Headmaster, lawyer, sergeant, and first-time author Arch Montgomery graciously consented to an interview with the Harvard Crimson regarding his debut novel, _Hank_.

Charming, witty, and self-deprecating, Mr. Montgomery’s final comment on his new opus was simply: "I hope people read it!"

THC: Thanks for granting this interview so early in the morning.

AM: It’s eight-thirty.

THC: That’s pretty early for me.

AM: I’m impressed that you’re awake!

THC: Actually I didn’t go to sleep.

THC: How/when did you get the idea for this novel?

AM: I'm around kids a lot, and I get to watch them in their various struggles to grow up. The worst mistakes kids make seem to happen when there's an absence of adult guidance. So I tried to put myself in the shoes of a thirteen-year old boy. I asked myself, what would you do if you were thirteen and had a lot of free time? Then it started to write itself. There were issues I felt strongly about dealing with. The whole issue of tolerance in this country is such a fundamentally difficult one...I wanted to make sure that was in there.

THC: This is the first part of a trilogy; tell us more about _The Gunpowder Trilogy_, its intent, and how _Hank_ fits in.

AM: _Hank_ deals with the problem of a kid where nobody is paying attention, who does what any thirteen year old would do with too much time on his hands. Fifty percent of the kids we deal with as educators are in his position, so Hank's difficulties are commonplace, and there's no one at fault.

The second novel is called _Jake_ . Jake, Hank’s stepbrother, is sent away to a school called St. Stevens. He makes some mistakes and he winds up in the arms of a school that he ultimately embraces. So _Jake_ changes focus from Hank, a boy with relatively superficial problems, to Jake, who has a whole community surrounding him. And that's the only thing that gives him a chance to survive real tragedies.

The third novel, _Stephie_, Hank’s stepsister, is told by her mother, Miss-Perfect-Lady Karen. You might say that it's a modern female version of the book of Job. _The Gunpowder Trilogy_ hopefully deals with explosive issues, and the Gunpowder River runs through all the stories.

THC: When can we expect them?

AM: _Hank_ is coming out in January 2003; and the rest of the books will follow a year apart from each other.