Mike Wendling is a dad of three from Edmond, Oklahoma. Dougie the Dung Beetle: A Story About Sharing is his first picture book. By day he is the Assistant General Manager of the Paycom Center. He wrote Dougie for his own kids, who now quote it back at him at the worst possible moments.
About Dougie the Dung Beetle: A Story About Sharing
Dougie the Dung Beetle: A Story About Sharing. Dougie finds the biggest ball of poop the meadow has ever seen, and he wants it all for himself. But holding on tight turns out to be harder, and funnier, than letting go. A 28-page picture book for ages 3 to 7 about giving people what they actually want. Paperback $12.99, hardcover $18.99.
The interview
Why do you write in the genre that you do?
I have three kids, so picture books are the genre I actually live in. For years my reading life has been whatever gets dragged to the bed at bedtime.
When I decided to try writing, it never occurred to me to write anything else. I wanted to make the kind of book my kids ask for, the one they memorize and quote back at you in the grocery store. You get a few hundred words and 28 pages to make a kid laugh and land a point. That is a fun puzzle to solve.
Fill in the blank: “People will like your book if they like stories about…”
a little guy with a big problem, a truly disgusting ball of poop, and a lesson about sharing that never feels like a lesson. Dougie is a dung beetle who finds the biggest dung ball the meadow has ever seen and decides to share it with the other animals, whether they like it or not. Things do not go the way he plans.
Kids love the gross-out humor. Parents tell me the message sneaks up on them.
What is the most unique way that an idea for a piece of writing has come to you?
The Pout-Pout Fish was my oldest’s favorite book when he was two years old. My best friend and I were reading it to him for the fifth time in a row and said to each other, we could write this.
Later that night over a beer we tried to, and frankly, it was terrible. But that was the beginning of Dougie the Dung Beetle. Five years later I still had this nagging feeling the book was good and I wanted to get it published. After multiple revisions and rewrites, here we are. A book about poop.
How do you name your characters?
As with any classic kids’ book, I believed the name should be an alliteration. Once we decided poop and a dung beetle were going to be the centerpiece of the book, Dougie just seemed to roll off the tongue.
What are your passions/obsessions outside of writing?
My day job is helping run a large entertainment venue and NBA venue, so live events are a huge part of my life. Outside of that, it’s my family. Three kids mean my free time is shuttling to and from practices, coaching, and playing any and every game.
Have you made any public appearances to promote your book?
Aside from some neighborhood appearances and book signings, not really. The book came out in May, and I’ve spent the time since learning the publishing side as I go. This fall, I’m lining up library story times and school visits, so fingers crossed those turn into official appearances.
Who would you most want to read your book, living or dead?
Honestly? Every tired parent doing bedtime duty. That’s who I wrote it for. If a parent reads Dougie and their kid laughs at the poop and then shares a toy without being asked the next day, that parent just got the whole point. I don’t need a famous reader. I’d love a thousand regular ones.
How do you measure the success of your writing career?
My kids telling their friends about the book is my success. When I first showed it to them my oldest couldn’t believe it and was so proud (he gave me the biggest hug), which might have been the highest honor available. Sales matter but I didn’t write this one to quit my day job. I wrote the book my kids wanted, and now I’m trying to put it in front of more kids like them.
Are you a big reader? Do you own a large collection of books, or are you more of a borrower?
I’ve always been a big reader from fantasy to economics. These days almost all of my reading is out loud, to an audience of three, usually the same five books on rotation until someone hides one. We own a lot of picture books and borrow plenty from the library. The house rule is that books are furniture. They’re everywhere.
Have you ever mentored another writer with their writing?
Not yet. I’m still the one who needs the mentoring. Maybe after book two I’ll have something useful to say. Ask me again in a year.
Do you have any writing rituals?
Creativity hits me at odd times, so I keep a running note on my phone with ideas. When I need a spark, I’ll usually sit down after bedtime, listen to some classical music, and enjoy a beer or two. With any luck the inspiration flows.
If Hollywood bought the rights to your book, would you want it to be turned into a movie or series?
A series, no question. A dung beetle rolling his ball into a new mess every week is an episode machine.
Each episode Dougie learns some virtue the hard way, preferably while covered in something disgusting. The theme song writes itself, though I am still looking for a rhyme for dung beetle that will not get us in trouble with the network.
Hollywood hasn’t called yet. My kids have already volunteered as voice talent, and their rates are very reasonable.
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