Toby Dorr: Hi, everyone, and welcome to Fierce Conversations with Toby, the show where we discover the silver lining in life’s most difficult stories. I’m your host, Toby Dorr.
Toby Dorr: Hi, this is Toby, and I’m so glad to have you here on my, this episode of Fierce Conversations with Toby. My guest today is Michael Thompson, who’s an award winning author and an illustrator from Northern Virginia. And in talking just now, before we started recording, I discovered he lives in the same little area that I live in, Bristow, Virginia.
Toby Dorr: So who would have thought that? met Michael at Barnes Noble. Um, he was doing a book signing there, and we said, I did a book signing there when my book was released and it’s one of my favorite places to go. And so we connected and that’s how I got Michael on my podcast. I think Michael is kind of unique in that he began his career at 13 years old.
Michael Thompson: right.
Toby Dorr: Publication of his action packed Chicken Boy series. And he’s just kept going. And the coolest thing, I think, is that he illustrates his own passion. So he isn’t just a writer, he’s also an artist and an illustrator, and I think that’s so cool. So Michael, welcome to Fierce Conversations with Toby.
Michael Thompson: Thank you. I’m thrilled to be here.
Toby Dorr: Yes, I’m thrilled to have you.
Toby Dorr: Before we get started, I ask a question that’s kind of totally not related to anything deep and profound, and that is, what’s your favorite color and why?
Michael Thompson: I like green. Green is my favorite color. Um, it has some symbolic associations with hope and I just think it’s a very lush and vibrant and um, I like a nice emerald green. That’s a
Toby Dorr: Oh, I love that. Yeah. I like it when people put shades to their favorite
Michael Thompson: Yeah. Yeah.
Toby Dorr: So as you can probably tell, my favorite color is pink,
Michael Thompson: Mm hmm. Yep.
Toby Dorr: no surprise there. So, um, Michael, what’s the hardest decision that you’ve ever had to make?
Michael Thompson: Ooh, the hardest decision. Well, um, becoming a full time author, uh, is kind of, uh, A scary, uh, decision. Um, you know, it’s not exactly a traditional job and, uh, you wear a lot of hats. I’m independently published and, uh, there are quite a lot of different duties that, uh, go into that. And so deciding whether to sort of partner up and go with a publisher or, or try to do it on my own, uh, was a.
Michael Thompson: Quite a, quite a decision and coming out of college, I, um, I had been self publishing since I was 13 and I decided to stay the course and,
Toby Dorr: Yeah, I think that’s great. Where’d you go to college
Michael Thompson: I went to George Mason University.
Toby Dorr: here in Manassas?
Michael Thompson: Uh, they have, uh, most, it was mostly on the Fairfax, uh,
Toby Dorr: Oh, okay. Yeah, cool. They have a great gym there.
Michael Thompson: Oh yeah, yeah.
Toby Dorr: Yeah, I know them for their gym. So that’s pretty cool. Um, you know, I found I had a publisher publish my book and they took care of a lot of things that I didn’t have to worry about, like editing and cover design.
Michael Thompson: Certainly.
Toby Dorr: However. There was still, you, you cannot as an author walk away from marketing, you just can’t and, and I was so surprised once my book was published to find out my work had just begun,
Michael Thompson: Yeah.
Toby Dorr: because there’s so much to do to keep your book out there in the minds of readers and, and, and grow your community and your audience.
Toby Dorr: So, yeah, I think, you know, it is.
Michael Thompson: full time job in itself.
Toby Dorr: It truly is, that’s for sure. So tell us about a significant event in your life that knocked you down and how did you pick yourself up?
Michael Thompson: Well, when I was, um, when I was very young, I was always creating from a very, very young age. Um, and I was always drawing in class and creating all kinds of different characters. There were epic battles filling the margins of my notebooks. I couldn’t help myself. And, uh, some of my teachers didn’t really like that.
Michael Thompson: When I got into third grade, my third grade teacher, um, really didn’t like it. And I was getting in trouble quite a lot. Um, even after class at one point, when we were waiting for the bus, I had a friend asked me to draw one of my characters and, uh, and I drew it and I was handing it to him. And then, uh, in the middle of handing it to him, it was snatched out of my hand and, uh, she ripped it up and she said, this is a distraction and threw it over my face.
