Ashfall trilogy author Mike Mullin visits Waukon High School

by Ben Lange

Determination and the science behind a super volcano dominated a high energy presentation by Ashfall author Mike Mullin Friday, April 4 at Waukon High School. Honors English students in grades 8-11 participated in and listened to stories about writing, education, career choices, and life.  Mullin also demonstrated his taekwondo skills by breaking a paver with his hand, answered questions, and signed books.
Mullin said he finds working with young people especially rewarding. “I received an e-mail from a mother who said Ashfall  was the first book her son had finished in four or five years. I am sad that he didn’t read more often, but I’m glad that it was my book that got him to read,” Mullin said.
Mullin started the gathering by sharing his extensive research on what it takes to succeed, ten thousand hours of practice. He said he writes at least two pages every day.  He noted that other professions, such as teachers, musicians and athletes also need to work on their craft every day, trying to reach that ten thousand hour minimum to achieve greatness.
He spent three years writing his first published novel, Ashfall after writing two other failures, Captain Poopy’s Sewer Adventure, and Heartsblood. Mullin said he wants to burn his first novel, but his mother has hidden it. He has tried several times to make Heartsblood publishable. “I wrote every scene in Heartsblood on Post-its. I went through several massive rewrites,” Mullin recalled. “It sucks, but it is part of the ten thousand hours.”
The determination has paid off for Mullin and his readers.  He received several awards, including the extremely critical Kirkus Review where he was awarded a star, their highest honor, for Ashfall and Sunrise.  “My editor drove three hours, with a bottle of champagne, to my doorstep after Kirkus awarded the star for Ashfall,” Mullin shared.
Students appreciated Mullin’s words. “His message was inspirational and I felt that it really applied,” Waukon High School junior Allie Schwartz said. “Some speakers go up there and just throw out something that sounds good but that they don't actually have a personal connection with.”
Waukon Junior and Senior High School Librarian Lisa Snitker, who arranged the event with Kate Scott of Dragonfly Books in Decorah, agreed. “I was so impressed with Mike Mullin's enthusiasm during his author presentation.  He really knows how to relate to students and hold their interest. The students have been on an Ashfall frenzy since reading the book. I can't keep any of Mr. Mullin's book on the library shelves and there is a tremendous waiting list for Ashen Winter and Sunris,.” Snitker noted.
Snitker, along with many northeast Iowa readers, recognized the many extensively researched landmarks used by Mullin in his books. “I held a deep interest for Mike Mullin's Ashfall trilogy after I started reading the first book and found out that my hometown of Worthington, Iowa played an important role in his books,” she said. “There are many other correlations to my upbringing - my grade school, my parents’ business, and my family’s last name are all mentioned in the books - none of which I knew about before reading the series.”
Mullin originally set the novel in Indianapolis, IN, his home town. After investigating the devastating reach of an eruption from the Yellowstone super volcano, he determined that he needed to move the story west. “The ash wouldn’t reach Indianapolis, although the disaster would be bad everywhere due to the loss of grain production,” Mullin recalled. “I didn’t want to write a book about slow starvation in Indiana.” So, he consulted a map and eventually settled on Cedar Falls. With his wife, he drove the streets and highways, noting road names, landmarks, buildings, and the terrain.
His setting connects with young adult and adult readers, as does his story about survival. In all three books, humanity is shown at its very finest and its most nightmarish. Even though obstacles abound in the trilogy, resolve fuels his characters. This theme emerged from his presentation as well.  “His message about determination is something everybody should hear,” Waukon Junior High School eighth grade student Katelyn Leiran observed.  “He offered a lot of good advice, and definitely tried to broaden our thinking.”
The rights to make Mullins' series into a movie have been purchased by a production company. This is the first step in the possibility that the novels will be turned into a big screen production or a television mini-series. If this happens, local students will watch too, Snitker predicts. “The students are taking such a high interest in the books due to so much of the content occurring in Iowa and places they have traveled.”