About the Author - MAKS

I’ve been a cheerleader – played and coach basketball – play tennis – traverse cautiously down ski-hills – have something to say about almost everything – make mistakes – love a good sense of humor – can’t live without family, friends, music, the Internet, books or TV – have an insatiable appetite to learn, create and figure out the angles. My nicknames over the years included, The General, The Bulldog, Hillary (as in Clinton) and…Agent of Change…

Ask MAKS

Self-Inflicted Interview - MAKS on MAKS

Author and Publisher of Breaking News! Kids Opinions Count

Preface

I need to start by saying that I really don’t know enough about anything important to be commenting on anything important… so I’ll just ask myself fluffy questions.

Q. Why did you decide to write your own "Self-Inflicted Interview"?

A. Because, there’s no quality assurance check program between my brain and my mouth. It’s too risky. Who knows what might come out that I can’t take back. This was the safest way to do an interview. Backspace and delete buttons are my favorite part of my qwerty.

Q. Are you known for saying outrageous things?

A. No comment. Please just ask me non-controversial, mundane questions.

Q. What’s your favorite color?

A. Orange.

Q. What’s your biggest weakness?

A. I sweat the small stuff.

Q. What’s your biggest strength?

A. I sweat the small stuff.

Q. How would you describe how your mind works?

A. My mind is like a never ending… connect the dots picture… The more I learn, the more dots I create… and the more I think.-.-.-.- the more connections I make. It’s a real mess up there.-?.!--..! I’m not sure what the final picture will be, but I am trying to draw it in my books.

Q. What’s your favorite music?

A. I admit, I’m a political punk poser when it comes to music. I love the message and sometimes you can even dance to the beat… just kidding. I also like ska.

Q. What do you read?

A. I’m not a fiction reader. I love reference books, I’m on the Internet all the time doing research. Right now, my favorite magazines are Punk Planet, Paranoia and the British Home and Garden.

Q. What are your parents like?

A. I am grateful to my parents for providing me with their mix of genetic material. I’m quite happy with who I am. My parents are the kind of people who love to do things for others and they don’t ask or expect anything in return. When I was growing up, I hated the fact that they were always there for me when I needed them… driving me and all my friends to basketball practices and games and anywhere else we needed to go… the nerve of them. Volunteering for cubs and beavers and brownies… Coaching hockey… What right did they have to embarrass me like that! And to top it all off… my mom would sew me a new outfit almost daily. Good Grief Charlie Brown. They were just constantly supportive… you know, doing all those things we hate our parents to do… Now after X years, I know how great they are and I just wished I’d told them way back then, instead of being an idiot and trying to avoid them at all costs. So, what are your parents like?

Q. What’s your favorite city?

A. Chicago.

Q. Why did you start writing?

A. I’ve always written for a living. Now I write for my enjoyment. Like I said before, I love to connect the dots. I’m a lateral thinker and my brain just never seems to stop working. So, rather than try to store all my thoughts in the 2 percent of my brain that’s active… I put them in my computer. Frees up the hard drive upstairs.

Q. What’s happening in the other 98% of your brain?

A. You’ll have to wait and read all about it in book seven.

Q. What are your pet peeves?

A. Me! I really bug myself!

Q. What’s your favorite children’s author?

A. Sorry, I can’t comment on that. I don’t read kids’ books. I made a decision that I was going to do things my way - so I never read any other kids’ books. I didn’t want to be influenced by anyone else. Early on, people told me I should find a successful author that I liked and write like them. I decided to ignore that advice and I’m glad I did. My books speak for themselves… not like someone else’s. And, they speak to kids and adults… Each character has their own voice and they appeal to their own demographic.

Q. Who’s your target reader?

A. Everyone who can read!

Q. I understand the kids actually get along with their parents and teachers? Why?

A. I want everyone to respect each other. The kids and their parents get a long and the teachers (not all of them) are like mentors to the kids. I did not want to write books that pit the parents and teachers against kids. But I do want to pit the parents, teachers and kids against those who are abusing people, society, the environment… people who don’t respect kids.

Q. Do you ever get writer’s block?

A. Yes! When I feel like I can’t go any further, I just lie down for a nap and because I want to sleep, my brain decides to work. I’m usually up within ten minutes with the problem solved and on to the next chapter.

