Mikee is eleven when his world turns upside down as his mom shares news from her doctor. She has a year to prepare her family for her death. Her passing will leave the man she loves and the four children she cherishes alone to fend for themselves. 

“At least you’ll always have your dad,” she comforts.  Still on her mission fifteen months later, her focus heightens when her husband drops dead. With that, Mikee’s improbable coming-of-age adventure begins.

Oh wow, that definitely sets the scene. Tell us about this book.
Meet Joe Black visits The Wonder Years in this bittersweet emotional blockbuster about life and death and adolescent discovery.  A true story, it chronicles an improbable journey by a boy named Mikee whose coming-of-age search for emotional truth lands a dumbstruck orphan from the heart of Detroit’s Westside front and center before England’s Queen (Elizabeth), America’s Maestro (Leonard Bernstein), and the first non-Italian Pontiff in more than 400 years (Pope John Paul II). 

As a family saga, Dog Water Free celebrates a remarkable hero in the person of an ordinary mom who is thrust into an extraordinary situation, the likes of which few could imagine.

What genre is it?
Coming-of-Age Memoir and True Adventure nails it best.

What kind of readers will it appeal to?
Dog Water Free will appeal to Moms of all ages who know what it means to parent – and to Young Adults who know all too well what it means to be bewildered.  It will also appeal to anyone who seek a better understanding of the term ’emotional truth’.

What do you mean?
From the standpoint of being an author, sharing emotional truth means you write in a vulnerable fashion to allow readers to not only learn the facts of events, but to feel the joy, sorrow, love, anger, loathing and poignancy that the characters feel. Without giving away any spoilers, there is one specific emotional truth with which young Mikee must come to terms at story’s end. It brings the narrative full circle as it builds toward a highly satisfying dénouement, if I do say so myself.  Bow-Wow!

Tell us about young Mikee, the hero of this story.
The hero of Dog Water Free is my remarkable mother, Marge, a descendant from the tribe of actress Maureen O’Hara, with whom she bears a striking resemblance. Moms the world over will relate to her courage.

The dad in my true story is Tony, a chef for the executive dining room of a silk-stocking ad agency in downtown Detroit. He also secretly moonlights as a bookie in a city with no patience for slackers slow to pay – or for bookies slow to collect. By facial appearance and stature, Tony could have been a brother by blood of Food Network’s Chef Emeril Lagasse.

Complete this sentence for us: if you like _________________, you’ll love my Dog Water Free.
I’ll take my cue from a NY reviewer who offered: “If you enjoyed The Glass Castle, Tuesdays With Morrie, or Angela’s Ashes, Dog Water Free delivers a voice just as rich. Savor it.”

I am very proud that reviews have noted that fans of Frank McCourt will not be disappointed.

I am consumed with building a word-of-mouth campaign and online buzz  at the moment, especially among book clubs and high school teachers. Knowing that teachers find enough value in my true story to share it with their students is the best.

Not to preempt the book, but tell us a little about yourself.
I grew up on Faust in the heart of Detroit’s Westside. At the age of eight, I came to learn that the name of my street referred to a mysterious German legend, none of which I was quite old enough to fathom nor quite young enough to ignore. According to fable, the story of Faust had something to do with a scholar who makes a deal with the Devil to exchange his soul for limitless knowledge and pleasure. As a cradle Catholic, it was one more bit of evidence that some actions have irreversible consequences, which is what Dog Water Free is all about.

Do you have a website where we can keep up with your work?
Of course. My webpage is www.dogwaterfree.com
It links to Amazon, etc and there are also links to my blog on Open.Salon (Michael Jay)

Where else can we find you online?
My Fan Page on Facebook is https://www.facebook.com/DogWaterFree. There are plenty of childhood photos there to enjoy. . . and LIKES are always nice.

You can find me on Twitter here: @Michael28211200

What’s next?
More interviews for more exposure.  More interaction with fans via Skype and radio and TV and Online to encourage feedback from readers, which feeds this author’s soul perfectly. My contact info is on my webpage and I answer all inquiries. I love interacting with readers.