Author Interview with Lynn McAllister
Hi Everyone!
My name is Lynn McAllister and I am a first-time children's author from
Twickenham UK. I have been living in Twickenham with my partner and 2 daughters,
who are 12 and 15 now, for some years having grown up in Lincolnshire in a more
rural setting, first moving to South East London and over the years migrating to
the lovely leafy suburbs of South West London! I work as an administrator in a
special needs school for students with speech and language difficulties, which
only opened last year. The whole experience in getting the school up and running
had been a valuable, unique experience, with many challenges along the way, but
ultimately rewarding. The lockdowns and restrictions have been especially
testing for all educators, delivering classes in school, planning online lessons
for homeschooling and providing support to parents and students. Over the years
I have worked in various administrative roles in private companies, including
Cable & Wireless, the telecoms company, which had a lot of business in the
Caribbean. I was lucky enough to visit to set up Fraud Prevention training
workshops in Barbados and Antigua but did get caught up in a hurricane and
literally nearly drowned in the middle of the night!! I worked in municipal
roles and lately education, from nursery, when my girls were babies, Primary
(ages 4-11), Secondary (11- 18) through to University here in Twickenham! I love
art, drawing and being creative and have an Etsy shop online selling my greeting
cards under the name Lynn Carol Designs, which is just taking off. I also love
reading and writing and cycling, keeping fit and healthy when we can despite the
national restrictions. We have 2 rabbits called Poppy and Pippy - Pippy is now
nearly 9 years old - the greeting cards were inspired by the rabbits and are
mostly rabbit themed for those who love bunnies! We all love animals and would
dearly love a dog when the time is right ... Regarding the book, the name Pixie
Van Dimple came to me as a fun name but also alludes to the fact that my
siblings (brother and sister who are twins) and I all have dimples and many
people would remark on them when we were children! Much to our embarrassment!
The title is a warning - a definite reference to something not quite right! as
in very Wrong! and 'Artifical Intelligence' is a buzzword in tech which as an
emerging technology is here to stay, as part of the Digitalisation revolution
taking place right now. We hear a lot about Machine Learning and AI, Augmented
Reality and Ethics - who knows where it will take us for the greater 'good' or
'bad'. There is always a flipside to technology - the tip is to know what we are
dealing with and act accordingly! Know the boundaries and keep safe! We need to
get children in primary schools to start to embrace the technological changes
and developments and be aware, educate themselves and become Masters of
Technology, learn Digital Citizenship as many jobs in the future will involve
mind-boggling amounts of data so we will need to be familiar and comfortable
with the digital landscape and all the associated risks and where it is heading.
This is where the character, Pixie Van Dimple can take off on her journey and
become a 3D character with opinions, advice and support and I hope to do that
very soon by creating a blog for her. She can be created in many media such as
gaming, comic strips and memes and children can write their own Pixie Van Dimple
stories about their own causes 'Pixie Van Dimple and the Wrong Kind of........'
! The main message of the book on the face of it essentially is to be aware of
the dangers of online safety and too much screentime which all children can
relate to. Reading is hugely beneficial for children from the perspective of
developing skills in reading and writing, both at school or at home and is
interactive - an activity which can be shared - with parents or guardians,
carers, family and friends. Lyrical stories and rhymes can be accompanied by
music and can be sung! Check out rappers and poets and songwriters! Children
love storybooks, and nursery rhymes and will read their favorites over and over
again! We learn so much from reading both in book form and online, which of
course is one of the wonders of the internet. We learn to form opinions, share
ideas and learn about life and expectations, read about fantasy and developing
ideas, and all manner of information. The written word is a vital part of
communication that is a life source to us. The themes of this book include the
adverse effects of screentime and refers to the dangers of online safety - as an
educational professional we do extensive training on online safety and child
protection which is extremely important - prevention is the key, being vigilant
and embedding online safety education into the curriculum so that the children
are aware of the risks and keep safe. I wanted this book to form part of the
online safety curriculum and span English and creative writing also. Online
safety is a key part of safeguarding. We have a duty of care to safeguard our
kids as parents as well as in school. The dangers are wide-ranging and can be
horrific - we know there is a dark side and we need to provide protection to our
kids. As well as online safety there are also adverse effects of too much
screentime including irritability, lack of concentration and lack of sleep, too
much stimulation on no downtime. The motto and message of the book is to be
aware of the dangers of online safety in simple terms, know that there is a dark
side (such as cyberbullying and cybercrime, predators and grooming) and observe
Pixie's online safety rules for kids! The positives though far outweigh the
downsides - the fact that over 7.5 billion people in the world have access to a
mobile phone is phenomenal and that means that a lot of children will now have
access to education - brilliant! The message to children across the world:
'Children - have fun, play with your friends, share ideas, live life and
explore! Use technology wisely, understand the risks but ultimately wonder at
the sheer volume of learning available to you and information you can explore.
Read loads of books as they can enhance your lives, extend your knowledge,
escape into a fantasy world. There are no boundaries to exploration and
imagination, but remember the message - to be safe and know the risks! Be happy!
live well, be kind, be thoughtful, always have fun! Don't be afraid to ask for
help! Share, talk, love, be safe..... ultimately - BE YOU!!!!! '
2. What is your
motive behind writing this book?
