In My Old Bike Frankie has a piece of junk old bike. He makes a deal with his parents to buy a new one. They agree to pay for half, but Frankie needs to earn the rest of the money before getting his new bike. Along the way, Frankie learns several life lessons. As a parent you can use these stories to help answer your teen's difficult questions.

The Adventures of Frankie is a collection of seven books with teenage kids in mind. But don't write it off just yet, this collection is for adults too. The stories are quick to read with plenty of memory joggers from your childhood. I wrote these with the intent to entertain, educate, and bring generations together. Sounds like a tall order, but I have a purpose...

Parents Helping Teens Enjoy the Magic of the Written Word
Reading... teens love it, can do it, or hate it! Think of it as a sliding scale with hating on the left and loving on the right. Readers are communicators and people who communicate effectively are successful, personally as well as professionally.
I encourage you to visit the companion web site (http: //TheAdventuresOfFrankie.com) where you will find tons of helpful information. For example, there is a page for each chapter with the moral of the story, talking points, vocabulary list with definitions, and a personal note from me, the author!
My goal is to help each and every teen move from left to right (from hating reading to loving reading), even if only a little.

Parents Connecting with Teens
Parents are the key to a child's success, starting with eating, talking, dressing, crawling, walking, running, etc., etc. Yes teachers are important and a vital inspiration to children, but they are only building on the success of the child's first educators.
The Adventures of Frankie is a tool to aid parents with this continued success. These stories help moms, dads, grandparents, and teens relate as well as opening doors to many conversations so important to parenting. Don't forget the Talking Points on the companion web site (http: //TheAdventuresOfFrankie.com). These are great for starting important life lesson conversation!

English as a Second Language (ESL)
So many teens are joining us from other cultures. The age-appropriate stories in this series help ESL (English as a Second Language) teens get a handle on the language as well as offering a taste of the new world they have entered.

Synopses
Each book in this series consist of ten short stories that stand on their own. Together they paint a bigger picture. Each book centers on a theme with life lessons and plenty of talking points. I envision kids, moms, dads and even grandparents enjoying these stories. The simplified language makes for fast reading while the "coming of age" story lines blur the differences between generations. I imagine the discussions as families sit around laughing about the antics of the characters and the situations they get into, problems they solve, and lessons they learn. Drawing on the common experiences, parents and kids will find they are not so different after all.
The first two books focus on Frankie, our hero. The main characters of the five remaining books are each one of Frankie's buddies: Pretty Paulette, Scrawny Ronnie, Brad the Bully, and Rita the Redhead.
Pretty Paulette is the stereotypical girl next door on whom Frankie happens to have a crush. Scrawny Ronnie is his best friend, whom Frankie has known since they were in diapers. Brad the Bully, well, there is at least one in every neighborhood. Rita the Redhead is the nice little girl from the wrong side of the tracks.

Why?
My goal with The Adventures of Frankie is to give kids that have grown beyond Dick and Jane and Dr. Seuss something realistic to read, something they can relate to, and something from which they can
About the Author: I grew up in Baldwinsville, NY where the winters are long and cold but the summers are green and warm. The Finger Lakes, Seneca River, and the Thousand Islands were my playground. After finishing a bachelor's degree in computer science from SUNY Oswego, I moved south to the Washington, DC area. Seven years of fighting traffic and keeping up with the Joneses and I was ready for the slower pace of Raleigh, NC. As an added benefit, the chances for seeing snowflakes that far south are slim. Being gone from Baldwinsville for more than three decades I still long for home. Not the high taxes, piles of snow, or never ending winters. It's the people, clear waters, greens of summer, food, change of season, and the history. No, I won't be moving back, my wardrobe just wouldn't work;-) My closet is full of Hawaiian shirts and dresser stuffed with shorts and swimsuits. Seldom do I have to wear a winter coat. Nope, my blood's way too thin to live north of the Mason-Dixon Line. Raleigh is even too busy these days. I've slowed even more. I'm still a software engineer by day, slaying bugs with my trusty keyboard and mouse. But now I live on a lake way out of the city, where I write stories to entertain by night. I promise these stories will always, always, always have a happy ending. As I see it, there is enough bad stuff happening in the world and in our own lives. If that's what you're looking for then turn on the news or pick up a newspaper. When I watch a movie or read a book, I do it to smile. So when I write, I write to smile. More importantly, I write to share a smile with you!