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Question: I just wanted to ask: What do you think is the most important thing to keep in mind while you are writing? And what advice would you give to young authors?
    --Sarah

Answer: Thanks so much for your thoughtful question. I believe the most important thing to keep in mind is the story and the characters. If you have realistic characters moving through an interesting story, you have the hard part done. There is a saying, "The more interesting your story is, the more forgiving your readers will be." 

You can learn to, or have someone help you with, where to put all those pesky commas and quotation marks. You can get help with dangling modifiers. If your story isn't interesting, you won't have readers. The story is your creation. It is up to you to spend the time to work out details, undergo a sometimes tough struggle to be different, and to move things along at a pace that fits the action. 

My advice for young authors is to "stick with it!"  I started writing and my stories weren't good because I lacked experience in how to put them on paper. Not with commas and such, but with how to do things like use short sentences when I wanted to express excitement and drama, and to use longer sentences in other situations. All this is about developing a writing style, much like learning to be great at oral story telling. It all takes practice and more practice. 

I joined an online writing workshop where you traded reviews and advice with other writers. They ranked your writing numerically on plot, characterization, setting, description and professionalism (technical parts). 1 was low and 5 was "ready to publish." I consistently got 1's in all areas the first year I was a member. After a while my numbers rose and finally I could get a lot of 5's because of what I learned about story telling. 

When I submitted my manuscript for publication it was rejected 60 times but I kept trying. Finally I got a contract for a 5 book series. I still work at making my "story telling" better. Commas are less trouble than they used to be, but I don't worry about them as much. Just like being a doctor or a fireman, it takes practice, instruction and experience to be a writer. Most of all you need to be a story teller at heart.

    Mike

Question: How long does it take you to write a book
    --Kaylynn

Answer: It takes me about six months to write it and another three months to edit it.

Question: What made you want to make  a second book? Why did you make a second book?
    --Katie

Answer: First, I wrote a second, and a third and now part of a fourth book because I have stories I want to share. Also my readers have enjoyed my books and have asked me to write more. Also my publisher had me sign a contract to write at least 5.

Question: Is it hard to write books? What are you getting me for my birthday, Mr. Blumer?
--Shay

Answer: It isn't hard but is work sometimes. Lots of things take work, like learning math or learning to spell. You could say they are hard, but not like learning to be a doctor. Anyone can write a story. It takes work and practice to write a good story.

Question: I don't like your book. What are you getting me for my b day
--Many

Answer: Sorry you don't like my book. Not everyone will. For your birthday I'll put your gift outside under a tree next to a cottage in Gabendoor. You'll have to dream-slip there to find it.

Question: What’s the best part of getting emails from all these fans of yours? What is the best part of going to all of these places?
--Violet
 

Answer: To answer your question about what is the best part of getting emails from
fans and going to all these places --

I makes me feel really good when a reader tells me they enjoyed my story or
that my book started them thinking about worlds or stories of their own or
that they decided to do more writing. It feels good to know I could create
something that brought some fun into someone's life.

The best part of going places is meeting so many wonderful people, young and
old. I love the great questions about writing or about my stories. It
brightens my day. I just feel like a regular person so sometimes I get a
little embarrassed when people treat me like I'm famous (I'm not). I love
making new friends.

I hope that answers your question.

Question: What is your favorite magic spell?

--Taylor

Answer: I don't know that I have a favorite. I do like the scene in The Book of Second Chances where Windslow battles Fistlock and they use magic spells fight each other. It's like a big food fight almost.

Question: Why do you make up weird names for your book?

--Lorryn

Answer: I just like to have a bit of fun. The names are really fun to make up, and many of them mean something.

Question: Hold are you?

--Jesse

Answer: Just turned 59 on St. Patrick's Day.

Question: Will you put the blub in your book?

--Nikolaus

Answer: I don't know. I'm not sure what a "blub" is.

Question: What is the most fun and what is the hardest about writing your book.

--Jessica R.

Answer: The most fun is writing and using my imagination to create the world and animals and the story. The hard parts are putting all teh comas in the right place, spelling, and research.