The motive as I have explained above is to
raise awareness amongst children of the many advantages of technological
advancement but to ultimately be Masters of the Technology which will be part of
their lives in the future and be ahead of the game! Know the risks and be safe!
I have very quicky realised that having a real positive impact on children's
lives and their safety and education is immensely rewarding so I will use the
books and the platforms available to me to promote these key ideas.
3. How did
you become an author?
I did not set out to become an author but I have 2
daughters who like children across nations are susceptible to all kinds of
pitfalls, risks and dangers in life and need guidance and education to pick
their way through, choose the right paths and blossom into well rounded adults,
know the risks and be safe! I wanted to create a 3d character, like them, who
loves life, is fallible but strong in character and able to overcome the dangers
and ultimately champion the cause. A role model and heroine who can be brought
to life in any media - film, TV, animation theatre, musicals - no limit really.
I wanted it to be fun and silly and draw children in, to think about the message
and the wordplay and discuss solutions, pave the way, develop opinions and
stimulate creativity.
4. How long did it take you to complete the writing and
publication process?
When I had finished writing the text that is to say the
actual story, which is a rhyming text, (it really did not take me long to write
as I had a sudden rush to the head, so to speak! ), I was not convinced however,
it was going to be an actual book! I was a complete novice and was not sure what
to do but I tried the conventional route which is to approach the larger
publishers who are more likely to publish established writers, and was turned
down on this basis. I approached Austin Macauley however, and they sent me a
contract! I needed illustrators who came as part of the contract which was
great! As part of the deal you pay a contribution towards the production costs
and the whole process takes several months, whereby you can share ideas and
agree the format and illustrations to the final draft. I was very happy with the
production of the book and really proud when the copies were sent to me and I
had my book in my hand.
5. How would you express your journey as an author?
I have found the journey to be a little fraught, I have been hesitant and
uncertain of the right path, but I have enjoyed the writing immensely, ideas
coming at me in fits and starts and you learn so much as you go along ! The joy
of having a book you have written published and in your hand and out there is
truly wonderful and I feel so proud! The writing communities on many different
platforms are very supportive and offer great advice too!
6. Are you a full time
writer or do you do any other work other than writing?
I wish I could be a full
time writer and be concentrate on the books but not just yet! I work full time
in a special needs school locally as an administrator, which I actually love.
Being educators is also immensely rewarding as you can enhance the lives of the
children in school and learning is the key to a child's success! The next book
is called Pixie Van Dimple and the Wrong Kind of Plastic which is a seaside
armageddon! The themes being ocean pollution/plastic pollution and the effects
on marine life and also highlight the need for sustainability/circular economy
and recycling in all areas in line with the sustainability goals 2025, and the
forthcoming discussions on another Paris Agreement led by the United Nations and
involving an Alliance of major companies dedicated to achieving these goals and
making changes for the better. Huge issues which will affect us, our environment
and our future generations for years to come. Subjects that children are very
interested in and eager to talk about. I want to collaborate with companies and
organisations such as Seven Clean Seas, Prevent Ocean Plastic and Oceans Plastic
Leadership Network, to collaborate, educate and regenerate! The book is due to
come out around Spring time 2021 and I am very excited about this too. Pixie Van
Dimple will become an ambassador for change and lead the campaigns wherever they
may take us. There are many issues which can be highlighted - get the children
to brainstorm them in class and come up with ideas, get them to write their own
Pixie Van Dimple and the Wrong Kind of ? stories and poems, draw pictures, be
creative! I have many ideas for Pixie Van Dimple who can develop, make friends,
have adventures and champion many causes, raise awareness and ultimately strive
for a better world!
7. What things do you love to do other than writing?
To keep
up to date with current information about the subjects I write about I like to
read articles and information available on social media and on the internet. I
also like art and drawing as I have said earlier and like to combine art with
technology - there are so many apps you can use even on your smartphone to
create and design. I also like reading novels and pilates and walking to keep
supple and also for my wellbeing!
8. What's your favourite spot to visit in your
country?
As a family we love to go to Devon and Cornwall to the beautiful
beaches, but we also love the Lake District which is unique here in the UK -
mountains and fells and beautiful scenery which inspired William Wordsworth and
Beatrix Potter!
9. At the end, any tips for upcoming authors and our readers?
I
would say have faith in yourself, if you have dreams to one day publish a book,
whatever the genre, then go for it. There are so many ways to go about it now
with so many tools at our fingertips. From flipbooks to ebooks, templates,
google! look to join writing groups online, undertake a writing course, ask
questions, research, approach different publishers, network on social media. The
advantage we have currently is that you can reach so many people online and many
people are shopping online! Producing the book is deemed to be the easy bit and
getting it out there, to market it, is more tricky but with perseverance and
exposure hopefully it will be a success! Watch this space to see how Pixie Van
Dimple is doing!
Thank you so much for answering all the questions in such a
wonderful way ma'am
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