Q. Did you ever feel like you couldn’t do it?

A. All the time! We’re all insecure about ourselves and our capabilities. But whenever I felt like I should give up… especially when I was trying to deal with… I won’t go there… any way, when I needed inspiration, I put on my Pennywise CD. "It’s Up to You" always got the juices flowing again.

Q. What’s in your CD right now?

A. AFI

Q. Why did you start to write kids books?

A. I think that we sixties people were figuratively sold a bill of goods. We were all sucked into the system and I think we convinced ourselves we could change things from within. It eventually turned "us" all into "them". I wanted to write books that encouraged kids and even us old farts to think for ourselves… especially in light of how we’re all sold a bill of goods … literally… by the corporations and the media. Everyone’s out to make a buck anyway they can and that means brainwashing… blah… blah… blah… We don’t ask enough questions. We don’t ask the right questions. We don’t know the right question to ask. We don’t expect real answers. We don’t want to know the real answers. That’s why Counting Blue Cars really got to me. This needs to change.

Q. What’s your favorite part of the writing process?

A. Actually I have two favorite parts. The first is when I find out some information on an issue or topic that totally blows me away and then I find a place to fit it in my book. The second most favorite part of the process is when I get feedback from my readers… especially when it’s good feedback. I love to read their comments in the margins.

Q. Tell me about these readers.

A. When I first started to write, I had my original fab four readers. They saw the first drafts of my series. I’d give them a draft, they’d read it and we’d go out, eat and talk about it. I realized that they liked the fact that they never knew where I was heading with the books until the end… That’s what I was hoping for and what I strive for. There are so many twists and turns even I can’t keep track sometimes. When I started to get to the final drafts I got some adults I knew and some kids in Canada and the U.S.A. who I’d never met before, to read the books. I asked them to tell me what they liked and didn’t like about the books. That process was very useful. Some of the readers thought the character of Tommie - the mom - was a bit too liberal… I didn’t think so. Sorry. My opinion counted on that issue. As for the rest of the comments, I made changes, did some editing and took into consideration a lot of what the readers told me. I was especially thankful for Ash telling me I needed to move an event from a third of the way through the second book to the beginning. It made all the difference in the world!

Q. Did you have professional help?

A. Yes, I had Jenny do the story editing. She helped me a lot. I had a lot of things going on in my mind that didn’t necessarily get to the page. She helped point out the holes and I shoveled in the fill. I also had Trish help with final edit and of course Diana did the book layout and design. Hignell did the printing.

Q. Why did you start your own publishing company?

A. Out of necessity.

Q. Why did you choose to print the book on 100% post-consumer recycled material?

A. I wanted to not only talk the talk but walk the walk.

Q. Did anything in particular inspire you?

A. Years ago, Dishwalla released it’s only commercial single… Counting Blue Cars. It spoke to me. The kid only wanted answers to his questions. Every time I hear that song I get an adrenalin rush, a lump in my throat and I well up with tears. … I’m crying right now! It’s so weird. It was my musical inspiration. Music is extremely important to me.

Q. Any more recent inspirations?

A. It was more like a revelation and I must admit, a confirmation that I was on the right track with my books. Years ago - my son and a buddy - did a Science Fair project. They asked Grade Three students from Manitoba to Newfoundland to draw pictures of Canada. The kids were given twenty minutes and there weren’t supposed to be any maps in the room and no coaching from the teacher. The results of the project were astonishing. The kids in one particular province thought they were the center of the world and didn’t even bother to draw any of the other provinces. Another province didn’t even respond to the request (and we sent it out to six schools in that province). Another province seemed to know everything about the entire country - this was a little province with obviously a big brain - which will go unnamed.

Q. And what does this have to do with anything?

A. I’m glad you asked. We also asked the kids to put happy faces on the provinces they knew about and that they’d like to live in and sad faces on the provinces they didn’t want to live in. Guess what?

Q. What?

A. The grade threers had already been influenced by someone and they had perceptions of this country that scared the heck out of me. There was no real personal first-hand basis for these perceptions… just other people’s personal biases, misinformation… opinions. The same misinformation and misperceptions that divides the country. The same stuff… that we all think… for really no good reason. We’ll never get our collective act together if we can’t think for ourselves.

Q. That’s pretty heavy.

A. Yeah, that is.

Q. How come you chose a pen name?

A. I always wanted a nic name… and the ones the kids gave me when I was growing up were crappy. And the ones the adults gave me when I grew up were appropriate, but not very nice, so I gave myself one.

