Today is the tour for Lily Lawson’s latest children’s book, If I Were Invisible. For my stop on the blog tour I have invited Lily to do an author interview.
If I Were Invisible is a rhyming picture book about a boy wondering what fun he could have if no-one could see him. Think of all the things we could get away with if nobody could see us! But how long would the fun last, if we had to do it all alone?
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Welcome Lily to me blog. Tell us a little about yourself and the inspiration for your picture book, If I Were Invisible.
I’m a poet, children’s, and short story writer. I’ve published three poetry books and three picture books. I’ve also had poetry, short stories, and creative non-fiction published in anthologies and online.
If I Were Invisible is my sixth book. It came about as a result of a prompt from Cheryl Burman’s Facebook Page. Her prompts help me to keep writing every day.
What are the underlying themes of If I Were Invisible?
It’s about things a child would like to do but either weren’t allowed to such as staying up late or had to have an adult with them to do such as going to the park.
It’s also about things they might not want to do but had to like going to school.
The question is whether you can have fun when you have no-one to do things with. Sometimes the idea of having something, in this case the freedom to do whatever you want, may not be the same as actually having it.
For what reason did you decide to write If I Were Invisible, in rhyme?
I’m a poet. To be honest it just came out that way. I think rhyme works well for children’s books, but it wasn’t a conscious decision.
Do you have a favourite spread in the book?
The bit near the end where he says ‘If I were invisible someone nobody could see, would I find it special? Would I feel like I was free?’
I love the image that goes with that. It also brings home the question of the book ‘Do I really want this? Make believe is fun but when we imagine living another way we don’t know all the facts and if we did we may not want to live like that.
What comes first for you the plot, or the characters and why?
I’m a discovery writer most of the time. When I write its often like I’m not in charge of what happens. It’s only when I edit that I make conscious decisions. I don’t write books; I write poems and stories which sometimes end up in books. When I was writing this poem it came to me that this was a boy and it rhymed as I wrote it. It was suggested to me that I’d written a book and it was only then I could see the illustration potential.
Are there any books or authors that inspired you to become a writer?
I started writing at 11. Plenty of writers inspire me to keep going. My writing groups are full of people who make a difference to me and my writing.
Who has been the biggest supporter of your writing?
That is a hard question to answer. I am lucky in that there’s more than one person cheering me on, not letting me quit and they are all special to me. Also over time the answer has changed.
Is there anything else you would like to tell readers about your books and writing for children?
These are my other books
Poetry –
- http://mybook.to/RainbowsRedPoetryBook
- http://mybook.to/ATasteofWhatstoCome
- http://mybook.to/MyFathersDaughter
and children’s books
I didn’t set out to write for children, some of my poetry just turned out that way.
Thank you Lily for telling us a little about If I Were Invisible. It sounds such a fun book.
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You can find out more about Lily and her books on her website: www.lilyswritinglife.com/ and sign up for her mailing list here:
www.lilyswritinglife.com/lifewithlily
You can follow Lily Lawson on Twitter @lifelofelily22 on Instagram @poeticrainbow9 and on Facebook @lifelofelily22
Lily Lawson’s book If I Were Invisible is available to purchase on Amazon in eBook and paperback here: https://mybook.to/IfIwereInvisible.
I would like to thank Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me to take part in this blog tour. Thank you.
Much To Do About Writing 