Hello There. I am Frechia Glass Collins Winchell.

Great Granny and Her Yucky Old Cat is my first published writing.

The age range of this book is for 7-10 year olds but some of my biggest fans are grown women as it takes them back to their childhood or to the childhood they wish they could have had. It Is not gender specific as boys love my book for the adventures.

I have been an avid reader my entire life.  Starting with Dr. Seuss books.  I love children and sharing things I love with them such as gardening. To quote Aubrey Hepburn, “To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.”

I am a strong believer that if you instill in children a love for nature and respect for life of all forms it will stay with them.  I did this with both of my children and it holds true to this day.  

I began writing my book in Spring 2007. I was home alone under the weather, just me and my thoughts and my laptop. I had all these ideas for a book forming in my head. I had not even ever considered writing a book before this.  I just knew it was getting harder and harder for me to fill my need to read good wholesome reading material so I had turned mostly to young adults historical fiction.  So when all these thoughts and ideas continued to come to me I did research on how to write a children’s chapter book and it is suggested you read other author’s work so I picked up a couple of chapter books similar to what I was contemplating.  I also learned in my research you write what you know and this book came very natural for me.

As I began to type so many of the stories my Mother in law had shared with me over the 27 years I had been married to my late husband at that time. Her growing up during the depression years came back into my head. And I saw and felt a story coming together.  At the time my late husband and I had what we liked to call our weekend daughter, Molly Robin. Her mother had passed and we had her Friday to Sunday many weekends helping out her grandparents. We were empty nesters and always had had a house full of children when our 2 children were growing up. We missed children in our home and she filled that need. And we grew very attached to her. She was 10 at the time and she became the main character in my book.

As I typed I saw a story forming.  Molly was to go stay with her Great Granny in the country.  She did not really want to go as she had not visited there very much and was a little city girl.  My own mother at the time did not have internet or cable TV in her home out in the country. Thus the no technology week for Molly Robin came into play.

My goal with my book is to bridge the generation gap.  Unfortunately in our society the elderly are often looked down upon or even forgotten.  This is being accomplished in my little story. Actually I’m finding entire families are sharing it, siblings with siblings. And Grandmothers and Grandfathers love sharing it with their grandchildren.  And parents sharing it as a relaxing bedtime story. It is just the sweetest most wholesome bedtime story. 

Each chapter in my book is an exciting day or so of Molly’s visit with her Great Granny.  She learns many lessons.

I handed out many copies of my little book to trusted friends and family. When I first wrote it in 2007-2009. They encouraged me to get it published.

If I wrote my book in 2007, why, did it not get published until Spring of 2021? 

To be continued. Trust me it’s quite a story in itself.   

I have just completed writing  Chapter 1 of Great Granny and her Yucky Old Cat sequel LIFE IS LEMONADE AND PEACHES AND CREAM.   I hope to have it completed Spring 2024.