Francis X. Hayes

Frank has spent much of his life as an English teacher with a long a successful career introducing inner city students to the power of language.  For over thirty years he taught grades six through twelve.  Beyond the regular curriculum, Frank taught Mass Media, Film, Debate and Creative Writing.  Outside the formal education system, Frank has worked with the Fresh Air Fund and various non-profit groups for over fifteen years.  He has been involved with outdoor education, teaching wilderness survival, orienteering, pond studies, and group challenge courses.  He’s also directed summer camps and programs specializing in courses for brain injured children and adults.

Frank has lived most of his life on a small farm in New York’s Hudson Valley with his wife of over fifty years, Fran.  Together they have raised eight children and now have a large extended family. Over the years Frank’s love of nature and animals has brought a menagerie to their small farm.  While they specialized in breeding AKC registered English Springer Spaniels, they have also raised horses, cows, cats, chickens, pigs, goats and more.

Frank’s first novel Death at the Black Bull was published under the Berkeley imprint by Penguin Random House in the fall of 2014.  The sequel, Death on the High Lonesome, will be published in 2015.