Frequently Asked Questions:

• In Partners Again, all of the teachers seem to be bad guys. Why?
• Who was your favorite teacher?
• Are you available for Author's Visits at my school or library?
• The background of your website used to say the imagination is more important than knowledge. Do you believe that?
• What made you want to become a writer?
• Where do you get your ideas?
• What do you like best about writing?
• What's the worst part about writing?
• Do the characters and things in your books come from real-life experiences?
• Who are your favorite authors?
• What do you like to do besides write?
• What is your process for writing a book?
• In the biography section, your self-portrait only has four fingers on the right hand. Do you really only have four fingers on your right hand?
• What is the significance of your site's banner with the funny looking tree?
• Will there be a sequel to Partners Again?

What does the T. in your middle name stand for?

It stands for Truth, Justice, and the American Way. Just kidding. It stands for Thomas, and comes from my mom's dad. He was a great man and a veteran of World War II where he received the Purple Heart. He fought in the Battle of the Bulge.

Arthur comes from my dad's dad. He, too, was a veteran of World War II where he served as a paratrooper. Now in his 87th year, he is a great man who sacrificed his dreams of farming and ranching in order to support his thirteen children and teach them to become better people.

In Partners Again, all of the teachers seem to be bad guys. Why?

This question comes up often. And I'm glad you asked it. I would be lying if I said when I wrote Partners Again I was not afraid people would misinterpret the fact that the teachers in the book are, indeed, bad guys. That being said, remember that in Albert's life everything is somewhat embellished by his burgeoning imagination. I was a lot like Albert when I was in elementary school. There were teachers like Miss Lovely who I absolutely loved. Then there were teachers like Ms. Hogsteen who scared me to death. I remember a certain sixth grade teacher--Mr. Cheney--who took on such a role. I never had him as a teacher, but still...to us kids, he was the meanest teacher in the whole world. And you didn't dare bounce your ball in front of his classroom because as soon as you did, he'd crash through the window, yelling at the top of his lungs (and in front of your friends, too!), then grab you by the neck like a rabbit fit for stew and yank you back into his classroom--never to be seen again.  In reality though, I am sure he was just a normal guy like me (I use the term normal loosely). So, you see, there is no significance in the fact that the teachers are bad guys. It is simply where Albert spends his time and where his frustrations find their voice.

Who was your favorite teacher?

My Miss Lovely? Yes, I had my own Miss Lovely. In reality, I had great teachers every year--from kindergarten to my senior year. But I was lucky enough to have Mrs. Moser for my third grade teacher. She made learning fun. And she taught us in such a creative way that we wanted to learn. She also read to us a lot. I remember her sitting on her stool in front of the classroom reading great books such as James and the Giant Peach, Saint George and the Dragon, and The Wish Giver, just to name a few.

In high school I also had three unbelievable English teachers who influenced me greatly. Mr. Driscoll was my Accelerated English teacher during my sophomore year. He intimidated me greatly, especially when he verbally tore apart my first real English paper in front of the class. I turned as bright as a tomato. But after I decided I wasn't going to be afraid of him I began to learn from him--a lot--and I left that class knowing how to write. During my junior year, Mrs. Strayer gave me opportunities aplenty to take what I had learned from Mr. Driscoll (discipline in writing) and add splashes of creativity. But it was my twelfth grade AP English teacher, Mrs. Ferguson (she was also my speech and drama teacher) who filled me with confidence as a writer. Under her leadership, I combined everything I had learned with my own experiences and feelings in a way I had never before done.  

Are you available for Author's Visits at my school or library?

Yes and no. The phrase comes from a quote by Albert Einstein: "Imagination," said he, "is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world." I love this quote. I firmly believe both knowledge and the imagination are important. In fact, I think it is a tragedy when we separate them. To me, one cannot function at its highest level without the other. Knowledge is the key to so many things--to everything, really. But the imagination is the vehicle by which we can use our knowledge to create and invent and make positive changes in the world around us, and the world-at-large. Likewise, if we do not constantly strive to obtain knowledge in all its many facets, our imagination is severely limited. I cannot imagine a story taking place in China if I have no idea what or where China is. Nor can I fly into space if I do not study the science behind it. They are as integral to invention as our heart and mind are to our body.

What made you want to become a writer?

I cannot recall one specific moment where I sat up and said ‘Ah hah! This is the path for me.' Rather, it was a collective series of experiences that slowly and gently washed over me--like a warm springtime rain--until I found myself utterly and completely drenched. Looking back I can now clearly see that from the very earliest days of my childhood, I felt a stirring inside to tell stories. But it wasn't until many, many years later that I decided to do something about it. I remember it well. I was in the shower (a lot of my ideas come to me in the shower--there are no interruptions there), pondering about writing and my desire to do so, and I specifically said to myself ‘I want to write'. And no sooner had I thought it than another thought popped into my head; but this one with much more force--like a strong jab from a boxer. ‘THEN WRITE!' it said. And so I did.