Michael Thompson: Like confetti. And. I just, I couldn’t, I couldn’t understand why, you know, it was such a problem and I couldn’t, I couldn’t help myself. I got sent to summer school because of it. And, uh, however, uh, it was at summer school that I met the greatest teacher that I’d ever had, Mr. A. And, uh, I sat, I sat down, I folded my hands.
Michael Thompson: I said to myself, I’m not going to draw. I’m not going to draw. And I had to like control myself. And then, um, my teacher said, uh, okay, we’re going to make our own comic book. And it
Toby Dorr: wow.
Michael Thompson: That was the first assignment. I was like, I get to do this. And so my mom contacted the principal and had me transferred into his class for the fourth grade.
Michael Thompson: And it was there that I created chicken boy,
Toby Dorr: Oh wow.
Michael Thompson: my first ever character. And so, uh, uh, Prime component of Mr. A’s class was creativity and he had something called the writing journal. And, uh, that was a significant portion of the class. So every day we would, uh, come and we would sit down and we would either write a short story, make a comic, create a character with character bio and like bubbles and like create like a backstory and stuff.
Michael Thompson: And then we would go up and present it to them. And so I just started filling up that notebook and I still have it. Actually. I got it right here.
Toby Dorr: Oh wow.
Michael Thompson: I keep it in under plastic
Toby Dorr: So cool.
Michael Thompson: now. Um, and this is the first ever, uh, picture of chicken boy, which I glued
Toby Dorr: wow.
Michael Thompson: the cover there.
Toby Dorr: That’s so cool. Mm-Hmm.
Michael Thompson: and I was inspired by this animal rescue show.
Michael Thompson: I loved animals because I was a big fan of Looney Tunes when I was a kid. And I love superheroes. I love Marvel. Spider Man was a, was a big, uh, Favorite character of mine. And so I wanted to make my own animal superhero. So I started combining, you know, drawing, cartooning, different animals, wearing capes and, and seeing what, what felt the best.
Michael Thompson: And I was watching this animal rescue show on animal planet. I don’t remember the name of the show, but they had a baby King vulture. If you see chicken boy, it doesn’t quite look like a chicken. And I just thought it looked kind of funny at this big beak and these big old feet that look too big for his body.
Michael Thompson: And these puffy white feathers. And I thought, I thought something struck me like lightning in my cartoonist mind, and I had to cartoon him wearing a cape. I didn’t think Vulture Boy sounded very good. So I named him Chicken Boy. And, uh, this is the latest Chicken Boy book, which came out not too long ago.
Michael Thompson: And so you can see, uh, there’s, there’s our titular hero there, Chicken
Toby Dorr: I love that. I love that. And you know what is so beautiful about that story? It’s the one thing that I’m always telling the people that I work with. So many times something negative happens in our life. And all we can do is think about how terrible that negative thing was and feel like a victim and just like wallow in the terribleness of this thing.
Toby Dorr: But there’s always a silver lining and you found that silver lining and it really was like bigger than a silver lining. It was your whole future.
Michael Thompson: it changed the course of my life.
Toby Dorr: Yeah. I love that. I just love that. That’s so awesome. Um, so I was gonna ask you, who’s been your most important mentor?
Michael Thompson: That’s definitely Mr. A, you know,
Toby Dorr: I was thinking probably so, yeah.
Michael Thompson: definitely one, one great teacher can change everything, uh, for a kid, you know, and so, so he, he was wonderful. And, um, and I’ve got, uh, a very supportive family as well. Uh, my grandfather, I loved reading, uh, my, my stories with him and he had a great voice. And so I always really enjoyed writing something just so I could hear it read.
Michael Thompson: in his voice. And
Toby Dorr: Oh, wow.
Michael Thompson: yeah. So I, I really enjoyed when I was writing my first novel, my first big, uh, young adult book world of the orb, um, a significant portion of the process involved, uh, um, cause I was a teenager when I started that one and, uh, bringing him chunks of chapters at a time and just sitting and then, and then reading it.
