2Wrds promised you quality children’s books for boys, and this week will not disappoint! My featured author is Burton W. Cole, author of The Bash Series. Burton is the features editor and humor columnist for the Tribune Chronicle in Ohio. Although he dreamed of creating his own syndication, Burton turned his aspirations to writing humorous novels with powerful messages. While reading some of his favorite authors, Mark Twain, Patrick F. McManus’s, Philip Gulley’s, Garrison Keillor, and Tom Bodett, he had an “aha moment”. He could write stories about his childhood. It is said that truth is often stranger than fiction, and in Burton’s case, that rings very true. He dubbed his series, “faith, fun and farm pranks.”

My boys and I have been reading Bash and the Pirate Pig together this summer and we laugh out loud on every chapter! Burton’s story are so wacky, yet so believable, that everyone, regardless of age, will find his books hilarious. If you grew up in church, you’re going to love the pranks Bash throws at every turn, including bringing a live skunk to Sunday school! Let’s hear how The Bash Series came about.

What inspired you to write The Bash Series?

My childhood! These are recollections, reimagining’s and what-if speculations of crazy stunts my siblings, cousins, friends and I pulled while growing up on and around farms.

I needed a place that was both exotic and quirky, a place that would be full of colorful characters, silliness and charm. I prayed about it and God made it very clear to me: write about the farm where I grew up.

Suddenly, scenes from my childhood and all the fun and craziness of my cousins, friends and siblings began rolling through my head. The stories were just flying around up there, bouncing off each other and creating quite a refreshing mess.

What theme does each book convey?

Bash and the Pirate Pig, book one, deals with faith in God.

Bash and the Chicken Coop Caper, book two, examines why bad things happen to good people.

Bash and the Chocolate Milk Cows, book three, addresses God’s protection.

Bash and the Daring Duck Disaster, book 4 (due to release late 2017), addresses lying about your relationship with God because kids call you “churchy”.

What lesson do you hope boys will learn from your books?

I want The Bash Series to convey the joys of being alive, and the laughter and pleasant silliness you can create in even the most mundane parts of life. Most of all, I want these adventures to convey that the things of God really can be part of everyday life, not a boring thing you have to do for an hour or so on Sunday mornings. It’s adventure, comfort, safety and salvation. And sometimes, it’s hard. Talking about God ought to be as natural as talking about baseball. Talking with God ought to be as easy as talking to your buddies.

What was your favorite scene to write and why?

I think every scene I’m writing is my favorite scene until I begin writing the next one! The scene that’s popping into my head at this moment (tomorrow, it’ll be a different one, I suspect) is the whole county fair episode in Bash and the Pirate Pig. There’s probably more stuff that actually happened to me jammed in that section than anywhere else in the book.

I did sleep in the cow barns at night when I was in 4-H. We did tell stupid jokes. I actually did well at showmanship—leading the cow in judging ring and doing all the primping and preening that the animal needed. One of my cows really did take off on a gallop, dragging me toward the midway. She stopped short of the midway, but when I wrote it in the book, I had poor Beamer pulled right into the crowd. And my cousin Rick really did lead a prayer of salvation while we all sat in a sheep’s pen.  It was such a wonderful—and sometimes embarrassing—trip down memory lane.

There were parts of the county fair section that my editor essentially said, “You have to delete that part. That wouldn’t happen,” and I got to respond, “Actually, that’s pretty much exactly how it happened, word for word.”

Burton likes to say about his writing, “Sometimes God lets us miss the obvious until the time is right, and then we realize it was there all along. It just needed to stir, simmer, boil, bake or age until the ingredients mixed just right. When it hit me, bang, we were off to the races on the backs of pigs and cows.” As for his favorite quote, he loves Mark Twain.

“Truth is stranger than fiction because fiction has to make sense.”

Ask your local bookstore or library to order these great books for boys! The Bash Series is available at Lifeway Christian Stores, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Burton-W.-Cole/e/B00JH145FE/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1

Burton may be contacted at burtseyevu@aol.com, or follow him on Facebook at Burton W. Cole@burtonwcole, or Twitter @BurtonWCole

Want more encouragement and inspiration? Subscribe now!