Ordinary Heroes: Barbara O'Connor's latest book, 'The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis,' is a big treat

Popeye lives in a small Southern town with nothing to do in the summer, and he’s bored. And then, lo and behold, a shiny silver motor home gets stuck in the mud in front of his house and, to his great delight, it’s filled with a family full of rowdy children.

Elvis, the oldest of those kids, loves to challenge authority.

He’s a royal rule breaker and a charismatic kid who just wants to have some fun. He encourages Popeye to have a small adventure with him. They finally find their adventure in the form of little boats made out of Yoo-hoo drink cartons that come floating down the creek. So they set off to find out who is sending those boats.

Did you mention their ages in the book?

I don’t think so. I see Elvis as being about 11, and Popeye being about 10. And, of course, I love Elvis’s sister, Prissy. She’s probably me. I love tap dancing. So I had to throw some tap shoes on her. And it was really fun writing the younger siblings and having them be so rowdy.

Like Popeye, you’re from South Carolina. What was it like growing up there?

I knew lots of colorful characters, and I had lots of relatives who were good old country folks, and they come through in my books. I was very independent and adventurous, and I spent a lot of time playing in creeks and catching salamanders. I also loved to read and write. I still have my sixth-grade report card with the teacher’s comments about my stories and poems. In fact, I show it to kids when I do school presentations. And I still have the first book I ever wrote, when I was 12.

What was it about?

It was so clichéd. It was about a girl who loves horses. And, of course, the only time I ever got on a horse in my life, I fell off and broke my arm. But in my imagination, I was a great equestrian. The story was called “Just a Little Will Power.” Interestingly enough, the main character was named Dixie, and now my mother-in-law is named Dixie. What are the odds?

I’ve heard there’s a trailer park not far from your Massachusetts home that inspired you to create Elvis’s family’s motor home. Are there any other real-life connections in the story?

No, primarily the creek and the motor home.

You didn’t sneak the name of one of your dogs into that scene in the cemetery?

Oh, my gosh. How could I forget that? That’s like the biggest thing. I can’t believe I totally blanked out.

Actually, I was just fishing.

A few years ago, my husband, son, and I took a road trip through Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. We like to go to really offbeat, out-of-the-way places. I had done some research online and found a coonhound cemetery. I was determined that we were going to go to that place. And oh my God, I can’t believe we found it. It was way back in the woods, down this dirt road. I think it’s in a town called Minot, AL. It was this cemetery devoted strictly to coonhounds. There were the names of the dogs, like I wrote in the book, and some of the graves had pictures. It was absolutely fascinating. So I knew I had to put that in a book.

Who’s the dog in the photo?

That’s Ruby. She’s a six-month-old golden retriever. I just gave her a giant rawhide bone to keep her occupied when the phone rang.