Where do you get your ideas?

I have always joked that my mind is a giant asylum for the insane. One day, for reasons I still do not understand, a lonely nomad wandered onto the premises and found the amenities sufficient for his needs: the indoor swimming pool, the cable TV, and the weight room; the laundry and the house keeping services, and, of course, the free continental breakfast. So he unpacked his handkerchief of goodies and settled down. Then he called all of his friends and family, and one by one they, too, came to stay. And now I can't get them to leave. The pool is always packed, the TV is always on, the beds are being made constantly, and the cost of the continental breakfast is getting outrageous. But I can't let them starve, can I? Still, every so often one of the tenants will come to me at the front desk and say with tear-filled eyes, ‘thank you, sir, for your hospitality, but it is time for me to leave.' And so I walk him into the back room and we sit down at the table to talk. Over a glass of orange juice and a glazed doughnut, I conduct a sort-of exit interview through which he tells me his story--from his funniest moments right down to his most sacred feelings. Then, when he is done, we shake hands and go our separate ways; me back to the front desk to write down my thoughts; and him into the real world where--I hope--he becomes a responsible, contributing member of society. Strangely enough, it is a very bitter sweet parting.

What do you like best about writing?

I love everything about writing--I really do; even the business side. I love to get up in the morning and go to work in my sweats or jeans and a t-shirt. I love to create characters and towns and situations and see my creations influence other people for good, or hear them laugh when reading certain parts. And, of course, I cannot forget my family. They are the main reason I chose to pursue my dream of writing. I love the flexibility writing gives me. I am able to be with my kids and wife when they need me. And I am able to again be with them when I am the one who needs them.

What's the worst part about writing?

Honestly, it is the fact that I cannot write fast enough. Curse my hands! They are not lively enough to keep up with my brain. It spits out ideas and images and characters and snippets of dialogue like machine gun fire; all the while my poor hands hunt and peck their way across the keyboard, barely able to get by until they either cramp up with exhaustion, or my brain starts smoking because it's overheated.

Other than that, there never seems to be enough time in the day to write. I swear I step into my office, fire up the computer, and start writing, only to hear a soft knock, and sometimes a not-so-soft knock on my door. It's my boys...

            "Da-aaady!"

            "Wha-aaty?"

            "Dinner time, Daddy."

            Dinner time? think I. What happened to breakfast? And lunch? "You mean breakfast," I say. "It's breakfast time?"

            "No-oo, Daddy." Silly Daddy. "Dinner time. Pasgetthi."

            "Spaghetti?" I check my watch and shake it--then shake it again. It can't be dinner time already. Why, I just sat down to write eight hours ago.

            But so it is.

Do the characters and things in your books come from real-life experiences?

Sometimes. And sometimes not. As a writer, reality and imagination are so closely tied together, it is almost impossible for me to separate one from the other. While I have yet to create a character based on an actual person, it seems right to say that every character or situation or idea I have created is in someway influenced by someone or something in my life. We cannot enter someone's life--even if for only a brief moment--and not influence them. Imagine if you took every color of paint possible and mixed them all together. It may look black and messy. But is there yellow in there? Yes. And blue? Yes. And red and green--and I only put a tiny drop of white--is there white in there, too? Yes, yes, and yes! Writing then becomes the process by which I extract those colors--whether I realize I am doing it or not.

To show an example or two... Ms. Pistol was an assistant librarian when I attended Lake Grove Elementary. I remember her yelling at me for not filling out the book's checkout card correctly. Mrs. Moser was my favorite teacher--much like Miss Lovely was Albert's. My school was somewhat run down. My dad loved westerns. My parents were never divorced, but, unfortunately, my mom's were. And the list goes on and on...

Who are your favorite authors?

Wow! This is a toughie. There are so many... One of the first books I ever read on my own was Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss. So, right off the bat, I have to say he is one of my all-time favorites. I once wrote him a letter and he replied back to me on Cat in the Hat stationary. It is one of my most prized possessions, and it hangs on the wall in front of my computer.

Besides Dr. Seuss, I read a lot of Hardy Boys' books growing up, and by the fifth and sixth grades, Gary Paulsen (Hatchet, The River) was on my library list of author's books to check out every time.

