The Secret Life of Bears teaches children about the importance of having a relationship with God, what it looks like, and how it feels. What was the inspiration for the original and fascinating idea at the center of the book?

In many ways this book is an autobiography written for children to understand. It demonstrates what God has taught me over the many years of our relationship. I don’t claim to have a closer relationship with God than anyone else. But he and I do have a unique relationship. As we all do, one way or another.

The art in this book is fantastic. What was the art collaboration process like with illustrator Mohamed Daamouche?

Mohamed was a delight to work with! We had a few cultural issues to resolve in the beginning, but Mohamed had a fantastic attitude when I requested changes. I had thought through what I wanted most of the illustrations to look like. In other cases I knew what I wanted illustrations to convey and what they should include, but didn’t quite know how it all should look. I wasn’t sure Mohamed could make a “cute” worm, or show God sprinkling snow on the earth from above with Baby Bear making snow angels below. But he did it!

Given that Mohamed is from Morocco and that his first name is Mohamed, I made sure from the very beginning that he knew this is a Christian book and felt no obligation to take the job. He said he wanted the job anyway. Thank heavens! He did a great job!

What were some ideas that were important for you to share in this book?

God is LOVE personified. He is also GOOD personified. He created each and every person and everything. And, believe it or not, he can be lots of fun to be with.

What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?

There are several books in my queue to be written, including:

More Team Bear books

a. The next book – Baby Bear grows up enough to know that he is Cubbie Bear, and he gets into lots of mischief. How does Jesus handle all his shenanigans?

b. The second new Team Bear book includes Cubbie’s new little sister, Cutie Bear, creating a whole new dynamic in the family. Cubbie isn’t too sure he’s happy with this development, so what does Jesus do now?

c. Their circle of friends include:
  i. Harey – the rabbit, which keeps growing until it’s big enough that it’s clear that it really is a hare
  ii. Sheepish – the lamb
  iii. Sir Oliver – a smallish tan bear
  iv. Nocey – a larger brown bear
  v. Moosie – a moose, of course
  vi. Moosarella – the tiniest moose on record at just three inches tall

How does Jesus deal with them all as they interact like normal kids?

Caedon’s Camel – Going back to the time when giants roamed the earth, Caed (Caedon) is the biggest and best giant on the island of Bandon. His most important job is to scout around the entire island to make sure everything is as it should be. The island being rather large, Caed gets tired of walking such long distances and buys a large, sturdy camel that is strong enough for him to ride. Caed, however, does not count on the irascibility of camels. They spit truly stinky stuff, supposedly for more than 100 feet. Eeeww! It smells so awful that you don’t want to get in the way of one of those mouthfuls of yuck! Plus, Caed finds his camel to be quite stubborn and move only when it wants to. Caed quickly becomes exasperated with his untrustworthy ride. But being stubborn himself, Caed refuses to give up, and the story shows how Caed ends up taming his camel. Or – is it the other way around? Does the camel wind up taming him…? Take a read when this book is done and see how it works out. And be sure to note, Jesus does show up in the story!

The Half-a-Tater – For centuries the people of Feynamoor have lived solely on potatoes. Isolated geographically from other countries, they know nothing else. Planting and harvesting potatoes all had to be done by hand. It was backbreaking work as farmers labored from dawn til dusk, sometimes even working into the night by moonlight or torch. Even so, farmers were not able to grow enough potatoes to feed everyone well and often people went hungry. Imagine their delight when Chester T. Chatterbox somehow makes his way to Feynamoor with his invention called the “Tater” that seems to mechanize the entire potato harvesting process. Chatterbox demonstrates how the machine works and farmers are satisfied that it works as described to them. Potatoes still must be planted by hand, but with the hard labor of harvesting taken care of, farmers hail Chatterbox as a hero and gladly raise the funds to buy Taters from him.

Alas, however, Chatterbox is a con man and the Tater in reality only harvests half the crop, which leaves the people of Feynamoor no better off than they were before. Farmers are furious! They’ve lost their money, which was in precious short supply to begin with. More to the point, they couldn’t figure out how they got fooled. How did Chatterbox make it look like it worked? What will they do now? Check out the book when it’s done to see how they find a way forward! And, yup, Jesus shows up!

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