Youthful Adventures
Kentucky cousins team up to pen
series of children’s books
Linda Penn, Frank Feger have found
a niche with ‘Clayton”
LA GRANGE, Ky. (April 2018) – Board the Granny Rose and venture onto the Ohio River, where you will meet Clayton and Austin while encountering river wildlife and habitats. Sadly, you will also encounter trash floating down the Ohio and on the riverbanks.
Then enter the “concrete box” Markland Locks. Discover more about their adventures and how they solve real life kid problems in Linda Penn and Frank J. Feger’s children’s book series, “Clayton’s River Adventures.”
The writing duo are scheduled to appear and sign their books at the eighth annual Author’s Fair, from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Saturday, April 14, at the La Grange Community Center, 307 W. Jefferson St. in La Grange, Ky. They also will appear and sign books April 19-21 at the New Castle (Ky.) United Methodist Church, 30 S. Main St. during the Hwy. 55 Yard Sale event. They plan to also be at the Trimble County Apple Festival in Bedford, Ky., in September.
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Photo provided From left, authors and cousins Linda Penn and Frank Feger pose at a recent book signing event. |
The first book in the series was “Clayton’s River Adventures” in 2014, followed by “Clayton’s River Adventure Continues, Cincinnati to Frankfort” in 2015, and “Clayton’s River Adventure Frankfort to Boonesboro” in 2016. The most recent one in the series is “Clayton’s River Adventure Louisville to Paducah,” released in November 2017. Currently, Penn and Feger are writing the fifth book for the series.
Feger and Penn are first cousins. Their fathers were brothers. The two brothers also had six siblings, four more brothers and two sisters. Feger has three daughters. The oldest was adopted. Then twins arrived. One teaches preschool. The other daughter, a business major, currently keeps the books for an electrical company. The oldest daughter teaches art classes at University of MonteVallo, south of Birmingham, Ala.
All three daughters graduated from the University of Louisville. Feger’s mother was from Salem, Ind., then moved to Madison, Ind. Feger spent his life in Louisville, Ky., where he currently resides.
Feger fondly recounts riding the bus to Madison to visit his grandmother; reminiscing sitting on a bench with her watching the Ohio River. Feger’s river adventures and knowledge of boating carries over into the Clayton’s River Adventure series.
Penn and Feger were not close growing up and reconnected at a family reunion. At the time, Feger was writing a short story about traveling the river to Cincinnati.
Feger knew of Penn’s experience in writing children’s picture books and thought Penn would be able to offer assistance. At the reunion, the two just clicked.
Feger said that writing with Penn is fun; each sharing ideas. When the two are working on a book, it requires meeting once a week for a few hours. Plus, the two often travel together to bookstores, sharing and autographing books.
One book in the series shares a mystery on the Kentucky River. The main character, Clayton, finds a necklace in an Indian area that matches the one that Daniel Boone received from an Indian chief. This necklace is on display in Boonesboro, Ky. Each book in the series incorporates a mystery connecting children to history.
Feger said that both writers bring separate skills and ideas to share. Feger brings river experiences and adventures with boating knowledge.
Penn brings experience writing children’s books and knowledge about what children like to read.
Penn is a retired educator with 21 years experience teaching kindergarten through third grade. Her experience as an educator and mother helped her learn what kinds of books children love to read, she said. Penn lives in La Grange, Ky., with her husband, Gilbert. They have two daughters and three grandchildren.
Penn and Feger say their Clayton Adventure series is geared to readers ages 7-11. Since Penn had been a teacher, she wanted to do something that would be helpful to teachers and parents. Resources are provided in the back of each book, such as questions and ideas for further reading. The character names came from Penn who has a grandson named Clayton.
Other characters are named after Penn and Feger’s children and grandchildren.
The series provides family friendly fun while keeping the story lines interesting and containing facts and history about the rivers. Research for the river history included trips to libraries, reviewing maps, researching online for areas of focus and interviews with people who live at the locations from the series. Plus, when people knew they were writing about the river, they shared places to include in the stories.