Michael Thompson: So it was like the ultimate, like, You know, write what you love sort of situation. Cause I w I was hearing the type of story that I always wished existed in my grandfather’s voice. And then I would, and so we would read it and edit it. A kind of a fun story with that, uh, actually, cause he passed away when I was, um, in the middle of college.
Michael Thompson: And, uh, so. The book hadn’t come out yet. The book came out shortly after I graduated college, and I was doing some of the final edits, and there was this one, I had like a placeholder thing, so this was, this is a very, uh, World of the Orb here. This is my young adult novel. This is about a couple of friends who discover the hidden world the museum was trying to keep secret, and they’re sent on a harrowing treasure hunt across all these strange lands to find Earth again.
Toby Dorr: Cool.
Michael Thompson: And I had, uh, so this was a big world building exercise and I had this, this, uh, currency in the world. And I had just kind of a placeholder name for the currency. It was like, you know, kind of like your classic gold doubloon type looking thing. And I just called them pieces and I didn’t, I didn’t know what to, what to call them yet, but I wanted something unique.
Michael Thompson: And, um, I had found when it came about that time to do those final polishing up edits. And I wanted to, I was like, I still need a name for the currency. And I found, uh, a stack of my grandfather’s edits and he had, um, and I found in his handwriting, he had, he had circled that and he, he agreed that that should be something, uh, something different and he put of, of, uh, and I think he meant to write of like silver or something, but he abbreviated it SIV, S I V.
Michael Thompson: And I was like, that’s going to be the name of the currency. So, uh, so I, so I named the, the little treasure pieces, uh, Civ
Toby Dorr: Uh huh.
Michael Thompson: of Dior.
Toby Dorr: That’s pretty cool that your grandpa’s a part of that. I love that story. You know, um, we actually live with my stepson and his family. So my grandson and granddaughter, you know, live upstairs and we have a separate apartment down here and it has been beautiful spending so much time with the grandkids.
Toby Dorr: Well, my granddaughter, she’s in fourth grade this year. Yeah. When she was in second grade, I was working on my book and it was, you know, getting to the final edits and she wanted to write a book. So she sat down and wrote a book and I was on paper. And, you know, I said, well, if you’re going to write a book, let’s use this nice paper.
Toby Dorr: And so she, you know, wrote a book. Drew these pictures and hand wrote it and I kind of bound it for her and she took it to school and her teacher was Just in awe and she had it released to read it to the whole class And and so elise is working on a couple other books on my computer She’ll come down here and say grandma i’m going to start a new book.
Toby Dorr: And so the one she’s Working on now is called. I don’t know something about raisin raisin’s a rabbit Raisin or something. I don’t know but she’s she’s so creative and she draws all the time and I Think that should be encouraged. And you, you know, just giving me the motivation to encourage it even more because luckily for her, her teachers have, um, encouraged her in her drawing and her writing and her reading.
Toby Dorr: So I feel bad that you were not encouraged, but it turned out for the best. It was, it was put you on the path you meant to be on.
Michael Thompson: Yeah. Yeah. It, it, it wouldn’t have happened the same way. Uh, if things didn’t line up that way. And when I was, uh, nine years old, uh, we actually did a little class book as well. And so they had, um, Some type of service where they would, uh, uh, they found, they found some group that would, that would bind together.
Michael Thompson: So, so everyone, every kid in the class made a short story and they bound them together, hardcover style. And that, that was really special. So maybe that could be suggested
Toby Dorr: think that they might have done that too. I was going to see if I could find their little book. I think I have it in this tray of stuff,
Michael Thompson: Cool.
Toby Dorr: it was just so awesome. I’m just going to look real quick and, you know, I don’t, I wish I thought of it ahead, but I don’t see it here. So,
Michael Thompson: It’s a cool thing. You know, I have so many stories, even now where I, you know, look back at old, like, uh, Little drawings and things that I kept from my writing journals and sketchbooks. And so,
Toby Dorr: I just,
Michael Thompson: so it’s good to have that and keep that for reference, you know, it’s the foundational population of your imagination.
Toby Dorr: I just think it’s so beautiful and I was so proud of her and, and I just encourage her all the time to keep writing, keep writing, keep writing. And so she does. Um, I love that story. Well, and I was also going to ask you about a turning point in your life that propelled you in a new direction. I think we’ve covered that, but is there another moment in your life that puts you into publishing?
