Children's Book Author Interview: Michael Dow, author of 'Nurse Florence for Beginning Readers Coloring Book: Why Is Chicken Healthy To Eat?'

 

Michael Stephen Dow is married to Perla in Arizona and has 3 kids.  Michael was on a path to attend medical school and then the events of September 11, 2001 occurred.  Michael became angry at the terrorists and decided to join the US Air Force.  He went through Officer Training School and then graduated specialized Navigator training to become an Electronic Warfare Officer.  Michael deployed 6 times for the Global War on Terror between 2005 and 2009 with the EC-130H Compass Call mission.  Michael medically retired in 2010 and then became an US Army contractor serving Wounded Warriors and ensuring they received all of their entitled benefits for 8 years.  Michael always had a love for science and the human body so he then used his GI bill to go through nursing school and graduated in August 2020.  Michael now works as a Registered Nurse at an inpatient psychiatric hospital.  Michael’s education is as follows: B.A. in Psychology from Auburn University in 1999, B.S. in Biology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2001, M.S. in Management from Troy University in 2010, Masters in Health Administration from the University of Phoenix in 2017, and M.S. from the University of Arizona in 2020 through its 15 month accelerated Masters Entry to the Profession of Nursing program.  Michael is the Founder and Manager of Dow Creative Enterprises, LLC.  His books have garnered the Silver Nautilus Book award in 2020 (Nurse Florence, Help I’m Bleeding) and an Award-Winning Finalist in the Religion category for the 2021 International Book Awards (A Prayer to Our Father in the Heavens: Possibly the Greatest Jewish Prayer of All Time).  Michael believes we will need the best of science and religion to successfully navigate ourselves, our civilization, through the future obstacles we will face.  More information can be found at www.DowCreativeEnterprises.com and www.NurseFlorence.org.  Nurse Florence® is a federally registered trademark by Dow Creative Enterprises.  The Nurse Florence® series seeks to promote science and health among children and to help increase the health literacy levels of our society.  With teamwork, inclusion, faith and perseverance, we can bravely face our problems and help each other reach our better selves as well as our best collective good.

Author Links 

 Website | Facebook 

Thanks for this interview, Michael.  I've always wanted to write children's books.  When did you determine that writing for children was for you?

My mom said many years ago, after she saw my love of writing, that if I ever became successful, it would probably be due to a kids book.  During the beginning of COVID, I was very concerned about my children’s online education and thought, “What if I write a science book series and my kids have to read it because dad wrote it.”  The Nurse Florence series was born and the first published in Sep 2020. 

What was the inspiration behind your children's coloring book, Nurse Florence for Beginning Readers Coloring Book: Why is Chicken Healthy to Eat?

I found some great research posted on the National Library of Medicine found in the journal, Food Nutrition Research, and thought that all families should be aware of this info.  I thought making the info easily accessed through a first grade book will help our health literacy levels in the country.  I also created an original Nurse Florence® title with this book which is for 4^th – 8^th graders.  The Beginning Readers edition is for first graders though.

How do you get into the mind of a child to create a fun reading experience?  Are you around kids?  Are you a kid at heart?

My dad would say as I was growing up, “You can grow old, but you don’t have to grow up.”  I would like to think, though, that I have matured into adulthood while keeping my child like curiosity.  I love to learn new things and love to share info.  It seems I have found a niche with sharing complicated information down to a child’s level.

What was your favorite book as a child?

The C.S. Lewis Narnia books.

What kind of advice would you give to writers who would like to write children's books?

It’s never too late to start and the sooner you start putting pen to paper or typing on your keyboard, the sooner you can help better our world with new perspectives.

What are your goals for the future?  More children's books?

Dow Creative Enterprises publishes a new Nurse Florence® book about every 10 days.  We have published 92 as of June 2024 and plan to publish 500 in the series.  Nurse Dorothea ahs started to publish and that series is about mental health for teenagers.  I have about 30 other kid book series in mind and am unsure when those will start to publish.  Our company’s trademark phrase is Help Civilization Reach Its Potential® so we have big plans for the future.  We need some best sellers to fund out projects, though.

 

About the Book:

 

Jean, Condi, and Sonia see Nurse Florence in the cafeteria and ask if they can sit with her so they can learn something new.  The nurse is eating chicken, and the girls ask her why it is healthy to eat.  Nurse Florence discusses the types of nutrients inside like vitamins, minerals, and protein.  The nurse mentions that research shows eating chicken with lots of vegetables is very healthy for you.  The girls are amazed at how the body works and how chicken can help them have a healthy lifestyle.  They can’t wait to see Nurse Florence again and keep learning new things about the body.
  

You can purchase your copy at Lulu.