Q&A: Michael Dow, Author of Nurse Florence for Beginning Readers Coloring Book: Why Is Chicken Healthy? #Q&A #Interview

Michael Stephen Dow is married to Perla in Arizona and has 3 kids.  Michael was on a path to attend medical school and then the events of September 11, 2001 occurred.  Michael became angry at the terrorists and decided to join the US Air Force.  He went through Officer Training School and then graduated specialized Navigator training to become an Electronic Warfare Officer.  Michael deployed 6 times for the Global War on Terror between 2005 and 2009 with the EC-130H Compass Call mission.  Michael medically retired in 2010 and then became an US Army contractor serving Wounded Warriors and ensuring they received all of their entitled benefits for 8 years.  Michael always had a love for science and the human body so he then used his GI bill to go through nursing school and graduated in August 2020.  Michael now works as a Registered Nurse at an inpatient psychiatric hospital.  Michael’s education is as follows: B.A. in Psychology from Auburn University in 1999, B.S. in Biology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2001, M.S. in Management from Troy University in 2010, Masters in Health Administration from the University of Phoenix in 2017, and M.S. from the University of Arizona in 2020 through its 15 month accelerated Masters Entry to the Profession of Nursing program.  Michael is the Founder and Manager of Dow Creative Enterprises, LLC.  His books have garnered the Silver Nautilus Book award in 2020 (Nurse Florence, Help I’m Bleeding) and an Award-Winning Finalist in the Religion category for the 2021 International Book Awards (A Prayer to Our Father in the Heavens: Possibly the Greatest Jewish Prayer of All Time).  Michael believes we will need the best of science and religion to successfully navigate ourselves, our civilization, through the future obstacles we will face.  More information can be found at www.DowCreativeEnterprises.com and www.NurseFlorence.org.  Nurse Florence® is a federally registered trademark by Dow Creative Enterprises.  The Nurse Florence® series seeks to promote science and health among children and to help increase the health literacy levels of our society.  With teamwork, inclusion, faith and perseverance, we can bravely face our problems and help each other reach our better selves as well as our best collective good.

Author Links 

 Website | Facebook 

When did you first call yourself a writer?

My junior year in High School writing poetry.  Then, I got an A+ for the first time on a paper in my senior school in High School.  While getting my first college degree, I surprised myself with high marks in my English class.  I then refined my writing my efficiency with my Master’s degree that was online.

For those not familiar with Nurse Florence, who is she?

She is an elementary school nurse that teaches 3 fourth grade girls about health usually during lunch at the cafeteria.  Nurse Florence is named after the legendary Florence Nightingale.

How did you come up with the idea to write your book?

me great research posted on the National Library of Medicine found in the journal, Food Nutrition Research, and thought that all families should be aware of this info.  I thought making the info easily accessed through a first grade book will help our health literacy levels in the country.  I also created an original Nurse Florence® title with this book which is for 4^th – 8^th graders.  The Beginning Readers edition is for first graders though.

How would you describe your book’s ideal reader?

Any first grader.  We hope to inspire a whole generation into a love of reading and a desire to live a healthier life.

Your book focuses on getting children to eat chicken. Why did you choose this particular meat?

I found that great research article as mentioned above and thought the world should know the basics of how healthy it can be to eat chicken.

Can adults color in your coloring book as well?

Sure!

Will there be more Nurse Florence books?

We publish a new Nurse Florence® book every 10 days.  We are converting the original Nurse Florence® general science books into Beginning Readers books.  We are translating the series and also creating special editions like for the visually impaired.  Visit www.NurseFlorence.org for more info.