After decades of being in real estate and financing, a Lenexa resident discovered his true passion: Writing children’s books.
In March, Mark Hummell released his first two children’s books back-to-back, the sky-focused “Images in the Clouds” and the crow-centered “The Big Guy and His Clan.”
Both books are inspired by Hummell’s life, from musing on the shapes he sees in the sky during his time living in Lenexa and Arizona to admiring the crows that gather in his parents’ backyard.
Putting words and images together to describe both came almost by accident.
“I never really had an ‘aha’ moment or made a conscious decision that I wanted to write. It just started happening because I had more free time. It has since become an escape for me,” he said.
While both books explore and pay homage to nature, they do it in different ways. “Images in the Clouds” uses Hummell’s collection of cloud photos and his writing to challenge the reader to match the images with cloud shapes and different animals presented in the book.
Meanwhile, “The Big Guy and His Clan” is a narrative story with graphics from Canva and AI of birds to illustrating Hummell’s prose.
“For both books, I wanted to make something that was a little rhythmic, that rhymed a little bit, that could flow and go with the pictures and … make them want to turn the page and look at the next page,” he said.
Hummell grew up in Lenexa
Growing up in Lenexa in the ’70s and ’80s, Hummell remembers living on Summit Street when it was all farmland, near Holy Trinity Catholic Church, where he went to grade school.
His upbringing was pretty traditional, growing up reading Dr. Seuss, having his humor shaped by Mad Magazine, his imagination engaged with Tonka Trunks, Army Men and Electric Football, and spending lots of time outdoors.
“I got my fair share of nature and the outdoors. All those things definitely captured my imagination growing up. I’ve always had a very active imagination,” he said.
While he made career moves like successfully starting his own brokerage firm and selling it to a bank, Hummell’s imagination never wavered.
On a drive in 2009 on Carefree Highway, also known as Arizona State Route 74, in Arizona, his use of pareidolia, or ability to perceive shapes and meaningful images in random objects, discovered an image of a coyote and turtle in the clouds.
“I have pareidolia and see images in clouds… sometimes in other objects too, but mostly clouds for me. It fascinated me. I feel like it’s something that should be shared, or at least that I should make an attempt to share,” he said.
Hummell started writing in 2009
After that drive, Hummell thought the objects he sees in the sky would make for a fun children’s book.
“Almost everyone has some level of pareidolia. Sharing this has been both the inspiration and the challenge,” he said.
After moving back to Lenexa in 2020 to care for his parents, he decided to act to start writing and putting “Images in the Clouds” together. While he was doing that, he was also getting inspiration from the crows that would show up in his parents’ backyard.
“(They’re) entertaining for my retired parents. Since I spend so much time with them, it became my entertainment as well. It’s also something I wanted to share with people,” he said.
After finishing both books, Hummell said he pitched them to literary agents, who showed interest but wouldn’t commit to a publishing deal. Wanting to get them out, he decided to self-publish them through a print-on-demand service.
“Promoting and marketing them is challenging as well, but I enjoy that part just as much as the writing,” he said.
The books are for all ages
With both books released, Hummell said he’s hoping to pitch them to local teachers and schools.
“They’re targeting preschool to fourth, fifth grade-ish. But they’re also family-driven books, and anybody can enjoy them,” he said. “Both books are relatable to anybody that likes birds or anybody that likes to look at the clouds.”
Since he released the books, Hummell said friends have sent him pictures of them being read by their kids. He hopes that continues to happen.
“I’ve spent a lot of time on these books, so it’s satisfying to see the results. I am hopeful I can share them with more people,” he said.
Physical and digital copies of “Images in the Clouds” and “The Big Guy and His Clan” are available on Amazon, as well as other digital retailers.
