We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful John R Miller . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with John R below.
John R , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you walk us through some of the key steps that allowed you move beyond an idea and actually launch?
My story on how I became a successful children’s author and artist is as unique as my imaginary world that started it off. I was diagnosed with autism when I was little and my stimming, which is repeated sounds, or flapping, or tapping is very common in the autistic world. It is a way of sometimes calming us down, or celebrating when we are happy or anxious. My stim was to play and create stories on my hands. I always loved movies and Disney particularly. When the villain, got thrown off a cliff, was my favorite part, and Disney has plenty of that. One day, while I was “talking and putting together my stories” my parents heard me. I am an only child, so they wondered to whom I was talking. I simply said, “I am talking to Bob and Tony.” Well, after their initial shock, my mom asked me who they were. I mentioned that they were my friends. Well, fast forward, several years and my mom and I ended up chatting about these friends and where they came from. My mom ended up writing down 30 characters and she was amazed. So, me and my mom started the long journey of putting together a book. I told her the characters were from Handom, a planet where everyone was kind and shaped like hands. Mom also suggested I draw the Handom people, some quick sketches, and this kicked off how I came to illustrate my own books. We would brainstorm ideas and ended up working with a local children’s author, Sherry Cerino , who helped us realize our dream of making this book happen. Sherry loved my drawings and the concept, and she offered to help us. It ended up taking us about a year from start to finish. I drew about hundred to one hundred and fifty drawings. I had to constantly go back and edit my pictures to fit the story. When you write a children’s book, you have to remember that you have pictures, and they tell a lot of your story. Mom and I decided on making the Handom characters, bright primary colors to attract the attention of the children. My drawings were simple and playful. Sherry helped us with editing too as well as publishing it under Ella’s Way her non-profit that means Early Learning Leads to Inclusion. I drew all my pictures on the I Pad Pro with the pro pencil. I used a free simple drawing application and I still have not moved onto the common ones that most artists use. When we put in our first order for our book, I could not believe it, it had happened, I was so proud. I was 17 years old and a published author and illustrator. We had our first event at a local yogurt shop and had a huge turnout. So many of my friends, from school, my mom and dad’s friends and family showed up. Even the mayor of our town, and my Superintendent of the Voke came. We ended up selling a whooping 100 books for our first event. My story of good defeating evil by having a good and kind heart and coming together as a family and a community was appreciated by parents and the kids loved the science fiction background and colorful characters. I never could of dreamed that I would go on to write and illustrate another book and have apparel with designs on them. I have sold over 4,000 books and counting and since introducing apparel and bags a couple of years ago, we have sold around 200 items. My best sellers are my heart tree, my goodness juice, and my autism rose and sunrise. Dream big, is how I sign my books and I continue to dream big.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Being creative and sports were two things that shaped my life. I have always lived in MA. I was two ½ years behind my classmates academically and very weak physically after being diagnosed with autism at 5 1/2 years old. I had a tough time focusing and loud sounds bothered me, and I would put my hands over my ears to block the sounds. When I was a little boy, I would wrestle and play with my hands as a part of my stimming from my autism. Stimming is the repetition of physical movements, sounds, words, moving objects, or other behaviors. Handom was a made-up world that I created with my own hands, which was my way of telling stories and having friends. Back then, I had a difficult time talking to people and I was an only child, and it was easier to make friends by creating them. When my parents discovered me making noises and explosions in my room, that was when they discovered my secret world. My mom was the one that said, ” this is incredible.” Several years later, she asked me to tell her more about this world. So, I did, and she was fascinated, and she became my voice, and this started our journey. After the diagnosis, my parents got to work to help me become strong and decided to get me into trying Special Olympics after mainstream sports did not work. From there I went onto gymnastics and won several gold and silver medals. This also included an article about me in the Eagle Tribune and going on my hometown cable show. I also worked hard in physical and occupational therapy and academically. My parents have always supported me with love and gave me all I needed to succeed in school, sports, and in life. They never let me feel sorry about having obstacles but lifted me up. My mother decided to have me try mainstream Tae Kwon Do, which led me to have increased confidence, strength, and empowerment. It was difficult and struggled but again I put in the work, sweat, and ended up getting my black belt. It was wonderful to again show people that kids with disabilities can accomplish anything if they put their heart into it. At the same time, I was in the process of writing Adventures of Handom and illustrating it. This book started as a project with my mother and me. Part of the story includes all the townspeople in Handom, having a good and kind heart. Again, Mom and Dad always said that my best trait was my good and kind heart. This led me to draw hearts in my story and it became our logo. I drew two slightly imperfect hearts with our book’s bright colors like my drawings. They also represented my take on the autism symbol. My first book was a soft cover and had a large font. Later, several of our customers mentioned that our font was user-friendly for the visual impaired. It was also easy reading for special education students. The page quality was also a sensory component because it was so smooth and a heavier weight. The book was not about my autism, but it appealed to many autistic children because an autistic teenager had written it.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
