A Chat w/Milford Author Michelle Hydeck

How did you first get involved in the arts?

It was in Mrs. McDonald’s second grade class at St. Mary’s School in Milford.  I will take the 5th amendment on exactly how long ago that was!

Our assignment was to write a short story.  I remember feeling very nervous about standing in front of  my classmates reading it.  To this day, I can actually still remember almost every detail of the story.  As I began reading, I remember all my fellow classmates laughing at exactly the right points and really enjoying it.

The next moment seemed to freeze in time for me as I heard my then 2nd grade self say,  “This is exactly what I want to do with my life. I want to write”.  It is still a very precise image in my head, of how I felt, what I wore, all of it…. right down to my black and white saddle shoes.   I also remember Mrs. McDonald telling me I should keep writing.  

 I would love to be able to say the rest is history, but it actually took me over 40 years to really do something professional with my writing.

What is your latest project?

I have self-published a children’s book called “Wings Up – All With A Little Help From Our Angels”.  It was two years in the making and it came out in September of 2012.

The concept for “Wings Up” came about as a result of a very early morning prayer I said to quiet my own thoughts. It was 4 A.M. one particularly stressful morning. My brain was working overtime and I had been unable to fall asleep.   What later became the title “Wings UP” were the two words that I had whispered to myself to shut down my thoughts. 

Ironically, some months later my daughter began having chronic nightmares. I just expanded on my own prayer and told her if she said “Wings Up” the angels would surround her and only good thoughts would get in and nightmares would stay out.  I sat at Gulf Beach one day that week and wrote the entire narrative for the children’s story in about twenty minutes.

Almost six months later, when Milford got hit with the ice storm of 2011, call it serendipity or fate, but I fell, shattered my ankle and I was laid up for 4 months. I was out of work at the time and began researching the self publishing arena.  I then made the decision to take the leap and “Wings Up” took flight!

I now have an entire Angel series in my head and am currently working on the second one in the series called “Wings Down- It’s All About Love”  It encourages siblings to stop arguing with one another. 

What advice do you wish you received when you first got started?

I wish someone told me to let go of the worry about making a living in the writing field.  Simply do the thing I love the most, let that be enough in the beginning and the rest would follow.

Who are some local artists people should check out?

I am just starting to tap into and become aware of people on the same journey, so I really don’t know any other Milford authors at this point in my career.  I do hope the floodgates will begin to open and I welcome the opportunity to meet more Milford artists.  It is very exciting to think about comparing notes with others in my own community about their journey and following their dreams.

I am very grateful to one particular Connecticut author, Toula Magi. She self published her own children’s book called “What Can We Do Next? The Adventures of Lexie and Lollie”.   Toula was extremely helpful and willing to share all her experiences on her self publishing journey.  She was a wonderful example of not only artists helping artists but people helping people. Isn’t that what it is all about? We are all here to help each other and lets not forget “All With A Little Help From Our Angels”.