Toby Dorr: Uh
Michael Thompson: I think, uh, something that, that was, Really sort of solidifying, uh, for me, just recently, um, I got to return to the school that, uh, at which I created chicken boy as a guest speaker for their read across America event. And this was. very shortly before the lockdowns in 2020. And when I arrived there, um, now I had released, um, the chicken boy books, the original three, and they’re in slightly a different format than how they’re going
Toby Dorr: Yeah.
Michael Thompson: these big sort of magazine shaped ones. Um, when I had released those, uh, I was a teenager, 13, 15, 17 is when the first three came out. And, Uh, the kids were reading it like it was any other book off the shelf. I, I donated copies to their school library and I returned to Mr. Eric’s, which is class every single, single year to talk to the kids about, um, writing and publishing and, and, and creating characters.
Toby Dorr: What school was that, by the way?
Michael Thompson: was a Cedar point.
Toby Dorr: Oh, my grandkids go to Bristol Run.
Michael Thompson: okay.
Toby Dorr: yeah.
Michael Thompson: And when I arrived in, um, uh, for this particular Read Across America event, uh, the kids, the students had voted on their favorite literary characters to be featured in a mural on the library wall. And when I arrived, uh, Chicken Boy and all the Chicken Boy characters were painted, uh, up on the library wall.
Toby Dorr: How exciting. That’s pretty
Michael Thompson: thought that was incredible.
Toby Dorr: That’s pretty cool. So, did your grandfather know you were publishing a book?
Michael Thompson: Yeah. Yeah. I had published, um, yeah, he got to see the chicken boy books when those were
Toby Dorr: Oh, good.
Michael Thompson: for sure. And, um, and world of the orb, uh, was the one that I was working on a lot, uh, in high school and I didn’t finish it until I graduated, uh, college, uh, cause that was a lot of work. And so, uh, but as soon as I graduated, I went full speed and finally, uh, finally got it out.
Michael Thompson: It was a big undertaking.
Toby Dorr: That’s excellent. I love that story. I love that story. So, was there ever a time in your life that you felt imprisoned, and what did you do to liberate yourself?
Michael Thompson: Yeah, you know, I what immediately comes to mind was during the lockdowns. It was quite, um, quite isolating. I mean, being an author is kind of an isolating job already.
Toby Dorr: Uh huh.
Michael Thompson: I kind of, you know, I feel like a cave dweller when I’m working on my projects. But when I go out and and I get to share them with people.
Michael Thompson: It’s energizing, you know, it’s electrifying. I get to share it with people who love the stories and cherish the characters as much as I do. But, and I had this amazing schedule that was going to happen. And then in a blink, all of that got canceled. And so I was like, wow. Um, so I, I had to completely switch gears and focus solely on the production aspect of, of what I’m, what I do so that I could, um, and I thought, okay, if I, if I pour myself into that, then, uh, by the time all of this is over, I can, uh, really have a good, be, be ahead of myself.
Michael Thompson: I’ve never been like ahead on, on writing, you know? And, um, and so. I, and I, and I noticed that, uh, when you, when you write in a time of, um, of stress or difficulty or something, you kind of, uh, impart that into, um, the characters, uh, own struggles. And so, as you’re, as you’re writing these stories and you’re seeing people, uh, face not necessarily the same things that you’re going through, um, But symbolically, uh, you see, you see them conquering and triumphing.
Michael Thompson: Uh, it can help you sort of get through times. World of the Orb is a lot like that. The main character, uh, Marvin deals with a lot of, uh, self doubt. And, uh, this book is, is sort of, uh, symbolically about, uh, conquering self doubt because he, he, when he goes into the new, uh, alternate world of Incarti, he discovers he has powers there that he didn’t have on Earth.
Michael Thompson: And so, um, so it’s sort of the theme of the humble becomes exalted, right? So.