My mom called me a reluctant advocate for autism. I just wanted to know why I was different. Sports again played an important role in my life. After winning medals for Special Olympics, my mother suggested that I bring them in to show my classmates. I did and it was a big hit. Back then, no one knew much about autism and or adaptive sports. I am proud to have autism and it is just a part of who I am. I ended up running cross country and track for my junior and senior year. I received the leadership award for motivating my team. I was elected prom king too. Junior year I finished writing and illustrating my first book, Adventures in Handom. The first book was a success, and due to in part that my mom had been in sales and was president of the special education parent advisory council in our hometown of Methuen MA. The families and friends of the special education students are a big reason we were able to get the word out. Kids loved the cool colorful characters & parents appreciate the message of good defeating evil by having a good and kind heart and working together. This book might not have happened for without the help and guidance of a wonderful woman, who already embraced kindness and celebrating inclusion and diversity in her own books. Sherry Cerino, a nurse for over 20 years and children’s author, started the non-profit, Ella’s Way. My family has always believed people came into our lives for a reason and this was proof of this. My mom and Sherry were supposed to meet a year before the book had become a more real concept. Mom and Sherry hit it off and mom asked if she could give us some advice. Well, Sherry loved our concept and when she saw my first drawings of my “Handom Guys” she said we had to use them as our illustrations. Sherry not only became our friend but also ended up publishing and editing both our books. She also went as far as setting up a go fund me page through her charity to support and help pay for our costs. As for how I drew my characters, I had received the I Pad Pro one Christmas and my dad had gone the extra mile to getting me the iPad pen. I suffer from severe anxiety and was not sure if I could handle speaking in public. I was excited and afraid, but I believed in myself. I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to teach a writing class to a group of underprivileged kids through Si Se Puede in Lawrence MA. This provided my lightbulb moment where I decided I wanted my career to be working with children. I remembered all the help I had received from some para professionals and wanted to pass that on. I ended up going to college and majored in Early Childhood Education. I wrote and illustrated my second children’ book, The Magical Heart of Handom, about the power and magic of friendship at age 19. After receiving my associate’s degree, I went on to work with children. Currently I am a certified associate teacher at a local daycare. I have presented to over 10,000 children and adults and have my books in twenty-eight states and nine countries. I also was chosen as a Doug Flutie Fellow. the Flutie Fellows ambassador initiative supports autistic people who have been invited to collaborate with the Flutie Foundation to achieve the following objectives:
1. Pursue career opportunities, related life goals, and passions.
2. Promote respect, inclusion, and opportunities for all people with autism.
3. serve as ambassadors for Flutie Foundation.
Since Covid, I have done some virtual school presentations right from my home. My books are available on Amazon and on our website. You can also purchase through select locations. The support from my friends and family has been amazing. Hearing I have helped children that have autism feel better and refuse to be bullied anymore is so fulfilling. I have always tried to help people understand autism by being able to share my creativity and art has brought me so much pride. Through my connections with the Flutie Foundation, I have gotten to emcee their awards show, and get to participate in their huge autism concert held in Fenway Park in Boston MA as a presenter. I have drawn over twenty assorted designs, including my own book characters, autism friendly pictures and my unique portraits of some famous people including giving a custom drawing of Doug Flutie and our books at a special presentation. We work with the Spectrum Empowerment Project which employs autistic individuals and artists. The founder, Don Lambert, runs this non-profit and runs a theater group that supports inclusion, called the Theater Rats. We are so excited to announce that coming in the next year will be a play about my books where we will bring Handom to life on stage.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
When I was a little boy with autism, I struggled with communicating with my teachers, other kids and even my parents. As I grew older, I slowly found my voice. This was around the time I started high school at the Greater Lawrence Vocational School. I would describe it as a “turtle coming out of its shell.” I was finally starting to talk to other students, and adults with more confidence in full blown conversations. I have severe anxiety and I am always trying to keep this in check. After releasing the first book, my mother and I set off to promote it. We started doing local craft fairs selling our books. When a customer asked me questions about the book, or my life, I would always get nervous and freeze. I think it was that I was intimated by watching my mom talk freely with everyone. Every time I thought I could do it; nothing would come out but one or two words. My mom would work on it with me, helping me with some certain phrases to remember. When she would, walk away or “hide” I would find my voice, and my confidence, and sell books. As time went, we added more items, such as, custom artwork and apparel and bags with my designs. I also had done more presentations and more interactions with people. My anxiety still makes me struggle at the one-on-one interactions, but I have improved. Sometimes, I am better and sometimes I still struggle. When I talk about my journey, I always bring this up. I can talk to hundreds of people at a time, but seemingly easy task of chatting sometimes trips me up. I have to remember that even when it is hard, never give up.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.landofhandom.com
- Instagram: landofhandom
- Facebook: landofhandom
- Youtube: [email protected]
