Becoming an author
Back when I was in college, I was reading a story to my two-year-old cousin when he pointed at an illustration of the northern lights and asked me (in a voice that still wasn’t clearly pronouncing words yet), “Is that the Aurora Borealis?” The fact that such a young mind had retained such an advanced piece of information blew me away, and affirmed forever my faith in the power of books. That was the day I knew I wanted to become an author for kids.
About Me
I wrote my first book as a senior project, spent ten years tinkering with and pitching it, and finally put it aside after I realized it wasn’t actually very good at all. These days, I would never let anyone read it (though, if asked, I MIGHT let them look at some of the lyrics for the musical adaptation I wrote*).
I sold my first book, YOUR FUTURE IS BRIGHT, almost 20 years to the day after completing that senior project. My second book, POP’S PERFECT PRESENT, came out almost exactly two years after that.
When not working on my next book, I spend my time writing business-y words for companies, spending time with my wife and two kids, or collecting t-shirts from unusual or lesser-known sports teams.
*Yes, I really did that.
Nothing means more to me than my family…and baseball. Family and baseball mean the world to me. And I couldn’t be more proud of my kids…or the Mets.
"You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children."
- Madeleine L'Engle
Inspirations
On Rhyming…
When it comes to rhyming, I am inspired by Dr. Seuss (obviously), Julia Donaldson, and Corey Rosen Schwartz. My philosophy with writing in rhyme is that the reader should be able to almost sing the words after reading the first few lines, and that only comes with extreme discipline with both your rhyme and your meter. I first really noticed this phenomenon while reading Edgar Allan Poe’s “Annabel Lee”, and only later did I see that same skill put to use in picture books. These three authors do it masterfully.
On Humor…
When it comes to humor, I tip my hat to the prodigious children’s book authors Josh Funk (“Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast”, Adam Rubin (“Dragons Love Tacos”), and Bob Shea (“Ballet Cat”).
Basically, if you can surprise the reader and make them laugh within 600 words and 32 pages, you have done something special, and that is always my goal.
On Wordplay…
While this isn’t exactly a picture book, I am forever and ever inspired by Norton Juster’s “The Phantom Tollbooth”.
The wordplay in that book is transcendentally brilliant, and everything I write will always strive in some way (and fail) to reach those heights.