Toby Dorr: interesting. I like that. So I’m curious about your writing process. It’s, it seems to me like you have that notebook where you did the chicken boy stuff a lot. Um, do you, when you start to write on a new project, do you like to write in a notebook with a pen or do you sit down at the computer and
Michael Thompson: Yeah, I definitely, uh, I carried forward that writing a notebook thing into my, uh, official process as a, as an author. And I really like drawing the characters, uh, first, um, especially for these. Fantasy, uh, books that I do and in the current series that I have going right now, the Winslow Hoffner series, which is based on folklore and mythology and crypto zoology, I like drawing the monsters and so I get a really, um, immersive sense of what, uh, things look like and, and, and how they operate and creating sort of the imagined, uh, Evolution and biology of these fantasy creatures, um, before I, before I go into it.
Michael Thompson: And sometimes I do like to write by hand. I like to sort of change it up. I enjoy typing, but, uh, sometimes I like to escape, uh, from the computer and, and get out and, and sit outside for a little while.
Toby Dorr: Yeah,
Michael Thompson: Enjoy the fresh air and write a few sentences. And that sort of like breaks through the ice a little bit.
Michael Thompson: And then I can dart up here and
Toby Dorr: yeah, you know, my memoir really started in a series of journals that I had, and, um, I have always said, and I don’t know why, I just feel like your hand’s connected to your heart. And when you write with your hands, stuff comes out you don’t even know is there. And when you sit at a computer, then it becomes logical, and you’re working from your head.
Toby Dorr: And, you miss a lot of the key cool nuggets that are hidden. And then I came across this, uh, research that said, when we write a letter of the alphabet, we form it stroke by stroke. And that process of production involves pathways in the brain that go near or through parts that manage emotion. So that doesn’t happen when you type.
Toby Dorr: You aren’t using that part of your brain. So, I mean, that was true. There is a difference between writing by hand and typing.
Michael Thompson: That’s fascinating. Yeah.
Toby Dorr: Yeah, and I just love that. And then there was a 2017 study that found that brain regions associated with learning are more active when people complete a task by hand, as opposed to a keyboard.
Toby Dorr: So, they said, the authors of that study said that writing by hand may promote deep encoding of new information in ways that keyboarding writing does not. So, And when a person writes by hand, they have to invest a lot of time and energy into what they’re doing. And it’s, the more thought goes into it, I think.
Toby Dorr: So I really think it’s a powerful writing tool. And, you know, people ask me how to get started with their book. And I said, pick up a pen and just start writing. Because when you stare at a blank computer and wonder, what am I going to type? It, you know, it’s just, roadblock, really.
Michael Thompson: Yeah, that’s, that’s fascinating. I remember, um, I continued to doodle all the way through into college. And so my, my college friends would, you know, look over and there would be like, A gigantic sea monster, you know, the bottom half of the
Toby Dorr: yes,
Michael Thompson: and they’re like, how do you, you know, how do you manage to get the grades, you know, decent grades while like having this?
Michael Thompson: And it’s funny because I, I remembered, uh, certain sections that I took notes on, like in association with what doodles on the
Toby Dorr: yes, yes,
Michael Thompson: was like, oh yeah, that’s right next to the castle. I was like, oh,
Toby Dorr: yes.
Michael Thompson: to the Leviathan.
Toby Dorr: I can relate to that. I can find old notebooks or homework from when I was in grade school and I can remember a show that was on TV or something my dad was saying just because, I don’t know, somehow it’s connected. I think it’s pretty cool. Be kind of cool to explore that a lot more. So what is one question you wish I’d asked?
Michael Thompson: Hmm. Let’s see. Uh, well, I’d love to talk to you a little bit more about my, uh, my cryptid book here, the, the
Toby Dorr: Let’s do, yeah,
Michael Thompson: um, this is my latest series and the new one just came out. This just came out at the end of last year, Winslow Hoffner’s High Sailing Adventures. I’m still doing all the different artwork here.
Michael Thompson: It’s a different style than my chicken boy books. But uh, Winslow is this, is a folkloric fantasy on the high seas about cryptids, sea monsters, epic urban legends that few have beheld, but there’s one man who happens to have seen them all, Winslow Hoffner, the gallant
Toby Dorr: Oh,
Michael Thompson: And so this really combined my love of, cause I got into uh, journalism when I was young, and um, And so I enjoyed, uh, telling other people’s stories, but I also obviously love creative writing.
Michael Thompson: And so this, it started as some short stories in high school. And, uh, and then later on in college, I added some more. And I thought it was going to be a collection of short stories. But then as I was putting it together, I realized that it wanted to be its own stories and it’s blossomed into this incredible thing.
