Everyone has a life away from the office, a hobby or passion that we pursue outside of business hours. In my spare time, I raise succulents and create jewelry. CSAC legislative representative Farrah McDaid Ting fosters kittens until they are old enough for adoption; Geoff Neill, also a CSAC legislative representative,  hosts a monthly poetry reading; and CSAC legislative assistant Karen Schmelzer does cross-stitch embroidery. Even our federal lobbyists have lives outside of work. We recently found out that Joe Krahn, president and managing partner of Paragon Government Relations (PGR), has added a new title to his resume. Joe Krahn is also a children’s book author.

We reached out to Joe to learn a little bit more about his new book, published just in time for Halloween. 

Tell us about your inspiration for writing The Adventures of Captain Pumpkin Head.

The inspiration for the book dates back to the fall of 2014. At the time, I was emailing with my sister about her Halloween plans and our conversation turned to her son, Benji, who had just gotten a pumpkin. Knowing that my nephew has a wonderful sense of imagination, I asked my sister to let him know that once his pumpkin had been carved into a jack-o-lantern it might do some strange and interesting things, like move around the house at night when he was sleeping.

From there, the character of Captain Pumpkin Head just sprang to life. Incidentally, it wasn’t until 2018 that I decided to transform what was a series of emails into an actual adventure book. If you’re interested, you can read more about the genesis of the story here.