Interview with Author Michelle Wang

Good morning, everyone! I hope the skies are sunny wherever you are. It’s been rainy here, but I like the rain, too, so that’s ok. 

You may recall from recent interviews or my post last October that I promised an interview with author Michelle Wang–and here it is!

Trista: Thanks for joining me, Michelle. Tell us about your first published book? What was the journey like?

Michelle: My first published book is called It Must Be Autumn and the journey began a long time ago, in a galaxy not so far away (well, technically, this one ) I was looking for a book to read aloud to my Grade One class about the signs of autumn, but couldn’t find one. A few days later, the recurring rhyme and book idea that I had wanted to find in that library somehow found its way into my head where it rolled around for a while until I finally scribbled it down and promptly went back to living my life. 

Over the years, in spurts and stops, I endeavoured (but failed) to have artist friends and even my own children illustrate my book. Doggedly encouraged by my older sister (many piles of “how to publish” material that she gave me can still be found in various corners of my house) and my decidedly un-tiger mom (“You should write a book.” was all she ever said), it wasn’t until I crash landed into the 2020’s with the rest of the world that the stars aligned and gave me a swift celestial kick in the butt to actually go get this done. 

In quick succession, I read my hand-drawn prototype to colleagues, their classes, and anyone who would listen. I was rewarded with overwhelmingly positive feedback. Through Fiverr and from across the world, the book was beautifully illustrated by an artist who had clearly found a way to pluck pictures directly from my head and onto the pages of my book. (Failure, take that!) The final step was to format, upload, and hit publish. (Marketing? Well now, that’s another completely different kind of journey.) 

Trista: How inspiring! How many books have you published? Do you have a favorite?

Michelle: I’ve published three books in the series so far. I kind of love them all but if you held a bag of skittles in front of me and made me choose, I’d have to say the first one, It Must Be Autumn, only because for so long, I never really thought that it would ever become a real live book. (And also, red. No, yellow. Wait, green…..)

Trista: Have you always wanted to be a writer?

Michelle: I’ve always been a writer in the sense that I love to write and am always writing. I got my first diary when I was 10 – it was red with a gold lock that I’m pretty sure I still have the key for. When my oldest daughter was nine, she started a family newsletter, and I would faithfully write a full length article every month for it. The running joke in our family is that whenever there is an injustice, “mom’s gonna write a letter”. I spend way too much time and care crafting the simplest of emails, and even text messages need to be proofread and revised. I’m known for channeling my inner Weird Al Yankovich when celebrating noteable kilometrestone birthdays, anniversaries, and graduations with personalized parodies of popular songs. But actually writing a book? I guess there was always the inkling that maybe I could one day do something like that, but that one day didn’t ever really seem possible.

Trista: How much ‘world building’ takes place before you start writing?

Michelle: If by “world building’ you are referring to a Westeros or Panem or Prythian, then the short answer is “none”. That said, I never knew how much fun it would be working with an illustrator and adding in the tiniest of details to tell a story within a story. For example, it was Uliana’s idea to make the Mother character look like me. The second book introduces a puppy who is actually my sister’s family pet, Saki. And in the spring book, keen eyed readers will notice baby twins that I always wanted, but never happened in real life.

Trista: What is the most challenging part about writing for you? The easiest?

Michelle: I would have to say just starting is the most challenging. I have a tendency to want to write perfection every time when I should just really put something, anything down and get going. The easiest would be the rest of it.

Trista: How did professional editing influence the development of your book(s)?

Michelle: I have a confession to make: I never had any of my first three books professionally edited (gasp! The horror!) In my defence, I did have it read and reread by as many teachers, students, children, family, friends, and the odd dragon as I could. I’ve also read thousands of picture books over the years as an elementary school teacher and a mother of 4, so do feel I have a good grasp of at least what I would like to see in a book. Having said that though, I recently wrote another picture book which I did find an absolutely wonderful editor for and the experience was one that I will always want to have moving forward.

Trista: What book genre is your favorite? Why?

Michelle: That is such a tough question. For someone who can’t help reading even cereal boxes, I will pretty much pick up anything. I love books with a good dose of humour, witty dialogue, and clever turns of phrases that make me read them over and over again just to savour their brilliance.

Trista: What projects are you working on at the present?

Michelle: I’m working on the fourth book of my series, It Must Be Summer, and am hoping for a first day of that season release date in a few months. I’m also trying to query a book I wrote as more of a gift to my family but feel might actually be a good fit for traditional publishing. I guess we’ll find out.

Trista: What’s your favorite writing tool? 

Michelle: Pencil and paper. (But I have figured out how to use those dang-fangled new contraptions called The Laptop, so I suppose that’s a pretty decent tool too.)

Trista: Me, too! There’s something about pencil or pen and paper that gets my imagination flowing. Who is your favorite writer?

Michelle: Oh, again, so many! Which genre? What time of day is it?

Okay, Gordon Korman. When I first read his book It Can’t Be Happening at McDonald Hall and realized that he was just a little bit older than me when he wrote it, he immediately became my hero and continues to hold prime real estate in my book heart even now.

Trista: What do you do when a new idea jumps out at you while you’re still working on a book?

Michelle: I jot it down on whatever I can find (napkin, grocery receipt, notes on my phone) and then hope to heck that I can find it again!

Trista: That’s what i used to do until I started a writer’s common place book! Now there’s no going back for me. LOL What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

Michelle: Watch my kids play sports, read, play the piano, not do housework (except for folding laundry), go to garage sales, laugh out loud (rolling on the floor optional). 

Trista: Is there anything else you’d like to say to your readers?

Michelle: I am terrible at self promotion, but I would love to say to my readers: please check out all my books and if you are able and willing to leave a review, it would really help make them more discoverable to new readers. I am also looking for jokes for the summer book so if you have any to pass along, you may see your joke in the new pages! And of course, thank you! (So weird to think that I have “your readers” )

Thanks so much for this interview, Michelle. It’s been a pleasure. Let me know when you have a new release so I can help spread the word.  

Dear Readers, I hope you have enjoyed this interview as well. If you have, please like, comment, and share to help an author out!  

I don’t know about y’all, but I absolutely love the idea of Michelle’s books! You can find out more about Michelle on her website: www.itmustbebooks.com and follow her on social media:

FB: @mustbebooks

IG: @itmustbebooks

Thanks so much for reading. Have a wonderful rest of your day!

God bless, 

~T