Michael Thompson: So lately I’ve been, um, attending a lot of crypto zoology conferences. And
Toby Dorr: what is cryptozoology?
Michael Thompson: question. Okay. So crypto zoology, the, uh, the prefix crypto means hidden and zoology is the study of animals, right? So this is the study of hidden animals such as the Loch Ness monster. Bigfoot, uh, things of that nature.
Michael Thompson: And in this one, we focus, uh, entirely on the aquatic aspect of crypto zoology. So we have these unknown creatures, like the center creature here is named Gambo. And this was based on a creature that washed ashore in 1983 in the Gambia. And they weren’t sure exactly what it was. It could have been a prehistoric dolphin or the last of the mosasaurs.
Michael Thompson: Uh, they, they weren’t sure, but before anyone had a chance to scientifically document it, uh, the body disappeared. Uh, it said that the head was sold to a tourist and the rest of it was buried in the stand. And I thought, well, this is fascinating. I can do whatever I want with this thing. And so I turned it into this fire breathing fish.
Michael Thompson: And this story came about, um, I was assigned to write a short story in, I think it was my sophomore year of high school. I want to say it could have been junior, but, um, uh, I had this, it came to me with a single line, uh, and that’s kind of usually the case with, uh,
Toby Dorr: Uh huh.
Michael Thompson: the writing process. It’s either a single image or a single line.
Michael Thompson: And in this case, It was the first line that turned out to be the first line of the book, uh, which was Winslow, uh, saying, have you ever stared straight into the eyes of death and
Toby Dorr: Oh, wow.
Michael Thompson: And so, and I, I made a note of my computer. I put it away. I didn’t know what he was talking about yet, but my foundational interest in cryptozoology bubbled up.
Michael Thompson: And when it came time to write that short story, I thought. Ah, I’m going to, I’m going to do a cryptid sea adventure. And so, uh, it’s about this fisherman who sees these unbelievable things in the water and, uh, it’s about, you know, skepticism versus, you know, magical, uh, you know, belief and, and so that’s kind of.
Michael Thompson: What the story is about and there’s great portraits of all the different monsters in there all based on real world sightings of unexplained monsters.
Toby Dorr: I love that, that they’re based on real world.
Michael Thompson: Yeah, and I recently I did a great audio book, which I narrated myself Um, which is available on many different platforms audible itunes Amazon and most recently, and or very soon, I should say Spotify on to Spotify so you can listen to the first book, Winslow Hoffman’s incredible encounters and you can pick up the paperback of Winslow Hoffman’s high sailing adventures where we dive into how
Toby Dorr: Mm hmm.
Michael Thompson: adventures with these creatures all began.
Michael Thompson: And so this just came out and you can see that on my website on Michael Thompson books dot com.
Toby Dorr: Yeah, and I will put in the show notes, um, your website and the name of how you spell Winslow Hoffmer, because I have that
Michael Thompson: it’s, uh,
Toby Dorr: book. I think that’s excellent.
Michael Thompson: Yeah, yeah,
Toby Dorr: I narrated my audiobook too, and I’m just really drawn to audiobooks that the author reads.
Michael Thompson: love that. Yeah, that’s my favorite.
Toby Dorr: get some more out of it, you know, you get something, you get their essence in the story.
Toby Dorr: So, I just love that. I’m going to have to check that out. Excellent. So what’s next for you? How many books have you written to date?
Michael Thompson: I’ve written, I’ve, uh, written and released seven so far. And, uh, coming up next, I’m going to be re illustrating and re releasing my first three Chicken Boy books, uh, for the Chicken Boy Anniversary Editions. Um, and the special thing about that is, uh, from today, like back when I created it, it In fourth grade, uh, we’ll mark 20 years since the creation of the character.
Michael Thompson: And so this is, so it’s going to be really special. They’re all going to be this size, which is a more industry standard size. When I started out, um, so publishing is brand new. And, uh, so it was like the size of computer paper. Now it’s
Toby Dorr: I’m curious what you put your books in to publish them. What tool do you use?
