Justin Minkel is an elementary school teacher. He’s pretty good at it. He has won state and national awards, including becoming the 2007 Arkansas Teacher of the Year and one of four finalists for the National Teacher of the Year, and has hobnobbed with educational bigwigs from former governors to the Deputy Secretary of Education. But if you get him into conversation he will eventually let slip that teaching is not his only occupation. Justin is also a writer. He writes fantasy novels for readers in the middle grades (kids ages 9 to 14). He has written three of these novels, in fact. (It’s fun to watch this conversational exchange. People recover pretty quickly, but there is always an instant of slack-jawed wonder as they absorb this news.)

Justin is devoted to both his teaching and his writing, and he agreed to be profiled here as part of an occasional series on the ways that people blend multiple passions in their careers.

Let’s start at the beginning. Tell us about your books.

All three novels are part of a series called The Calamon Chronicles, named for a town where sorcery and commerce mingle in the docks and taverns each night.  The most recent novel is about five kids with powerful magical abilities who run away from home to start their own Academy of Sorcery—a magical school designed, built, and taught by children.  Every one of my students has at some point daydreamed about what school would be like if it was run by children instead of adults, and this novel sprang from that idea.

Why did you first decide you wanted to write a book?

I think the book decided it wanted me to write it, and I went along for the ride.  Indian musicians have this concept that musicians don’t make the music, they just channel it for awhile—the music goes on whether they are there to play it or not.  Writing has always been that way for me.  When I sit down to write a novel, I feel like an archaeologist—I’m not creating these cities and ships and mountain ranges, I’m discovering them.  They were there all along.

A lot of people would be daunted by the prospect of writing a novel. Were you intimidated at first? How did you get started? And how do you keep going?

Each plot had its origin in a single moment.  The first novel came from a story my dad told me when I was seven years old about a dragon shrunk inside her mountain to the size of a gem.  I wondered one day, “What would happen if she got out of the gem, and started returning to her original size at a terrifying rate?”  That single ‘I wonder’ led to the manuscript of my first novel, Shammara’s Story.  Once I discover the characters, they seem to do things on their own, and I just follow them until my part in their story ends.  Phillip Pullman, author of The Golden Compass, has a simple but profound quote: “Responsibility and delight can co-exist.”  Writing and revising a novel takes discipline and time, but there is no greater sense of wonder than watching a world unfold.

Your books have a lot of detail. How do you get to know your characters and the fantasy world they inhabit?

I write down a lot that never goes into the manuscript.  In my second novel, The South Beyond, the main character is an inventor.  Before I ever began the manuscript itself, I described the clothes hanging in his closet, his daily routine of inventing, his experiences on a gnomish fishing boat years before his part in the novel begins.  That backstory would be far too detailed to include in the book, but it helped me to inhabit this character, named Pockets, until I felt I could sit down across from him in a coffee shop and buy him a cup of tea.  Once the characters are that familiar to me, I don’t have to pause in the writing to wonder “What would Pockets do here?”  He just does it.

How has your teaching affected your writing, and vice versa?

If you’re going to write for children, you have to know children, and teaching has helped me to do that.  Each week, I meet with five of my former students (now 5^th graders) to get their feedback on the manuscript I finished this summer.  They read a chapter a week, and then tell me what they liked, what they think I should change, and why.  Children aren’t just smaller versions of adults—they perceive the world, everything from time to friendship, differently than we do.  Gaining that perspective is critical to writing books they’ll want to read.

Is your writing a hobby, or a career, or something in between?  What do you see as the long-term balance between your teaching and writing?

Writing is a career for me—I just don’t get paid for it yet.  I approach the craft of writing with the same scrutiny I bring to the craft of teaching.  I set aside the money and time to attend writers’ conferences organized by groups like the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.  I hired a local novelist I respect to help me revise my second novel, and spent three years on those revisions before deciding the manuscript was ready to submit to agents and publishers.  One of the wonderful things about teaching is that it leaves you with plenty of time and imagination each summer.  During June and July, I write for three or four hours every morning, and I think more about dragons and dwarves than math lessons and seating charts.

What will the cover of your first published novel look like?

My students asked me that question last week.  When I asked them for suggestions, Gizelle wanted the cover to feature the heroine of the book—a twelve-year old Weather Sorceress named Agony Illyria, daughter to a murdered pirate lord.  Jacob thought the cover should depict the main male character, Griffomere, a carousing teenage satyr.  So maybe the publisher will go for both their ideas—Griffomere with his lute and a flagon of elderberry wine, Agony standing beside him with sword and wand drawn.

Justin Minkel can be contacted at justinmink@yahoo.com.  He is also developing a website for the novels, CalamonChronicles.com, which will be active in a few months.

Emma Bowen is a student of design history, and a world traveler extraordinaire. She has a master’s degree in the history of decorative arts and design and teaches courses at Parsons The New School for Design in New York City. She can discourse with knowledge and passion on the domestic design of Eastern European nomadic Roma and subversive printmaking during the Mexican Revolution. But she has always had another love: baking. Alongside her design studies, she has maintained a steady stream of catering jobs and special baking projects. (Full disclosure here: Emma baked our wedding cake. It was heavenly.)

I visited Emma in New York a couple of years ago and she confessed to a pie-in-the sky idea: starting a baking business that would deliver treats to people’s homes on a weekly basis. She had a gleam in her eye when describing this plan, but she was in the midst of graduate school and preparing for international travel. I told her it sounded like a great idea, and promptly forgot all about it.

