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SAMMY: Hi Lynn, and welcome you to Yellow Brick Books! Our readers are keen to know all about you and your new book, so let's get started. Can you tell us about about your new book?
LYNN: Grumpy Bear, Grouchy Bear has been in the pipeline for a while now. I liked playing around with the rhymes and rhythms in the story. I sent it off to Yellow Brick Books and they liked it too, so now it will be published. Bear is rather grumpy because he’s hungry and he is not very good at sourcing food. I like the fact that the little mouse is kind and sharing and that once Bear’s tummy is full he is much happier. I think most of us are like that don’t you?
SAMMY: I know I sometimes get a bit grumpy when I'm hungry. But I'll tell you a secret, Lynn - I also get pretty grumpy when I haven't had my nap! We sloths need a lot of sleep, you know. I'm glad the book has a happy ending for Bear. So have you always wanted to be a writer, Lynn?
LYNN: I think I always enjoyed rhyming and the musicality of words but I am not in the least bitmusically talented so word play is as close as I can get to being musical! But it took me a verylong time to realise there was actually a job out there where rhyming or playing with words was an advantage.
SAMMY: We love a good rhyming story at Yellow Brick Books! How long have you been writing books? Have you written any other books for children?
LYNN: I have been writing children’s picture books for around fifteen years, but my first book was only published about five years ago, so I have had a very long apprenticeship.
I have three other books in publication. Sally Snickers’ Knickers, The Big Beet and No Room for a Wombat .
All my published books so far are written in rhyme although I do, very occasionally, write in prose. They are usually funny. In Sally Snickers’ Knickers, the lead character wears undies on her head!
Grumpy Bear, Grouchy Bear, while it is a rhyming book, differs from the others in style. The rhyming style is quite different but I think it will appeal to young readers with its quirky way of describing things, like the ‘thorny thumb-attack berries’.
SAMMY: All of your books sound great, Lynn! What do you like most about writing?
LYNN: I love to discover ways to tell a simple story in an entertaining way. I spend loads of time (hours, days, weeks, months, years) finding just the right words so that the story is fun and enjoyable to read and that search for just the right word is immensely pleasurable for me.
LYNN: As I said earlier, I’ve had a very long apprenticeship but I think I was very lucky to be picked upfrom the slush pile with both The Big Beet and Sally Snickers’ Knickers so I would encourage writers to not give up and keep submitting. I have worked with three different publishers for my fourbooks and I find each is a little different from the rest. Overall though it has been a very positiveexperience, and there is absolutely nothing like seeing your work as a published book in the handsof little readers!
LYNN: I love the work of Julia Donaldson – particularly The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo’s Child. Donaldson has a wonderful way with words and rhyme. I also like Aaron Blabey’s books for a good laugh. He does some great rhyming too, which always appeals to me.
SAMMY: Grumpy Bear, Grouchy Bear will be available in bookshops and online in September. Thanks for talking to me today, Lynn. It's so great to hear all about you and your other books, too.
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