Background, Growing up, and a little bit about yourself:

1.     If you had to describe yourself in three words, what would they be?
 Purposeful, patriotic, and passionate (about those things I care about)

2.     Where did you grow up? North Muskegon, Michigan, near a lake, a marsh, and a woods

3.     As a child did you enjoy school? What kind of student were you? I did enjoy school. I was self-motivated to succeed and often did a bit more than was required. Still, I couldn’t wait to get home to be on the lake, muck around in marshes, and take my dog fishing with me.

4.     When you were younger, what did you “want to be when you grew up”? My interest in nature began early and in no small part due to the rural area in which I grew up. I played sports and hunted and fished with neighborhood kids. But I was also the odd kid who mapped and counted bird nests and their eggs in the marsh each spring. I kept a small zoo of reptiles and creepy crawlies in what formerly was my mother’s side of the garage. Early on, I knew I wanted to be a wildlife biologist, helping to conserve wild things and the places they live.

5.     If you could compare yourself with any animal, which would it be and why? I would be a mountain goat (as you must have guessed!). I admire the places they roam and the patient and resolute way in which they live their lives. If a bird, I’d want to be an American kestrel. Why? Just watch one for a while!

6.     Do you have a favorite quote? So many. This one comes to mind: Try not to become a person of success, but rather try to become a person of value. Albert Einstein

7.     Was there a teacher or teachers who had a particularly strong influence on your life? Tell me about them. Several, but one that leaps to mind is Mrs. Cullen, my 6^th-grade teacher and also my 8^th-grade English teacher. I trace my composition aptitude to her commitment to making students the best writers they could be. As a kid, I didn’t enjoy writing (or for that matter reading), but she lit a flame. I still have several papers I wrote for her 8^th-grade English class.

On Books and Writing:

1.   What literary pilgrimages have you gone on? A chapter in my nonfiction book, Stories from Afield, is based on an experience Diana and I had in South Africa. This wasn’t a pilgrimage but a happenstance encounter, as writers’ inspirations often are.

2.   What is your favorite childhood book? As a child, I was not much of a reader, other than covering school assignments. But reading Moby Dick in high school turned me on to other books about the sea, such as Kon Tiki, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Treasure Island, The Sea Wolf, and others. Sometimes it takes just one match to light a fire.

3.   Favorite authors and books as an adult? E.O. Wilson, J.R.R. Tolkien, Upton Sinclair, David Quammen, John Gierach, Katherine Applegate, Erin Hunter

When did you first realize that you wanted to be an author? Writing was an integral part of my professional career. I’ve published dozens of both scientific and popular articles. It’s how we scientists document what we’ve learned and provide it to both professional and lay audiences—where it can do good. However, I wanted to reach a much broader audience about big subjects of importance to me. So, when I retired from my government career, I began writing nonfiction books, translating science through storytelling for a general readership.

4.   Are you on social media and can your readers interact with you? I can be contacted through my website:www.brucesmithwildlife.com