Hoeye, Michael 1947(?)-

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HOEYE, Michael 1947(?)-

PERSONAL: Born c. 1947, in Los Angeles, CA; married Martha Banyas (a jeweler and enamellist). Education: Graduate work in religion and psychiatry at Union Theological Seminary.

ADDRESSES: Home—Oak Grove, OR. Offıce—Terfle Books, 1825 South East Seventh Ave., Portland, OR 97214. Agent—c/o Penguin Books Publicity, 345 Hudson St., New York, NY 10014.

CAREER: Author, book designer, and teacher. Maryl-hurst University, Portland, OR, teacher of management of creativity in M.B.A. program. Previously worked as a textile designer, set designer, agent, fashion photographer, and copy writer.

WRITINGS:

Time Stops for No Mouse, Terfle Books (Portland, OR), 2000.

The Sands of Time, Putnam's (New York, NY), 2002.

Once upon a Borrowed Time, Putnam's (New York, NY), 2003.

SIDELIGHTS: Michael Hoeye is the author of a popular series of children's books featuring Hermux Tantamoq, a lively mouse who works as a watchmaker. Hoeye spent his youth in California and Texas, moving to Oregon in 1970 as a homesteader. He later lived in New York, where he held a number of positions, including set designer, photographer, textile designer, and agent. He studied religion and psychiatry at Union Theological Seminary. After his years on the East Coast, he settled again in Oregon and married Martha Banyas, a jeweller. Since then, Hoeye has worked as a copy writer and has taught classes in creativity in the M.B.A. program at Marylhurst University.

Time Stops for No Mouse, the author's first book, came about as a result of a series of fortunate accidents. On the way to breakfast one morning, he and his wife stopped at a garage sale, where they purchased a board game that involved using letter tiles to form words. Playing the game with his wife, Hoeye was stuck with an unfortunate combination of letters, including u, x, and q, which Hoeye used to spell "Hermux Tantamoq." The character remained merely a notebook jotting, until the need to stay in touch with his wife during a business trip led to the creation of Tantamoq's first adventure, Time Stops for No Mouse. Hoeye sent her what turned out to be the first chapter via e-mail while she was in Thailand, and she responded by asking for the next installment. One thing led to another, and he soon found that he had written a complete book. Hoeye designed and produced the book himself and sent the first copy to his wife as a Valentine's Day gift, with other copies being sent to booksellers, teachers, and librarians. As the book's reputation grew by word of mouth, Penguin/Putnam took notice and offered him a three-book contract. Since then, interest in the adventures of Hermux has grown steadily.

Time Stops for No Mouse, The Sands of Time, and Once upon a Borrowed Time all center on the adventures of Tantamoq, his love interest aviatrix Linka Perflinger, and a colorful cast of villains and friends. The books, geared to the young reader, have been described as mysteries with an element of fantasy. There is careful attention given to the details of mouse life, including living environment, dress, cuisine, and history. The books have received wide praise for their deft plots, charming characters, and their author's willingness to broach serious subjects. In her review of Time Stops for No Mouse, for Commonweal, Daria Donnelly wrote that "Hoeye trains his guns on the foes of beauty in all its unpredictable and idiosyncratic glory: decorators, postmodern performance artists, body tuckers, cosmetic purveyors. If his targets seem right up to date with the current American 'vanitas,' so does his style."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

periodicals

Bookseller, September 14, 2001, review of Time Stops for No Mouse, p. 40; March 15, 2002, Jennifer Taylor, review of Time Stops for No Mouse, p. S31.

Commonweal, April 6, 2001, Daria Donnelly, review of Time Stops for No Mouse, p. 22.

Horn Book, July-August, 2002, Anne St. John, review of Time Stops for No Mouse, p. 462.

Kirkus Reviews, August 15, 2001, review of The Sands of Time, p. 1214.

New York Times Book Review, June 16, 2002, Nora Krug, review of Time Stops for No Mouse, p. 21.

Publishers Weekly, July 9, 2001, Barbara Roether, article on Hermux Tantamoq series, p. 19; August 20, 2001, review of Time Stops for No Mouse, p. 17; September 10, 2001, review of The Sands of Time, p. 93; March 4, 2002, review of Time Stops for No Mouse, p. 36; March 11, 2002, review of Time Stops for No Mouse, p. 24.

School Library Journal, May, 2002, Saleena L. Davidson, review of Time Stops for No Mouse, p. 154; October, 2002, Steven Engelfried, review of The Sands of Time, p. 164.