Mike

Question: What will your forth and fifth books be called?

--Alex S.

Answer: I don't know yet. Book 1 is The Book of Second Chances. Book 2 is The Book of Broken Promises. Book 3 is The Book of Twisted Truths. I might do another book like the other three or a book about the Sallyforth Triplets. I don't know yet.

Mike

Question: I want to know what made you interested in the names and the creatures?

--Barnabas

Answer: I wanted names that were different, and fun. I spent a lot of time coming up with two part names for people like: Gristle Tooth = Gristletooth, the bad guy in book two. For the shadow creatures I had fun making them up while I drove to work each day. It helped pass the time and was fun.

    Mike

Question: On your first story did you make up the names of your monsters or did someone else do it for you?

--Steven, Nichael C

Answer: For all my stories I make up everything myself. When I started telling people about the shadow creatures I invented, they liked the idea and started naming their own. That's why I put up a section on my web to show them off. I like reading them. I hope you do to, but never use them. I want my book to be full of my own ideas.

    Mike

Question: Do you have fun writing?

--Destiny K.

Answer: I do have fun writing.  Most of the fun is in thinking up what will happen next in the story I am working on. I like making up places and animals and fun twists on the story. Not as much fun is trying to write it well. It's easy to come up with a great idea, but it can be a challenge to write that idea well on paper.

    Mike

Question: Why did you pick the name Molly Folly Sallyforth?????

--Karen

Answer: I like unusual and fun names. I will sometimes get an idea for a character and then think about words that might describe them. When I thought about Molly, I saw her as a little mysterious and someone who moved around a lot. I checked for words in the dictionary and found:

I just added "forth" to come up with Sallyforth. I wanted to have some fun and make her triplets. I decided to have one sister always tell the truth, one never tell the truth and one sometimes truthful and sometimes not. I already had some 2-part names: Hagger---Wolf = Hagerwolf. I first came up with Nelly Never Sallyforth. Then Tillie Truely, and finally Molly Folly. Guess which is which by the names.

    Mike

Question: gigkgkgjggughyirntj8yu9truyjerugnhgfuihitggggg?

--Robert

Answer: Ganjjlop;gaylyt.

    Mike

Question: Is it fun to write books like this? How does it feel to know your book is so great?

--Success Skinner

Answer: I have always liked to write. Even in elementary school, I had a notebook where I jotted down thoughts and ideas that I made up just for fun. Much later in life I decided to try a book. When I visit your school, you'll learn more about that. I love writing. A big mystery is never knowing if someone will like your writing or not. You can't let that fear stop you. Even if someone reads what you wrote and tells you it STINKS, don't worry. Keep writing and learning how to be better with each story. I never know if my books are great or not. I have to trust wonderful readers, just like you to tell me if they think my stories are great or not. Thank you for telling me. It means a lot to me.

    Mike

Question: A Magic Spell

--Samantha

Answer: Samantha, did you want me to cast a spell for you or did you have a question about them. It's fun to make them up. Most of the time I want them to rhyme. They don't need to, I guess. The fun part about writing a story in a world you create, is that you can make things work any way you want!

    Mike

Question: Why is it that way back in history when the world was more like Gabendoor, people had time to play cards and have neighborhood baseball games and stuff and now, when we have microwaves and dishwashers and all this stuff to make our lives easier, we have less time?

    --Casey

Answer: I had to smile at the "way back in history." Baseball is a relatively new sport. Playing cards does go way back.  Anyway, here are my thoughts. I don't think there was any more time. There was probably less time. If you look at a rural setting, many farmers and their families literally worked dawn to dusk. Many still do today. We have a lot of new conveniences that let us accomplish tasks faster, but I don't think we invest the savings into leisure time. If you look at alternative ways available ways to fill whatever leisure time you have, there are changes. Now we have computers and video games. Way way back, you maybe had a wheel hoop and a stick or a cornhusk doll. You played outside.

Back to the issue of time. I do think we have more time. Back in history, if you ignore the time spent running a farm, take a look at cultures where very few children when to school because they couldn't be spared from working the farm or the family business to simply to be able to eat. The time is there we just don't spend it on simple things like baseball in the back yard or playing cards.

