What are the three most important things you have accomplished, aside from publishing a book?

My greatest accomplishment is really more of a blessing, which is my family. My wife, daughter, and son give me reason to feel grateful, lucky and proud in a way that is difficult to put into words. My second greatest accomplishment has been maintaining a genuine sense of excitement and wonder about the natural world throughout my life. I hope the realities of the modern world and cynicism of adulthood never succeed in tamping that down. My third greatest accomplishment has been working professionally as a full-time freelance illustrator for 20 years. I am very grateful to my younger self for picking up a pencil and learning to love drawing.

In your own life, what influences and inspires you to write?

Pollywog! Not a Frog was inspired by a confluence of experiences. As a young child, I was fascinated by nature. This interest wasn't contained to just vast landscapes and game animals, but also the little things like puff balls, minnows, colorful leaves, and frogs held a magic for me. As a teenager, instead of focusing on competitive sports I took a watercolor painting class in a side room at a bowling alley with mostly middle-aged women. I loved it. I spend the next 25 years both chasing nature and painting. But it was with the birth of my two children and the time I spent making up songs to sing to them when they were young that brought me the words I wanted to write. I imagine my parents deserve a lot of credit as my influence. They allowed and encouraged me to follow what interested me without (much) judgment

Which book or author has had the biggest impact on you, and why?

"The Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls is the book that had the biggest impact on me when I was growing up and I find it equally impactful as a father of two kids today. This book has so much heart and humor wrapped around its adventurous and funny premise that it is a laugh-out-loud delight to read. I could relate to a boy coming from a character-filled family who loves exploring the woods during his energetic youth. But like most things that I enjoy reading, it contains layers of meaning that go much deeper. Rawls unwraps his messages of compassion, struggle, family and kindness in an understated way with such masterful pacing so that when the final chapter is unveiled I can't help but be overcome with a teary smile and over-flowing heart.

How would you summarise your book in as few words as possible?

One of my first writing experiences was also about amphibians while in the fourth grade. I had finally been allowed my first pets. As my dad was allergic to cats and neither parent was interested in the commitment of a dog (on top of raising myself and three siblings) I was allowed newts. I wrote stories and drew pictures about these small creatures, the personalities I ascribed to them, and the little playgrounds and habitats I created for them. I also enjoyed writing about the funny day to day things that happened in my home growing up with my brothers and sister.

In your opinion, what are the key ingredients for a good story or novel?

A good story reflects the heart and mind of the author who writes it, be it a novel or children's book or poetry. If the story has heart, a wise perspective to share, or a unique sense of humor it must be because those things are contained within the author. As far as I can tell, a person who allows themselves to be open and selfless enough to see and recognize the truths of life is then best suited to crafting these truths into a story worth sharing. I think this holds true regardless if the narrative is sad, profound, moving, or hilarious.

How long do you spend writing every day?

As I am first and foremost an illustrator, I do not write everyday beyond emails and blogs. I hope to write more as my children grow and become more independent.

How long did you spend writing this novel?

I made up the song the book is based on while rocking a fussy baby in about an hour. II expanded that effort into the written draft, working and reworking it for about a month. It then took me a little over two years to develop the illustrations.

What was the most challenging part of writing this book, and what did you learn from writing it?

It was hard to find the time to illustrate this book while raising young children and working a full time illustration job. It required a lot of support from my family and friends and to tap into extra energy reserves to keep working on it during spare moments instead of taking a break for myself. From an illustration perspective, keeping written logs of the pigment colors I was using to paint each frog and feature was important to maintain image and color consistency between the pages. I learned that despite the extra challenges and nit-picky steps I took to ensure quality, it was worth it. I felt that I truly made every effort to produce the best work I could, so that regardless of what happened next I could move forward with no regret or "what if" feelings in the publication stage.

What did you find most helpful when writing your book?

Most helpful for me was to have people nearby who would both encourage my effort to keep working on my book while also be willing to critically analyze what I was doing and offer me honest feedback.

What writing advice would you offer to your younger self?

Try things that are hard. Pay attention to the people and events around you and not just to accomplishments on the horizon. Risk being out of your comfort zone for the sake of doing something interesting. Do things that will lead to experiences that are worth writing about. Experiences can lead to discovering what is important to you in life. Once you discover that, you can write about things you understand, that you care about deeply, and will become important to other readers as well.