A fellow teacher told me I should write a book. Just do it! I don’t know if that is great advice, but it resonates with me. What is the best writing advice you have ever received? I never wanted that world to come to an end. I set it down and was depressed because there wasn’t much left to read. I remember reading one of the Harry Potter books late at night. Tom Angleberger is an excellent Middle Grade author, and, of course, I have to say J.K. His fantastical tales are so realistic, creepy, and wonderful. Here’s an example of something I said to my class, “Any cereal that changes the color of your milk to pink is probably unhealthy, but it also is probably amazing.”ĭo you have a favourite author? (Or name a few) I turned it into a top ten list and posted it on my blog. They compiled a list of all the strange things I said over the course of the year and shared it with the rest of the class on the last day of school. How about one from a couple of students I had this past year. There’s probably too many to really list. My family is always doing nice things for each other.

What is the kindest thing someone has ever said and or done for you? He taught me the value of hard work, which coincidentally, is one of the messages in my book. As far as work ethic is concerned, I got that from my father. She motivated me to consistently read, write, and draw growing up. As far as being creative, it would be my mom. They were so wonderful to me growing up, and continue to encourage me now. I wanted to practice what I preach in class. I wanted to be the teacher who teaches writing that actually has something written for the world to see. The main thing was I wanted to entertain the readers. There wasn’t some huge inspiration behind my story. What was the main inspiration for your book? For about three months during the winter of 2013, I wrote the first draft of O.K. Somewhere along the line, I decided that I should develop a story loosely based on my middle grade experiences. I would write with them, and then we share our stories. The students all have to write something interesting about their weekend. Every Monday in my 7th Grade English Language Arts class, we have story time.

As far as family is concerned, I’m very fortunate to have a lovely wife and three healthy and happy kids ages six, eight, and nine. That’s probably why I teach middle school and write middle grade books. I’m a 38-year-old man with a juvenile sense of humor.

First of all, tell us a little about yourself!

O.K. Is Great by David Tiefenthaler