Try this. Turn off your TV. Unplug it. Turn off and unplug your computer. Hide the car keys. Let the air out of your bicycle tires. Pull the batteries out of your CD player and video games. Put away your hobby projects. Limit your house to two books. Allow yourself a ball (not an official baseball. Just some kind of ball.) Find a stick outside. Find an old deck of playing cards. If cards are missing, use it anyway. Now spend a week and see what happens. The time was the same. You may feel bored, you may feel relaxed. Time wouldn't change, just how you made use of it.  

Question: Thanks for coming to the Elk River High School! It was really nice meeting you. I have a question. How long did it take you to write this book? I forgot to ask you that when you were here.

    --Thanks Meisha

Answer: I could do about a chapter a day. The book is about 33 chapters long, or something like that. So that would be just over a month. Reality is that I don't always feel creative or life gets in the way. It took me about six months to write The Book of Second Chances. It took me about nine months to write The Book of Broken Promises. Now I've been working on book 3, The Book of Twisted Truths. I've worked on and off for six months and only have 10 chapters done.

Question: If you got a second chance on writing this book what would you change and why would you change it?

    --Jeff

Answer: Great question. In a way I got a lot of second chances and did change some of it. I wasn't sure what to do about Windslow on Earth. Should I give him a chance at walking again? I decided that wouldn't be right. I hope readers with disabilities like the book, but don't want them to think about magic as a cure. Anyone with a disability can have tremendous adventures in their dreams, and Windslow did learn that he can do many things on Earth.

I'm lucky because my publisher wants a five book series about Gabendoor. That means I get four more chances to change things. In book two, The Book of Broken Promises, I use Molly Folly Sallyforth more because readers have told me they like her. Maybe she will get to be the star in her own book someday!  I was going to retire the wizards in book three, but they wouldn't let me. They almost went on strike! Characters do that sometimes. I kept them in. 

With each story, I figure that Windslow and Hillary are changing as they slowly grow up. So I have to think about how I want them to change.

Whew.... writing can be fun and challenging.

Thanks for your question.

    Mike

Question: How do you come up with all of these books. And did you like school when you were young?

    --Taylor

Answer: It can be hard to explain where ideas come from, Taylor. For the first book, you may want to look at my blog (web log). I tell about it there. Actually I start thinking about things that are interesting. Because this is a series, I have to stick with a "Book of ...." theme. For book two I decided on broken promises because the idea of promises was interesting to think about. When we make a promise, I think sometimes it's for something we can't guarantee, so maybe instead we should have promised to "try as hard as we could."

I think there are promises we make that we might have to break. If a friend told me he was going to rob a bank, and asked me to promise not to tell, I couldn't promise or I'd have to break the promise.

So before writing The Book of Broken Promises, I did a lot of thinking about promises we make that are hard ones. For Hillary, she hasn't seen her biological father in many years. Her feelings were hurt and she promised she would never talk to him again. Now that she's older, her dad wants to contact her. Should she keep her promise or break it?  You'll have to read book two to find out.

DID I LIKE SCHOOL?  Hmm... Some parts I loved, some I wasn't crazy about. But, I love learning about things. I loved art and history, science and math (surprise). Actually a math question is the reason for the Sallyforth Sisters. In about 4th grade for a math question, the teacher told us this puzzle.  There were three statues and one told the truth, one lies and the other lies or truth. You could ask one statue one question only. From the answer you had to figure out which statue each was. It's from an old puzzle where you win a kingdom or something if you answer right.  Well.... I figured it out!  I was the only one that did.

I also liked writing, hated English and flunked grammar. Who would have guessed I would grow up and wish I had done better in grammar.

School is great. Sometimes it's not fun. Working is great and sometimes it's not fun. Eating chocolate cake is fun, but it can make you sick!  For everything, you have to take the good and the bad, but try hard and find things you do like. Focus on the good things. Also I loved most of my teachers. They really helped me at times when I had to do something I didn't like.

