Interview With Author Frank McElvain
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I recently authored my first book, SFC: A Poor Man’s Battle. I am a husband, father, brother and son of John and Hedy, on whom my book was based.
I am an electrical engineer and have previously co-authored technical papers. I live in northern California and enjoy working out.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
SFC: A Poor Man’s Battle is the name of the book. I needed to write this book because over time I learned about my parents and their secret lives, much of which my siblings and I knew little about. They had an improbable marriage and I wanted to tell their story and the impact it had both then and even now. The book can actually serve as a guide to help others gain a better understanding of their family heritage even if it is a mixture of both good and bad. The book focuses on family records I discovered that were previously kept secret by John and Hedy after they passed away, exposing what we were told of their story as a fabrication.
What we found hidden in Hedy’s magazine rack was a record of her life’s most significant events. Letters written to her by a German Soldier, Fredi Deubler, from the Russian Front in 1944, whom we learned was my mother’s fiancée. As a family, we often stayed with the Deubler family when we visited Germany. Also among Hedy’s letters were notes from a woman written to John with whom he abandoned the family for a time to have an affair.
In addition, an examination of John’s records yielded the death certificate of his first wife and a son who died on the same day in 1949. It also included military papers seeking permission to accept paternal responsibility for my sister.
When I saw all this I knew I had to write a book about it.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have a knack for interpolating between known events and facts and for seeing events from several perspectives.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
The Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis
Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
What are you working on now?
I am searching for an interesting story further back into my extended family. I also may write about the writing process I used to craft SFC: A Poor Man’s Battle.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
We have the book available of course on Amazon and promote and publicize the link to where the book can be seen and purchased. The publisher, MFM Publishing and Productions, has been instrumental in helping us get the book placed on several additional sites where books are sold. I also have engaged a public relations firm, Solomon Turner PR, to help build branding and awareness for the book through many channels including interviews, social media, press releases and more.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Be authentically you. Also be inspired by the topic of which you will write, and enlist several proofreaders to read the book critically and identify unclear content.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Fear not and embrace change.
What are you reading now?
In Dubious Battle by John Steinbeck
Recently finished: The Stranger in the Lifeboat by Mitch Albom
What’s next for you as a writer?
As mentioned earlier, I may write a story that goes further back into my extended family. There is also interest in the writing process I used to craft SFC: A Poor Man’s Battle so I might focus on that.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I would leave the three to four books that were stranded with me on a desert island up to Providence. My circumstances would force me to read and comprehend the reading material that I had instead of choosing the reading material by myself. My mother, Hedy, had limited reading material because she was a German expatriate. She read every word in her magazines multiple times before trading with friends to refresh her library. No German literature was ever discarded.
Author Websites and Profiles
Frank McElvain’s Social Media Links