Why I wrote Mouse

I wrote Mouse because I’m a dad, and I want my daughter to know that anything is within her reach.

When I was Mouse’s age. I struggled terribly with ADHD, so much that I was barely even allowed in the public school system. I went to nine different schools between kindergarten and high school, trying to find a place that could nurture my superpowers and allow me to discover a way to create magic. I felt powerless in a world that moved faster than I could focus. My friends often seemed obscured by the bullies who stood between us. I remember how scared I felt every day as I left the safety of my parent’s car and went out into the social scrum of my school. There was just one place I could constantly find refuge. 

Books.

I loved the stories of young outsiders coming of age into a world of magic. Watching how these young rebels responded to seemingly impossible odds made me feel safe and gave me my first lessons in bravery. But those books had one terrible flaw. The characters I loved – Will Stanton from the Dark is Rising, Garion from the Belgariad, Peter Pevensie from The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe – were all chosen to join a mysterious and exclusive aristocracy of magicians. It’s the same way that a generation later Harry Potter and Percy Jackson discovered their power. I knew that I could never join my heroes in their elite club. There would be no letter from Hogwarts. Once I finished reading, I’d be left on the outside of the world I’d imagined.

I want my amazing daughter to know that she doesn’t need anyone’s permission to create magic. 

STEM and the power of technology allow girls today to create their own magic using only keystrokes and perseverance. That’s the story of Mouse. A girl who comes from absolutely nothing. During her journey, she proves that even the smallest person can become the most powerful with grit, heart, loyalty, and relentless drive. Mouse discovers a remarkable community of friends while fighting back against a world that won’t accept her – until she forces it to. I hope you’ll get a copy and share it with a kid who might not yet know their own power, or who just needs a nudge to see that the unimaginable is possible.