Welcome back, First Stories readers! In this season of giving thanks, I’d like to say thank you to each and every one of you for spending some time with me and my stellar author guests. Today, you’re in for a super special treat, because I am delighted to be chatting with Lynne Marie, the founder of Rate My Story (an excellent resource for ANY writer), the author of NINE books for kids, AND a member of my amazing book promo group – Kids Book Club!
Lynne Marie is the award-winning author of Hedgehog Goes to Kindergarten — art by Anne Kennedy (Scholastic 2011), Hedgehog’s 100th Day of School — art by Lorna Hussey (Scholastic 2017), The Star of the Christmas Play — art by Lorna Hussey (Beaming Books 2018), Moldilocks and the 3 Scares — art by David Rodriguez Lorenzo (Sterling / Scholastic 2019) and Let’s Eat! Mealtime Around the World — art by Parwinder Singh (Beaming Books 2019), The Three Little Pigs and the Rocket Project and The Three Little Pigs and the Rocket Project Coloring Book — art by Wendy Fedan (Mac and Cheese Press 2022), The Palace Rat — art by Eva Santana (Yeehoo Press 2023), Broommates co-written with Brenda Reeves Sturgis – art by Nico Ecenarro (The Little Press 2024) and more, forthcoming.
She’s formerly an editor for a small press and currently an Agent Mentee at The Seymour Agency. In addition, she’s the Owner/Director of RateYourStory.org, ThePictureBookMechanic.com, the Creator/Host of March On With Mentor Texts (www.rateyourstory.org/march-on) and Mentor Text Talk by Rate Your Story), a Co-Host of #SeasonsOfKidLit (www.seasonsofkidlit.com) along with Heather Macht, a Cybils Judge since 2016 (www.cybils.org) and a Feature Columnist at Children’s Book Insider (www.writeforkids.org).
When she’s not traveling the world in search of story ideas, she lives in the heart of Florida with her family, a Schipperke named Anakin and a Mini Pinscher named Marlowe Charlotte. Visit her at www.LiterallyLynneMarie.com. Lynne Marie is represented by Marisa Cleveland of www.theseymouragency.com.
Me: Hello Lynne Marie! Thanks so much for joining me today!
LM: Thanks for chatting with me!
Me: Let’s dive right in! I’ll start out with the first question I ask all my guests – Tell me about your “first story.” The one that really pushed you to consider publishing. What inspired you to write it? What was it about?
LM: Fun question! I went back to school to study Children’s Literature and Writing for Children, so I had many, many “first” stories (actually homework assignments). The one I remember, as being first among those, Have You Ever Heard of the Elephant Bird? and Animals Don’t Brush Their Teeth. But I don’t consider those “first stories,” but rather just learning my craft.
However, one of my first and favorite stories that felt like more than just a writing exercise was The Palace Rat, which I wrote while on a family summer vacation to France in 1998. I was inspired by a lone rat who ran across the courtyard of Versailles. For more of the story behind the story on The Palace Rat, scurry on over to: https://www.literallylynnemarie.com/post/the-story-behind-the-story-of-the-palace-rat
Me: I love that you have multiple first stories! I think so many of us as writers do – we have stories from when we were younger and the first stories we wrote when we were (are still, in my case!) finding our footing. Where is THE PALACE RAT now?
LM: Oh, this is a good one! As luck would have it, The Palace Rat released September 5th of this year (2023)! So, much like my writing journey, it was a long and winding road! I’m happy that it found a home with Yeehoo Press and that Eva Santana was able to bring my characters to life in such a fun way!
Me: Even though I already knew the answer (hooray for being in the same release group!), I’m still whooping and cheering! What an amazing, roundabout journey for this little story. 🙂 Are there any themes in that story that you can see in your writing today?
LM: Yes! The themes woven into this story are: bloom where you are planted, and also the values of friendship, of storytelling and of being true to yourself. Often, it’s a challenge to support one theme, but I think these wove together nicely to tell the story.