Michael Thompson: I use, uh, KDP, which is, uh, the, uh, the one that Amazon uses. I use this, I use many different tools. I’m non exclusive. So I,
Toby Dorr: Oh,
Michael Thompson: as many different things as I can. Ingram is another one.
Toby Dorr: yeah, but I mean the tool on your computer that you put them in.
Michael Thompson: Oh, that I w that I type it into, uh, just word. Yeah. It’s just
Toby Dorr: Really? You know, I use Adobe InDesign, and I created a
Michael Thompson: That’s a good one.
Toby Dorr: of workbooks, and they’re pretty graphical. These are the size of them, but, you know, they’ve got a lot of graphical stuff in them, and I did them in Adobe InDesign.
Michael Thompson: good choice for InDesign. Yeah. For that
Toby Dorr: Yeah. So I, it seems like a tool that would work really well for what you’re doing as well. So I was just curious. Yeah, there’s, there’s just so many opportunities out there. There’s so many tools at your disposal that anybody that feels called to write a book doesn’t have a reason to not just do it because you can self publish it.
Toby Dorr: You can self write it. You can self edit it. You can self illustrate it. You know, there’s nothing stopping
Michael Thompson: Yeah, if a story is coming to you, I always say that’s a sign that it’s meant to be told. So
Toby Dorr: I love that. I just love that. I’m so glad our paths have crossed because I
Michael Thompson: it was great.
Toby Dorr: I have a book in my head that I’m trying to get out and it’s really graphically based. And so I might have to set up a meeting with you and get some feedback from you. I’m not an artist, but I am a, uh, I do have a master’s degree in digital design.
Toby Dorr: So I can, You know, use the computer to make pretty things, but I I wish I could draw But maybe I could if I tried but I don’t know how so is there a question that you’d like to ask me
Michael Thompson: Ooh. Ooh. So, so you’re an author too.
Toby Dorr: Mm
Michael Thompson: Uh, you say, what is, uh, what’s your writing process like? How does, how does that work for you? And do you ever find yourself, um, sort of, uh, pouring yourself into your characters? Or I guess in your case, it’s more, uh,
Toby Dorr: hmm. Yeah, so I wrote a memoir and
Michael Thompson: so what was that like?
Toby Dorr: You know writing a memoir and it was about a really difficult part of my life and it was exhausting because you have to Go back into all that and relive it and feel it, you know, and at the end of the day, my husband would say to me, where are you now? And I’d say, Oh, I’m on suicide watch.
Toby Dorr: And he’d go, Oh, I’ll be glad when you get through that part, you know, because he could tell because I was there too, even though I wasn’t literally there. But when you go back and you write those things, it. You know, it puts you in that moment and it’s difficult. I would love to write a fictional book, but I don’t know.
Toby Dorr: I don’t know if I’m, I think I’m really more of a nonfiction person and I’ve got so many ideas for different books and I love journals and planners and you know, I want to go into that area. So I don’t know what I’m going to do next, but I’ve got two books I’m working on and of course the podcast that I started and then I’m, Uh, in 2024, I’m going to be working on a three day summit for women that’s, you know, not digital.
Toby Dorr: It’ll be a, an in person summit where we really get into, uh, emotional intelligence and self esteem and purpose. So, you know, I’m really drawn to those kind of things. So.
Michael Thompson: Yeah.
Toby Dorr: yeah,
Michael Thompson: fantastic. Well, I’m really glad that our paths cross, you know, you showed up, right? I think it was right after I sold out. So I
Toby Dorr: You sold your last book and you packed out and you said, Hi, well, I just sold my last book. I said, that is awesome. Yeah,
Michael Thompson: just showed up. So I like, I really like serendipitous, uh, things like
Toby Dorr: do too. I do
Michael Thompson: It was cool to
Toby Dorr: Have you been to Barnes and Noble since they put everything on sale?
Michael Thompson: I, uh, no, I have not. Uh, I, I got, I got kind of sick after I piled so many events up
Toby Dorr: Mm hmm.
Michael Thompson: and then I paid the price. And so
Toby Dorr: And you gotta
Michael Thompson: just got better now I need to go and get, cause everything’s half off. Right.
Toby Dorr: Right. Right. Cause the particular Barnes and Noble in our area where we both did our book signings is moving to a new location so they are selling everything at a discount so they don’t have to pack and move so much stuff.