Q. What were your nic names when you grew up?

A. I have a great last name and I always wanted the kids to call me Scottie. But I also had a turned up nose… so I got Puggy instead. See what I mean?

Q. And the nic names when you became an adult?

A. They basically came about because I’m a "never take no" for an answer kind of person. So I got tagged with "The General," "The Bulldog," "Hillary" as in Clinton and "Agent of Change". I like the last one so I named my publishing company after it.

Q. What’s with that drawing at the back of the book?

A. That was a sketch that a friend did of me when I was fourteen. I thought it was more appropriate than a real picture of me. What kid wants to see a pic of an old fart on the back of the book? Do you think that makes them want to read the book? I don’t.

Q. What made you decide to put kids’ reviews on the back of your book?

A. …because Kids Opinions Count…

Q. Did you find it easy to write for kids?

A. Kids nowadays are way smarter and more worldly than I was when I was their age. I also find them way smarter and more worldly than most adults I worked with over the years. I had to elevate my writing skills and thought processes to write for them. I had to work harder. I had to write up to the kids… not down to them… Man they’re a demanding bunch… and they should be!

Q. Why do you think your books appeal to a broad age range?

A. I think I write like a television show. In good TV, there’s something in it for everyone. You take away what you can get out of it. Like the Simpsons or Yogi Bear or a good episode of Law and Order. I think each of my characters have their own voice that reflects their age and background. That way everyone can identify with characters because there are characters that range from early teens to grandparents!

Q. Who were your role models when you were growing up?

A. Marlo Thomas in That Girl. Mary Tyler Moore in the Mary Tyler Moore Show. Captain Kirk in Star Trek. Independent women.

Q. What were your favorite bands when you were a kid?

A. I loved Led Zeppelin, Iron Butterfly, Pink Floyd, Wishbone Ash, Pink Floyd, the Doors, Cream… all the old rockers… And I have to admit I preferred Paul Revere and the Raiders to the Beatles and the Stones… although I did meet Marshall Chess of Chess Records when he managed the Stones.

Q. What was he like?

A. Absolutely… normal… sorry to disappoint you. He was cool and hung out with us kids at the Covered Wagon Resort in South Dakota. He wasn’t that much older than us and his sister-in-law was a friend of mine… see - it all makes sense now.

Q. What did you read when you were a kid?

A. Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys and every book about a horse in Ness Junior High’s library.

Q. What sports did you do as a kid?

A. I played basketball, volleyball, I cheer leaded, I rode my ten speed and I skated in circles at least four times a week at the Civic Center.

Q. Cheer leaded?

A. Yeah, I cheer leaded for the Bombers for four years… before they went Hollywood… or actually Dallas... That was many moons ago. It was a great way to see the games for free.

Q. What’s a Bomber? Were you in the military?

A. The Bombers are our professional football team.

Q. Are you opinionated?

A. To a fault! But I will admit when I’m wrong… it’s just not that often… But seriously, in my books, I really try to expose people to issues and encourage them to ask questions, find their own facts and form their own opinions. I think it’s good to have a diversity of opinion. Diversity leads to chaos and chaos leads to change and change keeps the universe working.

Q. Explain please.

A. The laws of the universe are order, entropy and chaos. Order leads to entropy which leads to death, so you need a little chaos to shake up the order of things to keep us alive. But that’s just my opinion.

Q. Are you a very cultured person?

A. Absolutely not. I watch soap operas!

Q. What is your favorite TV shows?

A. There have been so many over the years. I really like Masterpiece Theatre. I can watch re-runs of Star Trek, Law and Order, and Murder She Wrote until the cows come home. I love most BBC shows... especially the mysteries and the comedies. Closer to home, re-runs of Just Shoot Me still crack me up. I really like According to Jim. He’s one of those adults who’s still a kid… I think… I also absolutely love Reba! I’d love to meet Jim B. and Reba M. And I’d be a basket case if I didn’t have my soaps.

Q. What’s your favorite soaps?

A. All My Children and Young and Restless.

Q. What’s a perfect night out for you?

A. A night in.

Q. Is your life as dull as this interview?

A. Yup!

Q. Did you mean all of the answers you gave me?

A. Believe the ones you want to and disregard or discount the ones you don’t like. It’s your prerogative to form your own opinion…