- Please introduce yourself so that the readers will get to know you better.
I am a retired Professor of Medicine/Gastroenterology, living on Dewees Island, next to Charleston, South Carolina. I grew up, trained and worked in England until my late 40s, then moved to join the faculty at Duke University and later to the Medical University of South Carolina, to set up the Digestive Disease Center.
My specialty was the development, evaluation, and use of flexible instruments (endoscopes) to examine the GI track. My teaching contributions included 9 books, almost 1000 medical papers and lectures in more than 50 countries. My wife and I are proud of our 4 “children”, 8 grandkids and 2 great grandkids. They are spread around the country and world, but love to join us on the beach on Dewees, an eco-sensitive supportive community designed to “live in harmony with nature”. I am a poor golfer and worse fisherman…..but an OK Dad.
- What is your inspiration behind your book “When Fred the Snake and Friends Explore USA East”?
This is the 7th of my books for young children about Fred the friendly snake. It all started a very long time ago as a bedtime story for my then young kids about how (not) to cross the road. When they had their own kids they asked, “what happened to Fred-Fred?”. They called him that because Fred forgot his crossing code, was in an accident and temporarily bisected. Anyway, I found the old text, edited it a bit, discovered a marvelous illustrator (in Canada) and published the first book “When Fred the Snake got Squished and Mended” about 10 years ago. It seemed popular and got good reviews and some awards, so we continued the series. Fred went to school, invited Jungle Jim to visit with other animal friends, explored the city of Charleston (where I live), went camping, and then to the beach. Now, we are exploring the USA.
Incidentally I chose a snake because my kids thought it resembled the medical instruments that I was using, flexible endoscopes for examining the guts.
And, I will also mention that I was not called after a rabbit. I grew up in England, where the famous author Beatriz Potter wrote about Peter Rabbit and Flopsy and Mopsy and Benjamin bunny and others, but not Peter Cottontail, which is a fun American invention. It happens that my middle name is Benjamin…….
- When did you realize you want to be an author?
I am a Professor of Medicine, writing medical articles and books from an early age
- Please tell us something about your book “?
This book “When Fred the Snake and Friends Explore USA- East” is the first of 3 in which Jungle Jim flies the kids Perdy and Jack, Fred and his animal friends around the sights and cities of the USA. Reviewers say that it is both fun and educational.
- For which age group is your book “When Fred the Snake and Friends Explore USA East” suitable for?
3-8
- What is your favorite Quote?
From the book:
Washington, DC Past the Monuments and Mall, Jim landed gently by The Wall, the memorial for all those felled, in Vietnam. Each name is spelled.
See the Capitol, behind those doors, our leaders sit to make the laws.
Check the White House resident, our Commander and our President.
Wouldn’t it be a lot of fun, to take a ride in Air Force One?
From life:
Everything comes to those who waiteth, provided they work like hell while they waiteth.
- What do you like the most about your country?
I moved from the UK to the USA because the opportunities to practice and improve my profession were (and are) considerably better.
- What suggestion do you want to give to parents of little readers regarding a reading habit?
Make it fun and at a regular time
- What does literary success look like to you?
Happy kids and break even on sales
- Lastly, who is your inspiration in life and why?
My wife, Princess Marion
Buy When Fred the Snake and Friends Explore USA East on Amazon
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