Today we’d like to introduce you to Michele Howe.
Hi Michele, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I began writing right after my oldest daughter (Nicole) was born in 1985. While I was pregnant, I worked for a small PR firm in Toledo, Ohio, and my employer was a fabulous writer/editor and he allowed me to begin editing his various magazines. From there, I caught the bug to become a writer. Busy at home with my baby, I started writing book reviews and then articles. After I had written a number of single parenting articles based on the trials and triumphs of two of my close friends who went through unwanted divorces, I was offered my first book contract in 1999 by Hendrickson Publishing Group. From there, I continued reviewing books for various trade magazines such as Publishers Weekly, Retail & Resources, and Bookreporter.com.
As the years passed, we added three more children to our family. I homeschooled our children until they reached ninth grade then they went to a local public school where my husband teaches higher mathematics and AP courses. All through their growing up years, I chiseled out time every day to review/write/develop kids’ curriculum/and write more books.
To date, I’ve had twenty-nine books published for women, children, and families. My books all seem to follow whatever season of life I’m currently in at the time. Now that my children are all grown, and we have six grandchildren, I’ve become passionate about writing for grandparents, empty-nesters, aging gracefully, caring for aging parents, among other topics.
My Christian faith is the foundation for all my resources, and I share much of my own story in each book while also interviewing women, children, and families and tell their stories too. It’s so exciting to me to have the incredible opportunity to get to know so many unique individuals and learn from how they manage to overcome life’s challenges and difficulties and emerge stronger and more resilient. I don’t ever imagine I’ll stop writing…there’s just so much more to explore and discuss!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Oh my, no. Publishing is a particularly uncertain industry, and I’ve weathered just about every setback and disappointment imaginable. First, the pay is never steady (nor is it plentiful). You have to want to write and keep writing despite the many rejections you receive from editors and publishing houses. You have to be so focused on your goal that in spite of the “no’s” and the sometimes-harsh reviews from readers that you decide to learn from these difficult scenarios and try to grow into a better communicator. No one likes to receive criticism; it hurts! But I’ve discovered that once I humble myself and determine to process others’ criticism as a path to become a better writer, it’s made all the difference. Not only have these setbacks helped me develop as an author, they forced me to grow and mature as a person. Looking back, it’s all been for the overall good.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’ve always considered myself as a publishing professional who lived on both sides of publishing because I was a reviewer (so I constantly had to read/review/critique others’ works), and yet I was a freelancer myself (so I was submitting articles/curriculum/book proposals to editors). The wonderful part of working both sides is that I developed many professional relationships (and friendships) with editors throughout the publishing world, which often benefitted me as they would kindly give me good advice when I was working on a new book idea. It also helped me better understand that no matter how much an editor might love an idea of mine, I realized all books go through rigorous acquisitions meetings, and many individuals weigh in on whether or not to proceed.
Today, I’m solely writing books, and my readers know me for my Christian faith as it is unpacked in every book I write. I’m a big defender of being a critical thinker in all areas of life…and I strongly support asking questions and not simply believing what others may purport as truth.
My most recent books I’ve written for children (for my grandchildren) include: Living Bravely: Super Incredible Faith Devotional; Visual Bible Verse Devotions: 52 Weeks of Memorizing God’s Promises; and Big Feelings, Bigger God: Discovering God’s Care in Good Times and Bad. Just recently, Living Bravely has been published in Spanish too!
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
I think most people assume that writers and authors are extroverts…whereas most of us are introverts. Sure, I am comfortable and truly enjoy radio/tv interviews and chatting about life/faith/current issues. However, I am tried and true introvert and love nothing more than recharging after these public events. In fact, I need to be alone and regroup in a quiet (silent!) setting.
I do love being with people…but I prefer small gathering as opposed to great big large groups of individuals because I am able to dig deeper in our conversations and find out what makes people tick. This, to me, is just heavenly!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.michelehowe.wordpress.com
- Instagram: michelehowewrites
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/michelehoweauthor
- Linkedin: michele howe
- Twitter: reviewermom
Image Credits
Michele Howe
