11-year-old from Tempe sees manuscript in print

Michael Moorehead seems to be taking his newfound fame in stride. He’s OK with having his photo taken at book signings. He relates well with reporters seeking interviews. He’s accommodating — as long as the requests don’t interfere with homework or Boy Scout meetings.

Michael, author of the recently released “The Student From Zombie Island: Conquering the Rumor Monsters” ($15.95; Five Star Publications), is only 11.

“He’s become a mini-celebrity here,” his former second-grade teacher Nancy Lujan says, since he’s been doing book-reading appearances at his alma mater, C.I. Waggoner Elementary School in Tempe.

Michael credits Lujan for inspiring him to write; in fact, the book was originally a present to her.

“She inspired me to read and write more. She would always let me borrow books,” he says during an after-school interview at his family’s Tempe home. So to thank her, he spent a few weeks penning a story on the consequences of spreading rumors.

“It was fun to read his writing. He already had a unique style at a young age,”

Lujan remembers.

A couple of summers later, Michael came across a copy of the story while going through some old papers.

He asked his parents, Lynda and Mark, both writers, if the story was worth publishing.

“I was worried about how he would deal with rejection if it didn’t get published,” says Lynda Moorehead, who suggested he go back and work on the story a little more now that he was in fourth grade. “I told him, ‘If you go through with this, you have to do this all the way.’ ”

Michael spent the summer between fourth and fifth grades editing his manuscript, and then his mom approached publishers. A Scottsdale company showed interest in picking up the story, but held onto it for a year before dropping it. Rather than quit, Michael opted to pursue other publishers. Along the way the Mooreheads hired Kathy Parks, an illustrator from Ahwatukee Foothills, to bring Michael’s “rumor monster” characters to life.

Michael’s manuscript made its way to Chandler-based selfpublishing company Five Star Publications earlier this year. Company President Linda Radke called the family the same day she received it.

“I was impressed by his words. He’s so mature for his years,” says Radke, who signed Michael immediately. When the book came out the end of March, the family celebrated at home.

Michael has been making the rounds promoting his book. At a school assembly a secondgrade girl told him his book was her new favorite.

“I didn’t even know her. That really made my day,” he said. He’ll start writing the sequel this summer.