Author writes about a special place: 'Granny's Porch'

"Granny's Porch" by Tom C. Greer
"Granny's Porch" by Tom C. Greer

Local author Tom C. Greer believe everyone has a story, and his latest is one that recalls fond memories made with his grandmother at a special place.

Greer's new book, "Granny's Porch," is another children's book in the same vein as his three books about Honey, a beloved dog of his. They were this teacher's first foray into children's fiction.

Illustrated by Eric Hammond, "Granny's Porch" discusses all the fun things to be done when a kid can hang out at grandma's house. They include reading, laughing with friends, dancing wildly and singing silly songs.

Available at Amazon.com with Greer's other books, this new book is dedicated to his grandmother, Opal McCrary, with whom he did such things.

"'Granny's Porch,' in all honesty if I tell you the truth about it, it just fell out of the sky," Greer said about the inspiration. He'd been thinking about writing a new book, and life events inspired him to think about all the things he used to do with this grandma back when he was young.

"I just remember growing up and me and Granny sitting there and doing different things. I thought, 'Well, that might be a cute little book,'" Greer said.

"A New Home for Honey" was Greer's first book, which he published a few years after he wrote it. He'd stuck it in a drawer and left it there, but he later pulled out the manuscript and found an illustrator to get it rolling on publishing.

"Honey's Peanut Butter Adventure" and "Honey Visits Grandpa Smith" soon followed. He wrote them all after Honey died, but they're told from the dog's point of view, as if she's reminiscing about past exploits from the vantage point of old age.

"These were all based on true stories that took place," Greer said. After finding a new illustrator this past year, he reformatted the books and changed the dedications because his parents died this year.

Like those earlier books, "Granny's Porch" is out on his Weeping Willow Publishing. It was important that Granny in the book looked like the real-life inspiration: short brown hair, glasses and forever wearing a house dress.

"It just starts out that we all have a special place to go," Greer said. It runs through all the things he and his grandmother loved to do while spending time together on her porch. "The illustrator did a great job with the expressions, I think."

A collaborative teacher who's worked with students with disabilities, Greer teaches students in 1st grade through 3rd grade at Wake Village Elementary School. He's read the book to a few classes there.

Activities portrayed in the book incorporate the seasons, which he discusses with them, along with context clues, pictorial evidence and other things students should notice.

"To me it's just a real sweet story and so far the reviews have been really good," Greer said, noting older readers are buying it to share with their grandchildren. He has a sequel in mind, something along the lines of "Grandpa's Shed."

What appeals to him about writing for kids? He was always a big reader, a way to vacation in his mind. As he puts it, reading and writing can take us anywhere.

"I just enjoy creative writing. I just enjoy making up stories," Greer said, noting he's given presentations to students about his books. He includes the whole process of getting books published, giving insight into how a book is made. There's more to it than just a first draft, he shows them.

"With the Honey books, I love talking to the kids about their own pets," Greer said.

And with "Granny's Porch," the author hopes youngsters reading it find inspiration to value their relationships with people like grandparents. He hopes that's a lesson they absorb.

"Just quality relationships with older people, respect for older people, understanding that you can do fun things with older people," Greer said.

(On the Net: TomCGreer.com.)

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