My first book, Hedgehog Goes to Kindergarten had a friendship theme (friends make everything bearable), as did my second book Hedgehog’s 100th Day of School (you can get by with a little help from your friends) [available here: www.literallylynnemarie.com/hedgehog-100]. My third book, The Star in the Christmas Play, had a similar theme of being true to yourself – but more along the lines of self-acceptance and celebration of that. The theme of bloom where you are planted comes across to some extent in Moldilocks and the Three Scares, as she is like a seed blown across a field that takes root in a place that feels like a good home. So you can definitely see variations of themes. The Three Little Pigs and the Rocket Project explores embracing failure and learning to make it work. I do love themes and they give your work a subtle message and added takeaway value.
Me: What great advice about themes from someone who has edited books for a small press and has been around the publishing world! (Pssstt….this is where you, reader, and me start taking notes. :)) Looking back, what elements of that first story made it unmarketable?
LM: I’m not sure that I would ever say it was *exactly* unmarketable, but it did need to find its zone and also align with what the market was looking for as far as word counts for fairy tales / folktales and fables. When I originally wrote it, it was 2500 words, as were many books in that genre at that time. But when it finally found its groove, the acceptable word count was much less, so I had to strive for telling the story in the fewest words without losing any of the character, plot or humor.
Me: How encouraging to hear that this story was just waiting for the right time and the right person! I love that SO much! When you first wrote THE PALACE RAT, did you receive feedback on that story? What did that feedback teach you?
LM: Over the years, I have received feedback on this, and each person helped me to shape it into what it is today. One of the most important comments I received on this was to condense the characters to only the Queen, Tailor and Cook, and Mama and Bebe Mouse as you see them today. Originally, there were more palace workers who were not enthralled with Henri, but I pared them down to the ones who provided food, shelter and clothing. And at the start, I had a Papa Mouse, a Mama Mouse and Bebe Mouse. We always hesitate to get rid of beloved characters, but this really helped streamline the story.
Me: That is great feedback! Thanks for sharing some concrete feedback that helped shape this manuscript. Why is that “first story” special to you? How was it important for your writing journey?
LM: It was particularly special because of its “inspiration” story (of actually seeing a rat and being in Versailles, which was wonderful), but also because it combined things I love – travel, history, rats (I had a stuffed rat lovey as a child), and last, but not least, storytelling. And who isn’t infatuated with kings and queens, whether good or evil?
I would say that this book gave me a solid foundation in learning to tell a story and infuse my passions, but yet letting it be what it needs to be. It was like learning to be a gardener of a seed of unknown species, and just observing its growth and giving it whatever it needs to continue to grow.
Me: So, Lynne Marie, you had TWO picture books come out in the last few months! We’ve gotten to hear all about THE PALACE RAT and its incredible journey, but your other book, THE STAR IN THE CHRISTMAS PLAY, released on October 3, just in time for Christmas! Can you tell us a little about this book? How did you come up with the idea for THE STAR IN THE CHRISTMAS PLAY? Does it relate at all to your “first story”?
LM: The Star in the Christmas Play was inspired by a Christmas Pageant that I was in with my friend Dorothea when I was eight. [Spoiler / Sad] Because she died (from spinal meningitis) just days after we were angels in the play, I wanted to write something in her memory. However, I just couldn’t think of a good way to do that which wouldn’t make me and everyone else sad.
Instead, I let her be the inspiration for writing the story, without touching upon “what really happened.” So I started thinking like a plotter and played what if? What if a character really wanted to be in the Christmas Pageant but couldn’t be? What would the reason be? Being too tall? The character of Raffi the Giraffe came to me. Then, the title came to me. The title inspired the resolution and from there, everything started rolling and really came together.
Me: Wow, Lynne Marie, what a beautiful way to honor your friend! This book sounds amazing and the perfect gift for the holidays! Run out and grab your copy today. Thank you so much for joining me on First Stories today!
LM: Thank you very much for having me!
Lynne Marie is offering TWO amazing prizes!!
FIRST:
*One Half Hour Ask Me Anything with Lynne Marie
Or One Half Hour Credit toward One Hour Picture Book Mentoring Session
AND SECOND:
*One Rate Your Story Speedpass to another winner
To participate, please comment and share this post on social media. Please tell us where you shared in the comment. Winners will be selected Monday, November 27, and notified on social media.
Heather C. Morris 
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