My grandfather had good advice for me. He told me you didn't need to like something to do well at it.  He always had good advice.

        Mike

Question: By the way THANK YOU!!!! for pausing while you where talking with the media teacher right be for your niece left on Dec. 5 so that you could sign the card for me. I was wondering were I could buy your book other than on the internet? "THANKS AGAIN" P.S. you are a good writer. Maybe talk to you again

    --Jordan

Answer: Thank you Jordan. You and all of my readers are the most important thing to me. I hope I always remember to give time first to anyone interested in my writing.

Because I'm a new and "unknown author" for now, not too many book stores have my book. You can help me by going to any book store. Tell them you want them to order "The Book of Second Chances," by J. Michael Blumer. Tell them the ISBN is 1-59092-317-0. That is the International Serial Book Number which is a unique number given to every book. The book store can find it in there computer from that number. Another way is to purchase one at school. I left 20 signed copies at the Media Center. They are $15.00 each. You can also order a book from my web site, I'll sign it personally for you and mail it to you. With your parent's permission, I mail you the book and they can mail me a check. If you do want to order from the internet, you can get my book from Amazon.com. Click here to go to my order page. Or you can order it from my publisher, WindstormCreative.com. My order page has a link to them too.

    Mike

Question: Hi I am Brianna. You came to Sun Path today & I was there. I just wanted to say that you did a really great job with the speech!

    --Brianna

Answer: Thank you so much, Brianna. I was worried I would bore all of you . I appreciate your comments.

    Mike

Question: How did you think up the characters for the "Second Chances" book??

    --Mariah

Answer: Hm... Sometimes I'm not sure. Have you ever daydreamed? That' what I do when I need a new character. I think about what that character needs to do in the story, like they were an actress or actor in a play. Then I daydream about how they look or act until I think of something that I like and thing other's might like. Sometimes I might be shopping and hear someone talk or see someone that looks interesting. I might try to remember one or two things about that person that attracted my attention and use it in building a character.

Thanks for the great question.

    Mike

Question: What was your dream when you were young? Was it an author?

    --Agnes

Answer: I never really thought about being an author when I was young. I wasn't sure what I wanted to be other than an pirate on an adventure. I knew that wouldn't happen. I liked writing but never thought about it as a carrier.

In college, I liked philosophy and psychology, but ended up in the business world. I still wrote, mostly about things I had done and made up adventures, but just for amusement. It wasn't until about 6 years ago that I finally decided to give a try at writing a book.

Thanks for your question and have a great dream-slip adventure of your own.

    Mike

Question: Does the story show that anyone can rely on having lots of second chances in life so you don't need to try that hard the first time?

    --A Grandparent

Answer: Well... I can't answer this very well because I'd be giving away the ending. Let's just say that you should always do your best and try your best.

Mike

Question: Is there any hesitation on your part, with the book what you are about to send into the world?

    --Stephanie

Answer: An interesting question, and one I've not been asked before. No hesitation as you might think. The Book of Second Chances is rated pre-teen, and the strongest word is "crud." There is no gore, or controversial social issues. It was fun to write and meant to be fun and entertaining to read.  There is a small bit of hesitation, and that has to do with the thought that readers might not like it. That always bothers me, thinking myself at times, that it will put readers to sleep or bore them.

I think that sometimes in life we want something to happen, and when it does, we worry. Gee, I want that job. Yikes! I just got it. What do I do now? That sort of thing.

When I started writing, I did so because I didn't want to be old and gray and say I wish I had tried my hand at writing. I wanted to be able to say I tried and it worked or I tried and it didn't work. Either way would be fine.

When you submit a manuscript, only .03% (that's 3/10th of one percent) ever get published. So the odds are against you. Even if published, there is a 95% chance the book will never be a success. I know writers who hesitate when it comes to submitting because they don't want to face the possibility of rejection.

One last thought. It's too late at this point to think about a book you are "about" to send into the world. It's there. The minute you let someone start reading the manuscript chapters, it's there. Feedback is an important part of writing. I would think that any hesitation would begin to form at that point.

Thanks for the thought provoking question.

Mike