Germantown Teacher’s Novel Makes Bookstore Debut

Poor Mac Coolidge. The eighth grader harbors dreams of becoming one of the popular kids at Wood Middle School, but his habit of slipping into superhero reveries during math class, the random ketchup stain on his shirt, his dweeby full name — McKinley Arthur Coolidge — are conspiring against him. Plus, his scrawny body doesn’t exactly make him bully-proof.

That is until he gets an offer from The Protectors.

Mighty Mac, the superhero, is born.

The novel “Mighty Mac” made its bookstore debut at Barnes & Noble on June 1. The book is also available online at BarnesAndNoble.com and at Amazon. But Mighty Mac’s story may have originated from the childhood reverie of a Germantown English teacher.

“What boy doesn’t dream of donning a cape and becoming a superhero?” asked author Marc Waldman, who chatted with Patch about the 161-page novel he wrote for middle school readers.

Waldman, 40, of Bethesda, teaches eighth-grade English at . He gave his students credit for helping him tweak the story, his first published novel, after "Mighty Mac's" rounds among publishers wielded a lukewarm reception.

The students had immediate ideas, Waldman said. For example, the characters needed to speak like middle schoolers — to be called a “freak” is more insulting than being called a “nerd.” Waldman said they also encouraged him to play up the love story in the book, Mac’s crush on it-girl Cindy Lawson.

Waldman said he made the edits and gained a publisher, Florida-based Comfort Publishing.

The feedback has been good — his students said they read the book and claimed they “loved it.” But that was before school let out.

“The cynical part of me says grades haven’t been reported yet,” Waldman joked.

Waldman said he’s already working on the sequel to “Mighty Mac,” which he hopes to serialize.

As for his immediate plans?

“I want to sell five million copies,” Waldman said. “Why not?”

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Where to buy

When Patch checked Tuesday afternoon, several copies were available at Barnes & Noble Booksellers at Washingtonian Center in Gaithersburg.

The book is also available online, at BarnesandNoble.com at Amazon.com.