of that stuff is important.  What IS important to know is that if YOU are interested in being a writer and/or an illustrator and you’re willing to work hard at it and be the best writer you can be… then you can make a good living at it!
We need good writers and illustrators!  So, just focus on writing your great ideas!

Q: When did you start writing?
A: I started writing just for fun when I was in the 5th grade.  I made short books that I would staple together and wrote 1 page stories with drawings – just for fun.

Q: What are you working on now?
A: I’m working on a ‘retelling’ of a famous fairytale.  I have finished writing it and now I’m working on the illustrations.  I also have a few more storybooks in the works and have been developing a spooky chapter book series.  I’ll tell you more when the time is right!