3 Question Interview - LYNNE MARIE

I'm so happy to feature author Lynne Marie on my blog today. Her new book, THE STAR IN THE CHRISTMAS PLAY, illustrated by Lorna Hussey (Beaming Books), is perfect for the holiday season or any time! I love her HEDGEHOG stories, and I can't wait to add her upcoming releases to my picture book collection. Read on for Lynne Marie's thoughts about stories . . . creativity . . . and connection. Welcome, Lynne Marie!

STORIES – Discuss what inspires your ideas and stories, and share the process about your latest projects.

The world is a playground for ideas! They can come from anywhere and everywhere. A random thought, a feeling, a real-life experience, a snippet of dialogue or word heard, a wish, news or magazine articles, history, being witness to an experience, a fracture of a fairy tale, mashing up unrelated topics or ideas, an unrelated book, what if?, etc.

However, one of the best ways to get and/or refine and revise ideas is by reading. When you read a lot, you get a first-hand view of what has been done, and what hasn’t been done, what publishers have published, what publishers have not yet published, how far they might go (in cases of metafiction and subversive books). You will start to see holes in the market and your brain will start to cultivate the seeds to plant to fill those holes.

It’s hard to talk about process in specific terms. Each book project is like a different animal or child, so it ends up that no two are borne by exactly the same method. I believe it’s important for me (and other writers) to be open to the process varying, to letting ideas come in different ways and to let them flow along their own paths.

As to my most current projects, I am not currently able to discuss them. However, I am so excited about them and can’t wait to share details! These projects are so very close to my own heart and are the realization of a long-held dream!

CREATIVITY -- How do you showcase your creative side through writing/illustrating and other pursuits?

My creative side loves to imagine and build stories from the ground up. And stories (whether works-in-progress, magazine stories or picture books) give my character ideas a place to develop, grow and possibly even come to life.

I also do critiques and mentoring for picture book writers and think of myself as a picture book mechanic (www.thepicturebookmechanic.com, coming soon). I love being able to lift up and look under the hood of a manuscript and being able to tell the author what’s broken and what needs to be done to fix it.

I do get to challenge my creativity in other ways, as well, including arts and crafts, holiday decorating (yes, that’s a thing LOL), photography and even travel planning. Planning a trip out of nothing and making it come to life into a magical vacation is fulfilling as well.

CONNECTION -- How do you connect to your young readers through your writing/illustrating, and how do you stay connected to the KidLit community?

I love the connection that my books provide between me and my readers. The notes, photos and reviews that they send really brighten my day and fuel my fire for more books to reach more people. My books, while fun, do address certain issues so I would love to reach/inspire as many readers as possible. As for the KidLit Community, I am involved with SCBWI Florida as both a faculty speaker and critiquer and also as a participant. I am a Critique Ninja for 12 x 12, a 2018 Cybils Elementary and Middle Grade Nonfiction Judge (my 3rd year as a Judge, formerly Picture Books), a member of The Prose Shoppe, to name just a few affiliations. I am also an active member of several successful critique groups.

LYNNE MARIE'S BIO:

Lynne Marie is the author of Hedgehog Goes to Kindergarten - illustrated by Anne Kennedy (Scholastic, 2011), Hedgehog's 100th Day of School – illustrated by Lorna Hussey (Scholastic, 2017), The Star in the Christmas Play -- illustrated by Lorna Hussey (Beaming Books, 2018), Moldilocks and the 3 Scares -- illustrated by David Rodriguez Lorenzo (Sterling, 2019) and her first non-fiction picture book, Let’s Eat! Mealtimes Around the World -- illustrated by Parwinder Singh (Beaming Books, 2019) and more forthcoming. She is also a freelance Editor and a Travel Agent. She lives on a lake in South Florida with her daughter Kayla Michelle, son Kevin, a Schipperke named Anakin and several resident water birds. You can learn more about her at www.LiterallyLynneMarie.com.