Susannah Lloyd is the author of The Terribly Friendly Fox, illustrated by Ellie Snowdon, and This Book Can Read Your Mind, illustrated by Jacob Grant. She loves reading stories to her two sons above all things, and picture-book sections in libraries and book shops are her happy place. Her writing is inspired by dusty stuffed animals in museums, by long walks through woodlands, and by all things small in the world.
So what are Susannah's 5 Favorites?:
My favorite place to write:
Rebecca Solnit wrote that the mind works at its best at three miles an hour and I do find my best writing ideas tend to come when I'm walking. I'll be walking along, with a totally blank mind, and all of a sudden some characters will start talking to each other in my head, and I have to stop, grab my notebook, and scribble it all down before all that chatter evaporates.
My favorite mentor text:
The children's books I love the best are the ones where you get the feeling that the writer or illustrator was thoroughly enjoying themselves, having an absolutely marvellous time, creating it. Fattipuffs and Thinifers by Andre Maurois and Fritz Wegner, and the books that Russell Hoban or John Yeoman wrote with Quentin Blake all give me that feeling. However I think this is especially true of Hoban and Blake's two Captain Najork books, which I adore. Mac Barnett's and Jon Klassen's books also have that feeling about them too. I love the line 'I may have been swallowed but I have no intention of being eaten' from their book The Wolf, The Duck and the Mouse.
My favorite writing tip:
My favourite writing tip is from Nicholas Fisk who said "The plot can be allowed one thumping lie (say, the invasion of earth) but only one. Everything arising from the thumping lie must make sense." I try to follow that.
My favorite marketing tip:
My debut picture book only just came out so I don't feel I've got to grips with the idea of marketing at all yet, except, perhaps to say, try to be yourself, because I would imagine any other way lies madness.
My favorite book event of the year:
My youngest son and I went to see by a book event by Emily Howarth Booth around her book The King Who Banned The Dark at the Bradford Literature Festival. I've seen a lot of events where the authors or illustrators are in an all singing, all dancing performing mode, but Emily was very softly spoken and had a wonderful gentle and quiet way of drawing out the most creative ideas from the shyest of young audience members. We both loved it.
To learn more about Susannah's work, visit her website.
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