Book 1 of The Doodle Adventures series hits the ground running with goofiness and—a goose? No, a turkey! Or is it a duck? You find out on page two. This confusion elicited quite the laugh from my kid brother, Matthew, and we knew it was something I would have to ask the author and illustrator, Mike Lowery, about in the interview.

Matthew wants to be a book illustrator when he grows up, so when I gave him a copy of Doodle Adventures: The Search for the Slimy Space Slugs, he was thrilled. He had a blast illustrating Lowery’s interactive book for preteens.

As an added bonus, Mike answered a few questions we had about the book and his creative process.

Mike responded with a laugh when I told him about the duck mix up. He definitely wanted Carl the Duck to look goofy and “to be annoyed constantly,” he said. Of course Carl is annoyed. He’s on a mission to retrieve something very special from outer space, and the department sent along a rookie kid when he specifically requested an expert! But by the end of this interactive book for preteens, aspiring artists won’t be rookies anymore.

In our interview, Mike also gave a few tips for young artists. He suggests unplugging and finding a nice, quiet place to create since the hardest thing about writing is trying turn off everything in his brain to focus. “The moment you sit down to create an adventure for Carl, your phone goes off!” he explained.

He also suggested that young artists carry a sketchbook. “Even if you don't consider yourself an ‘artist,’” he said. “You can just draw what you eat or something funny that happened OR you can start jotting down ideas you have for stories.” The effort is more important than the end result, especially when you’re just starting out.

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