And then, a few weeks ago, I got an email from Emma announcing the launch of Dulcinea, a baking service featuring sustainable ingredients and specializing in weekly delivery to homes within New York City. I was delighted to hear that she is putting her scheme into practice, and I invited her to be profiled here—the first in an occasional series on people pursuing their passions.

Let’s start at the beginning. Tell me about Dulcinea.

Dulcinea is the home for all of my baking projects. I wanted to encapsulate the freelance baking I was doing, as well as a few food-related things I really wanted to do, in one semi-tangible place. At this point, Dulcinea has two main components. The first is a continuation of my freelance work: I make baked goods, including specialty cakes, for events of two people or 100. The second component of Dulcinea was what really pushed me to start the business. It’s a service in which baked goods, inspired by the best seasonal produce available, are delivered to your home each week. It’s like a baking CSA! Sign up is month by month.

Where did you get the idea for this business?

It’s hard to know the moment when you first have an idea. But I remember clearly the first time I spoke about the idea for a weekly baking service out loud. It was about three and a half years ago, and I was living in Prague. I went for lunch to celebrate Chinese New Year with two very good friends. I was telling them about this concept I had for a business in which I made only one type of cake each week, in two sizes–images, a description of the cake, and ordering would all be online. Over Kung Pao chicken, we tried to come up with names. In the end, we settled on Five Cakes. I never went forward with the idea, but now, back in New York and finally finished with graduate school, I morphed it into something for which it seemed people might actually have a desire. I still love the cake idea. Maybe that will be next!

You have loved baking for a long time. What made you start this business now?

I finished school in January of this year and entered a less-than-forgiving job market. I was so fortunate to be offered the wonderful opportunity to teach at Parsons, but I was still looking for something to supplement this work. Since I was baking for business and pleasure so often, I figured it was time to take my hobby to the next level.

How do you know that you’re doing the right thing?

I never know if I’m doing the right thing! But I do know that my goal is to do things that bring me happiness. If you’re happy, you inevitably make other people happy! My philosophy lately has been to just keep moving forward, even if at times moving forward feels uncomfortable.

You are also an instructor of design history and theory. How do you balance your multiple professional identities?

I have always loved to do many different things. My multiple professional identities mesh well with this piece of my personality. What’s interesting is that I know so many others who are incredibly passionate about food and design. I think it’s a quality of life issue. We’re thinking about how to have the best possible sensory experiences on a daily basis. Sometimes it does get confusing, but since I’ve gone ahead with Dulcinea, I’ve tried to limit the other extras to which I have given my time in the past. I’ve discovered that I can do approximately three things very well at any given time. Fewer and I get bored. More and I get frazzled.

Do you expect to someday make a living through your baking? If not, why are you pursuing this project?

I have no idea, but that’s why it’s fun! There have been moments in my life when I’ve imagined my future perfectly, behind the counter of a small bakeshop (preferably somewhere on a cobblestoned street!). But I have so many ideas—design related, as well—that make me excited. I think if I keep doing the things I love, my life will take one obvious direction at some point, even if that direction is to continue spending my time balancing two professional worlds.

What do you love most about your business? Have there been any surprises?

People have asked me in the past what I like about baking, and baking desserts in particular. I try always to do a good job and put a lot of love into what I’m making. When someone takes a bite of something sweet and delicious, they never frown or grimace. On the contrary, they are happy and, often, blissful (really!), even if for a split second. Helping to make that happen is what I love most about my business.

The biggest surprise thus far has just been, even with a small business, the massive organization needed to keep things productive and efficient. I thought writing a master’s thesis had been tough! Okay, it’s different than that, but if you really want to stay on top of things, you need to spend time a good amount of time getting things in order.

Do you have any words of wisdom for others who harbor a secret itch to start an entrepreneurial project like this?

Just start. Give it a try! I used to think something had to be perfect before you presented it to others (whether it be words, a business, a cake). I realize now that nothing is ever perfect. You might think it’s close to perfect, but then when you actually put it out there, you find there is still so much work to do! It was intimidating for me to put my name on something and be in the position where others would (and should!) critique it. But it has been an incredible feeling to push my nerves aside and just go for it.

For a mouthwatering experience, check out the Dulcinea website, but be prepared to envy those lucky enough to live in NYC!

I have recently abandoned the idea of a tidy career. Sometimes I long for a real job title—one that elicits respectful nods at cocktail parties. But if there was really a single job that encompassed all my interests, I think I would have found it by now, so my new attitude is, ‘the more the merrier!’ I am a career polygamist.

Which means that I have learned to embrace the slash. I am a writer/environmental communications specialist. I enjoy and take pride in both parts of my identity. Making peace with my own non-linear career has opened my eyes to the many-splendored career paths of those around me. My immediate circle of friends includes, among others, a conservationist/photographer, a teacher/fantasy writer, a musician/judicial advocate, a green entrepreneur/engineer, a graphic designer/limnologist, and a web developer/carpenter/entomologist. And those are just the first few that come to mind.

I don’t know whether my peers and I are indicative of some broader societal trend or whether we’re just unusually indecisive. But I do know that the people I know who are pursuing multiple or blended careers are interesting, passionate, and genuinely excited about what they do.

I want to learn more about how people build satisfying careers that meld disparate interests, and have decided to employ that time-tested writers’ trick: pointing a lens at those around me.

Starting next week you will find on these pages, from time to time, a feature interview with someone whose career intrigues me. We will begin with Emma Bowen, an architectural design instructor who recently started a sustainable baking business.