Michael Thompson: Yeah.
Toby Dorr: I waited in line one day for three hours.
Toby Dorr: Three hours to pay. And it was crazy but I’ve got some great stuff.
Michael Thompson: Yeah, yeah, good stuff. Yeah.
Toby Dorr: The lines aren’t so long now because they’ve sold a lot of stuff but they’re still tough
Michael Thompson: Yeah. Yeah, I’ll have to I’ll have to see if there’s any anything good left over. I’ll have to go
Toby Dorr: I think you’ll find some stuff. I was in there just a couple days ago, and I found plenty of stuff I still wanted. So
Michael Thompson: Cool. Cool.
Toby Dorr: what’s one word that inspires you?
Michael Thompson: A word. A word that inspires me. Um, I’ll give you three optimism, enthusiasm and energy. I think
Toby Dorr: and you kind of represent all those. I see
Michael Thompson: that that’s, I think that that’s a good, a good way to, to think about it. You know, optimism. I, uh, believing everything’s going to work out enthusiasm because you love what you do and energy because you’re going to make it happen.
Toby Dorr: Yes, I love that. I love that attitude. That’s awesome. Well, thanks so much, Michael, for being with me on Fierce Conversations with Toby. And as we’ve talked about, Michael’s most recent publication, Winslow Hoffner’s High Sailing Adventures is released, and Michael returns to the chanting world of Winslow Hoffner with witty characters, gripping mystery, and fast paced storytelling.
Toby Dorr: Decorated by such myths as the Loch Ness Monster and other awe inspiring legends of cryptozoology.
Michael Thompson: Yeah.
Toby Dorr: love that, cryptozoology. I didn’t even know such a thing existed. But what I really like is you’re writing this fantasy and this adventure stuff, but at its very root it’s based on real, real facts. A real animal and I love that because sometimes the fantasy stuff is so far out there that you think I can’t I can’t get there.
Toby Dorr: But you know, if you have a real character a real animal you’re basing it on I just think that makes it so much more powerful.
Michael Thompson: I do. Yeah. I, I love, uh, I, the research process of these books is really fun. I call it the, the real world tether. So each story has this, has this root in reality or in real world legends. So if you happen to search any of the creatures that Winslow sees on his voyages, you’ll be, uh, you’ll be really excited to see it’s like a whole bunch of old, uh, newspaper articles, uh, detailing, uh, other people’s, uh, supposed, uh, alleged encounters with those same myths.
Toby Dorr: Yeah. I love that. I love that. That sounds great So thanks so much michael for being on with me today and you can get any of michael’s books at michaelthompsonbooks. com And i’ll put that link in the show notes, too. So thank you. Michael.
Michael Thompson: fun. Thank you!
Toby Dorr: You’re welcome
Toby Dorr: Thank you for joining me on Fierce Conversations with Toby. Your support and listening means so much to me, and I hope today’s conversation makes a difference in your world. If you would like to support this podcast, there are many ways to do so. I found these ways tend to help the most in getting our message out into the world.
Toby Dorr: Number one, subscribe to the show on Apple podcasts, Spotify podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you listen to, or watch this podcast. If you can leave a five star rating or a like on this episode on YouTube, that helps even more. And if you leave a comment or a review, that helps the most. The next way you can support Fierce Conversations with Toby is to join our Patreon at patreon.
Toby Dorr: com slash fierce conversations. All tiers come with a downloadable digital gratitude journal created by me and membership in a private Facebook group that I also lead. Most importantly, 10 percent of all proceeds from your subscription will go directly to donating my workbooks to women in prison.
Toby Dorr: Finally, sharing the link to this show with your friends, family, and anyone who wants to listen is appreciated more than I can say. Thank you again for joining me today and supporting this show by listening to it and sharing it with friends. Fierce Conversations is created and hosted by me, Toby Dorr, produced by Number 3 Productions.
Toby Dorr: The theme song that you’re hearing now, Groovin was composed and arranged by Lisa Plass. Lisa also plays the flute for the theme with Carolyn Parody on piano and Tony Ventura on bass. Find out more at tobydore. com. This is Fierce Conversations with Toby. Escape your prison.