Meet Michelle Tweed | Published author & creator of Little Arrow Author Box

We had the good fortune of connecting with Michelle Tweed and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Michelle, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
I grew up in rural Minnesota. My parents weren’t college educated, but they worked hard, and smart. My dad was a Sheetmetal worker, and my mom was a medical secretary. They both came from families who didn’t have much, and they wanted more for my sister and me.

In addition to working full time jobs their whole lives, they both started side businesses of their own. Their businesses utilized their natural talents. My mom started a typing and word processing business because she had an eye for detail and she had become proficient in her secretarial skills. Dad designed souvenirs for the store at McMurdo Station, Antarctica. (A place he used to travel to for work when there was no construction work at home.) This utilized his talent as an artist.

They always told me and my sister things like, “You never know until you try.” “It doesn’t hurt to ask.” “The worst thing they can say is no.” “You can do whatever you put your mind to.” “If that idea doesn’t work, try something else.”

I didn’t realize it at the time, but they were doing more than just telling us these things, they were modeling it for us. Something that I believe speaks much louder than words. Although they were ultra conservative with their money, they always took risks with business and leadership.

My dad showed me that it wasn’t scary to travel to the end of the world for work. (I chose to follow him to Antarctica when I was nineteen, forgoing college myself.) He also started a local scale modeling club and later made and sold scale models on the side.

My mom showed me what it meant to care for your family, and others at the same time. At one point my mom was working full time, part time at a restaurant where my sister and I worked, taking classes to further her secretarial position, and typing for people on the side. All the while being a very involved parent trying to organize safe things for teens to do in the town we lived in. She also joined my dad in the souvenir venture. Always keeping her eyes open for new ideas and opportunities.

Both of my parents modeled bravery and a strong work ethic, which has stuck with me to this day. I am not college educated, and it’s scary stepping out and trying new things, but I guess their words and actions sunk in. I believe everything is “figureoutable”, and I am constantly learning and adjusting as I go. I hope I am sending the same message to my children through the things they hear me say and see me do. I’m not perfect by any means, but I am trying to make a difference. It is my hope that with Little Arrow Author Box, I can help encourage other children to be brave and one day use their talents to make a difference as well.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
It’s funny because I never considered myself an artist, or creative for that matter. For years I had a hard time believing in myself as a writer. So much so that I put it aside for about twenty years. Eventually, the need to write started to bubble and percolate inside of me, until I couldn’t contain it any more.

I remember quite clearly being very agitated for months, just feeling like things weren’t right and needed to change. One night, on a long drive to see family in North Dakota, I turned to my husband and said, “I need to write. I’m a writer, and I need to write.”

He looked at me and said, “But, you never write.”

“I know,” I said, “but I need to.”

And that was the start of it. After that I started buying books and signing up for conferences and online classes. All the while feeling like a complete fake. I would remind myself that when an apple tree is a seedling, we still call it an apple tree. Even when it’s years from producing fruit.

My method of writing is all consuming, to the point that it has been difficult to continue as I was, and still be a mother to my children the way I would like to be. Thinking on how to make it all work, I came up with the idea of Little Arrow Author Box. It’s my way of encouraging my children and others to be creative and shine their light, while also keeping me in the writing community. Both of which are so important to me.

I want the world to know that Little Arrow Author Box is all about children expressing themselves and telling their stories. Our children are a masterpiece all their own, and their stories deserve a place on our bookshelf.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Other than God and my parents, it’s so hard to pick just one, or even two people or books to dedicate this shoutout to. I’ve gone through different stages and there have been so many mentors, friends, and books who have helped me along the way.

I would say most recently, and in my writing career, it has been Arielle Haughee, with Orange Blossom Publishing, and a fellow author, Kerry Evelyn. They have both been a huge support and knowledge base for me to learn from and grow as a writer and a person.

Website: www.littlearrowauthorbox.com

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