Meet the Author: Max Hanson

Today I am welcoming author Max Hanson to the blog to talk about his life as a Children's Author. His novel, The Beaver's Weave, was published on March 20th. 

Welcome to Books, Life and Everything Max! 

Would you like to start by telling us a little about yourself and how you started as a writer?

I am a first time author, and a preschool teacher, working in Seattle, Washington. I have a bachelors in Psychology from Central Washington University. I live in Shoreline, Washington with my wife and two cats. I started writing on a novel, because I couldn't sleep due to a horrible dream. I didn't want to wake my wife, so I decided to write it down. Within a few weeks after that, I couldn't stop writing on my novel. Mind you, this novel is still not finished, even though I've been working on it since the end of 2018.

Where were you when you heard your first book was going to be published? How did you celebrate?

I found out my book was going to be published via an email, while stuck at home during a quarantine. I self-published through Amazon, but someone had to approve of my submission. When they did, I did a little dance, and then proceeded to eat some pie. I also celebrated by making a post on Facebook, as I can't leave the house to have a party. So, I've been going over the post, and that's my virtual party. I've also had to redo my publication of the eBook, as I messed up on the formatting of the Pop-Up Text. Going to have to do exchanges or refunds for those with the first version; luckily, that is only a few people.

 Tell us three surprising things about yourself.

Most people don't notice, but I'm a transgender male. I've been transitioning for many years, and will hopefully be getting my first surgery, this year. Another surprising thing, is that I'm not very good at reading. I had a hard time learning in school, because I have Attention Deficit Disorder. I had many people tell me I was too stupid to get a college degree, and now I have a bachelors! The final surprising thing happens to be one of my hobbies. I create chain jewelry when I'm bored, which has been super helpful for my wife's crafts of Dungeons and Dragons environment platforms.

 Tell us about your latest book without giving the plot away.

"The Beavers Weave" is about two beaver brothers that like to weave baskets for their grandmother. They have an altercation which their grandmother helps them ratify.

What are your writing routines and where do you do most of your writing?

Often, my writing is done when I've just woke up from a bad dream. Either I write on a notepad near my bed in the dark, or I write on the notepad app in my phone. When I work on my novel, I write on my macbook, which was given to me by a friend. For the artwork, I tend to do that on my couch, while my wife watches tv or plays video games.

How do you go about researching detail and ensuring your books are realistic? 

For my first book, it doesn't require as much realism, as it's a fairy-tale. I did look up how to draw different picture styles, especially, many types of woven baskets. For my novel, still in rough draft number one, I have contacted many Centers for Disease Control, and the like, but only received a helpful message back from one of the centers that I had used as a main location in my story. That was an interesting coincidence. The Associate Director for the Center for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases in Texas gave me a wonderful recommendation. I also have a friend that is willing to look over my science, as Chemistry and Biology are not particularly strong points for me.  I don't typically research before beginning a book, but after. I spend a lot of time researching, especially, when I have writers block.

Can you give any hints about any upcoming books you have planned? 

My next book should be out within a few months, I'm just waiting on the illustrator. It is called "Fred the Hula Worm." I wrote it before writing "The Beavers Weave," but the illustrator had a paint mishap involving a rambunctious kitten. Thus, the four pages she had almost finished had to be completely redone. I've read it to my preschool class, and they loved it. I've had a few of them tell me to reread it, likely, because they're excited that their teacher also writes books.

Do you have any unfinished or unpublished books hidden away?

Many. So so many! So so so so so so many... Many novels AND children's books.

How great to be able to read your stories to your pupils. Thanks for stopping by and good luck! 

                                                                             About the Author

 Max Liam Hanson is a first time author, this book is published by Kindle Direct Publishing, as well. He is a preschool teacher, working in Seattle, Washington. He has a bachelors in Psychology from Central Washington University. He lives in Shoreline, Washington with his wife and two cats.

You can follow Max here: Twitter   |  Facebook 

Book link: Amazon US   |  Goodreads