Author Targets 'Tweeners' Who Aren't Interested in Reading
by Cindy O'Halloran
June 29, 2005
(AgapePress) - Max Elliot Anderson, author of a series of children's adventure books called the "Tweener Press Adventure Series," was a reluctant reader as a boy. While trying to read, his mind would wander, any sound diverted his attention and he found that he would much rather play outside with friends. Since Anderson was a child before every home had a television, he preferred radio dramas to books. His whole life, he had a wild imagination. "I thought about anything that might get me out of where I was right then: reading. I loved the outdoors and thought of all the fun things I could be doing out there," says Anderson. He was never satisfied with what he found in print.So how does a reluctant reader become a writer? "I began writing out of necessity," says Anderson. His professional video production business had faltered during the economic slowdown in 2001, and the events of 9/11 brought it to an abrupt halt. Even then, he fought hard not to embrace writing. "My father has always been the writer in our family, with dozens of books to his credit," says Anderson, "But the inspiration was what you might call a 'still, small voice' that kept asking me, in my mind, 'Why don't you write?'"
Anderson's life started to transition in the late 70s. He moved to Rockford, Illinois, where he began working in video production and television commercials. The Scarecrow, a screenplay that Anderson wrote, was stuck in a box with other things, to gather dust for the next several years. Something inside him kept urging him to write. He resisted the "voice" for as long as he could. Then one day he gave up, dusted off the screenplay, and turned it into his first book.
"I had mistakenly thought that the response to the idea of my writing would be negative, but it wasn't," the author recalls. "My father instantly became a mentor and encourager. My oldest sister is my first editor in the process, my son is my final editor prior to the finished manuscript going to the publisher, other brothers and sisters became interested, and some of them have read every one of the 32 manuscripts I've finished so far."
Anderson's books target boys ages 9-13 who struggle to find reading interesting. What makes Anderson's books special is they are written with understanding through his own reluctance. The type is larger in his books, sentences are shorter and there is lots of dialogue. It was this understanding that has inspired Anderson to keep writing.
Anderson has seven published books. His latest in the "Tweener" adventure series, Legend of the White Wolf (Baker Trittin Concepts, 2005), is packed full of fun and danger that leads young Brian Fisher on a journey to find his wolf. Brian had rescued a rare white wolf pup, which he named "Snowball," from certain death. When few believe his story, including his best friend Tommy, Brian is determined to prove it. Windwalker, a Native American Christian, guides Brian on his quest to find Snowball. Windwalker's knowledge of wolves and Brian's desire to learn makes Legend of the White Wolf a twist-and-turn adventure.
Anderson's heart for boys goes beyond just writing books. He desires to minister to them. Anderson grew up in a Christian home, giving his life to Jesus around the age of six or seven. "I had accepted Christ, but that was it at the time," says Anderson.
After high school, he was drafted into the Army. "Now, you'd think something like that would make the big difference, but it didn't," he says. "The turning point for me was when God blessed my wife and me with children. I became responsible overnight. I realized the awesome responsibility that I had to give my own children every possible opportunity to trust Christ -- and both of them have done that."
Anderson's writing is a direct extension of this passion. "I believe that I can reach out to children who may be in a single-parent home or lack the influence of a positive male role model," he says. "I hope I can fill some of that spiritual gap for them in this small way."
Don't be fooled by the targeted age of Anderson's books. All types of readers -- reluctant and avid, boys and girls, even adults -- will find these simple, heartfelt fiction stories delightful.
Cindy O'Halloran, a book reviewer, writer, speaker, and playwright, resides in Richland Center, Wisconsin. She is Homeschool Curriculum Coordinator and fiction teacher for Writers' Helper.org. She can be contacted via her website.