I also loved to read--and still do--any of the Newbery Medal winners like Walk Two Moons (Sharon Creech) and Holes (Louis Sachar [pronounced Sacker]) and Bridge to Terabithia (Katherine Patterson).

Roald Dahl, though, is probably the author I most read. I consider him one of the great geniuses of all time; as do I his illustrator, Quentin Blake.

Also, on the side wall in the room in which I write, I have assembled a collection of author's photos--my own Dead Poet's Society--who oversee all of my writing. They are as follows:

C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Edgar Allan Poe, Dostoevsky, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jack London, Roald Dahl, Dr. Seuss, Charles Dickens, Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Mark Twain, Robert Louis Stevenson, and J.M. Barrie.

Of course, I would be remiss if I left out greats such as Jane Austen, Harriet Beecher Stowe, F. Scott Fitzgerald, among many, many more...

What do you like to do besides write?

You name it, I do it. I love to spend time with my kids. I love athletics of all kinds; basketball, baseball, football, tennis, racquetball, pickleball... I love the outdoors and fishing. Starting the year I turned ten, my dad took my brother and I out of school for a whole week to spend time together in the mountains. I can't spend enough time outdoors. I also love good movies--really good movies--that get their point across and tell their story without resorting to senseless innuendo, violence, immorality, and the like. I love the classic black-and-white movies!

What is your process for writing a book?

This may sound very strange and unorthodox, but I really have no set process for writing a book. I rarely start with an over-arcing plot. Usually, I begin with a very simple idea (i.e. a boy who wakes up to see a dump truck dump money into his driveway...stay tuned!), or a series of characters, or a single line of dialogue.

‘Big Cheeks' Malone, in Partners Again, was inspired by my wife. She has these great cheeks--the kind aunts and uncles like to pinch. One day I called her Big Cheeks and thought to myself, ‘Hey, that sounds like a good gangster name', so I rushed to my Big Book of Ideas where I keep all of my thoughts, and wrote it down, adding the names Ralph and Malone to it.

My wife was also the reason I came up with Al Gadon. I was giving her a hug before bed time and I saw the tag of her pajama shirt sticking up. As I looked at it, I noticed the Spanish translation for 100% cotton was 100% Algadon. Immediately, I knew I had a great villain. Once again--after the hug, of course--I rushed to my big leather binding and jotted down some ideas: Al Gadon...Cotton...Cotton Brothers...Blue Diamond Cotton... And the rest is history.

It is a very amazing thing to me to sit down at my computer with relatively no preconceived ideas and start typing away only to look up at the screen at the end of the day to see the beginnings of a great adventure captured on paper. I cannot explain it. It is a miracle for which I am eternally grateful!

In the Meet Arthur-Biography section, your self-portrait only shows four fingers. Do you really only have four fingers on your left hand?

Yes, and I am looking for a six-fingered man who killed my father. ...Just kidding. No, I am lucky enough to have on each hand all five phalanges.

What is the significance of your site’s banner with the funny looking tree?

The magic umbrella’d bulbleberry bush, you mean? Why, my dear lad, if you have never seen one in your dreams, nor tasted of its deliciously prickly tickley fruits, I would be more successful in explaining the mysteries of the universe. You see, the bulbleberry bush grows in the magical forests of your mind—in fact, everyone’s mind, for that matter. You see, the magic forest in which it grows is home to many peculiar animals and plants and things, the bulbleberry bush being the greatest of these; and they make alive your dreams. Now, I do encourage you—without a moment’s delay!—to lie back upon your pillow and close your eyes. There you go, that’s the ticket! Now, beyond the dark façade of your eyelids, envision the forest… Do you see it? Yes, of course you do. Now play; laugh; dance! Take your shoes off and run through the tall grassy glades; feel the wind under your arms and lift up into the sky--fly, fly, fly! Swim in its oceans and lakes and rivers and streams. They are not too cold nor are they too hot. They are just right; and when you step out of them you will be as dry as if you had never swum at all. And then, when you are tired and your mind feels spent, simply find a magic umbrella’d bulbleberry bush—they are everywhere--under which to rest; scale its soft quilt-like trunk; curl up in a cool blanket of shade, and of its fruit partake, partake, and partake!

Will there be a sequel to Partners Again?

I believe so. That is all I can say. I never know exactly when or where these characters will come back to me, and with what urgency they will tell me their story. A couple of them already have come back, though, along with a slew of characters as of yet undiscovered. They cornered me in line at the grocery store late one evening, then again when I was at work. I will say this. If there ends up being one... Albert will be older, a love interest will be introduced then jeopardized, and it will dabble with piracy on the high seas, and an evil neighbor lady named 'No-No' McCormick. So stay tuned...