Frank agreed to come visit all five local elementary schools this past week and I even talked him into being a guest on my blog. Thanks Frank! He is a fantastic presenter who involves the students and he is a very genuine person. I highly recommend him to visit your child’s elementary school. His debut novel, Hashbrown Winters, will appeal to all elementary-aged children but most especially boys. It is a boy book. My daughters enjoyed it, but boys will love it. Its 94 page length makes it readable for second graders and even very strong first grade readers.

Kate: The setting for The Adventures of Hashbrown Winters is Pordunce Elementary. How did you come up with that name?

Frank: That’s an interesting question. There are actually 2 reasons. My elementary school was called Providence Elementary and since I write a lot from my experiences, I thought it would be cool to make the name of the school close to my own. Secondly, if pronounced right, the school’s name is Poor Dunce and that’s cool too.

Kate: So I did pronounce it correctly. What are your best and worst memories of elementary school?

Frank: Best memories would be the close friends I had growing up. I’m still in touch with a couple of them. You definitely need good friends at school and they were the best. I had tons of adventures with them. Worst memories: My Whiz Peterson moment in the third grade (that’s a crazy story to be shared one day), and getting in trouble with my very own Ms. Borfish who ruled the cafeteria. That’s not her real name of course, but she struck fear in all of our hearts, but you know; now I realize it was a good thing. She gave me plenty of material to work with on my Hashbrown Adventures.

Kate: That’s the way to put a positive spin on bad memories. Are you an outline writer or seat of the pants writer/multi-drafter?

Frank: Seat of the pants. Definitely. More like spur of the moment. It is not uncommon for me to sit up in the middle of the night and trip over my bed heading toward the computer because an idea just hit me. Writing this way can be stressful, but it’s also very adventurous. You never know when a great story will pop up.

Kate: I guess that beats trying to decipher handwritten notes in the morning. Your main character, Hashbrown Winters, coaches students on how to give a great show and tell presentation. Tell us about your favorite show and tell experience.

Frank: I used to get in a competition with another kid in my class on who could tell the most outrageous show and tell stories and have the class believe us. We tried to outperform each other every day. Some of our stories involved jumping out of airplanes, volcanoes and biker bandits to name a few.

Kate: Hmm…maybe that’s why my children’s teachers assign topic themes for Show-n-Tell. What do you consider your strengths and weaknesses as a writer?

Frank: I think one of my strengths is writing comedy and I definitely was blessed with an odd childhood. That always helps. I struggle with grammar and I can be very impatient with my stories. I try to force the ending at times and that just doesn’t work.

Kate: Having read your book I would have to add strong characters as one of your strengths. You introduce a lot of characters in a short time, but the reader is able to keep up because they are so distinctive. I think the nicknames help out there. You have a day job so when do you find time to write? What’s your writing schedule like? Can you give us a visual picture of where, when, and how you write?

Frank: I usually write at night or on my days off. My writing schedule is sporadic. Generally, whenever I can find a peaceful moment with no distractions, I can start to work on a story. So far I’ve always written on my little laptop computer that rests on a television tray in my bedroom. I’m really weird. I like to type and talk at the same time. It can become awkward if we happen to have guests or family staying with us.  I also think up dialogue while I’m driving in my car to and from work. Of course, then it just looks like I’m talking to myself… which I am.

Kate: Wish I could type and talk at the same time–I’d get a lot more writing done. What was your inspiration for writing The Adventures of Hashbrown Winters? How has it changed from the first draft?

Frank: Hashbrown was just a fun getaway from other stories I was writing. I took memories from my childhood and went crazy with the exaggerations. The story hasn’t changed much from the initial draft, just a lot of edits where I clearly misspelled words.

Kate: What do your children think about your book?

Frank: My oldest son has his own worn-out copy that he slept with under his pillow for the longest time until he moved on to better things (Diary of a Wimpy Kid.) My youngest son giggles at the parts with the talking cockroach, but he’s a little young to really understand. And my baby (18 months old) is just happy when I give her a clean diaper.

Kate: A marble plays a key part in The Adventures of Hashbrown Winters. Did you play marbles as a child? Are you a collector?

Frank: I owned a few marbles, but I was no pro like Hashbrown. I have a little collection now which includes my own Bull Basher.

Kate: What have you enjoyed most about being a published author?

Frank: Definitely my chance to meet so many awesome kids and teachers. It really has been the highlight of this whole adventure. Whenever I hear of a kid that has laughed while reading my book I almost get teary eyed. That’s why I do it!

Kate: Thanks for stopping by today!

Frank also agreed to be interviewed by three sixth graders while he was here.  This is a link to that interview. It has completely different questions so you can learn a little more about Frank and his book. Frank is running a Create-a-Character contest for his third book in the Hashbrown series. You can find out more at Hashbrown Winters.com.