Welcome back to Author Spotlight. Today I have the honor of sharing my conversation with Lynn Becker, the author of Monsters in the Briny illustrated by Scott Brundage and June Moon (coming out May 21, 2024) illustrated by Nate Carvalho.
I met Lynn through SCBWI and she has been a wonderful resource and inspiration. Her book reviews are legendary and her insight is priceless. So, without further ado…
When did you start creating books?
A long time ago. I went to art school, got an MFA at Cal Arts in experimental animation. I was working in words and pictures. It felt like it took a really long time for me to get what was in my head to come out on paper in a way that made sense and fit the market but also was different enough to catch someone’s eye.
I liked to think about it as where my best work intersected with the market but it took me a long time to get there. It took me like 20 years! But I was trying to write and illustrate for a good long time and only when I realized I was too stressed about the illustration–it wasn’t fun anymore–I dropped that.
Then I was able to write about things that I couldn’t illustrate myself or didn’t feel comfortable illustrating myself. And Bam! Right after that I was able to write more complex things and I got an agent right away.
I never heard of anyone going through the process that way! I’ve heard of people learning illustration later on and then adding that to it.
It has to stay fun. I think that was another thing–I didn’t get published until I felt like I had a body of work that I could query and then I could write exactly what I wanted from my kid self and that led to writing something really fun that somebody wanted.
Fun really is the biggest fuel that you can find for that! You mentioned 20 years and a really long time of working to get to that point. How did you overcome those obstacles?
Because I love picture books. To me, it’s the perfect blend of art and text. I’ve been a reader all my life, but picture books are art and I loved animation but I hated the technology. A book, you just open it up and there it is. It’s sitting on your shelf, you don’t have to turn on the projector to look at it or the TV or anything. It’s right there and you open it up and it’s beautiful art and poetry.
I love picture books so much, I’ve got gazillions of them all over the place.
What is your ideal time and place to write?
After I go through email, I go out and take a walk–I walk five and a half miles and try to get into some nature there which really helps because if I’m in the middle of working on something that has anything to do with rhythm or rhyme the perfect place to do it is on the trail.
I need to do it to clear my head before I make breakfast or anything. If I’m thinking about something–this happened to me yesterday, it was the best thing ever–I was stewing about ‘how do I end this book?’ I needed something a little less expected and then I started thinking about other things and by the end of the walk I had an idea.
So I go out and I walk for a couple hours then I have breakfast. From 12:00 to 7:00 I sit at my desk not necessarily straight through and there’s tons of business and everything gets in the way and there’s more webinars than there used to be.
There’s like a million things but between 12 and 7, those are my hours that I hopefully get some time to actually work on a manuscript.
I love how you mentioned the rhythm with the walking because I’ve heard of walking being an important part of the process to clear your head and get ideas but I never thought of its connection to writing in rhythm and rhyme. That makes a lot of sense!
It’s magical. It’s like BOOM! It’s the best place.
You mentioned shelf awareness, I saw a post on your blog about that. Could you tell me a little bit about what shelf awareness is?
It’s an online review journal. I’ve been reviewing for them for many years. I really like thinking that way, it’s a different way to make my brain work and it helps with writing when it comes time to write a blurb or a pitch.
What do you most enjoy about being a writer/storyteller?
I love making art, I don’t care what kind it is. I feel like creating something is my happy place. There’s hardly anything better than making something. I like to cook because I like to make stuff but I don’t use recipes that often because that’s not as much fun.
I love books–I’ve always love books. I was one of those bookworm kids who reads on the couch in their own little world. It’s creating that’s fun, isn’t it?
It is. It connects to something, at least for me, to make me feel lighter and connected.
With something, right? Yeah, it sometimes feels like you’re pulling this stuff out and you don’t know where it’s from. And the best stuff comes when you can get out of your own way.
That kind of goes with my next question, why do you write?
Because if I didn’t I’d be very sad and crabby. It doesn’t really matter what it is as long I get to make something.
What are some books you’ve read recently that you enjoyed?
That’s a good question! I read a lot… I just finished Holly Black’s latest from The Folk of The Air series, The Stolen Heir.
I’m listening to the audio of King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo right now because I go back and forth to the airport a lot.
For picture books? There are tons! Beautiful Noise: The Music of John Cage by Lisa Jean LaBanca Rogers and illustrated by Il Sung Na. I love The Scariest Kitten in The World by Terrifying Kitten as told to Kate Messner and illustrated by MacKenzie Haley.
I read middle grade too. Now you got me going! I have to plug this one I love, 100 Mighty Dragons All Named Broccoli by David LaRochelle illustrated by Lian Cho. This one is great too, Bathe The Cat written by Alice B. McGinty illustrated by David Roberts.
Ode to a Bad Day by Chelsea Lin Wallace illustrated by Hyewon Yum. Okay, see now you got me going! I’m gonna stop but this is dangerous! [laughter]
Have you read Jackaby by William Ritter? It’s the first book in a 5 book series. It’s wonderful, sort of weirdly paranormal but a little bit Victorian in New England. The first page of the first book of Jackaby is one of the best first pages anywhere.
If you could go back in time and give yourself one piece of advice when you first began your writing journey, what would it be?
Don’t be so sensitive to rejection because I used to get a rejection and it would shut me down for a long time. I would keep working but I wouldn’t send anything out again for ages and ages.
I sent a dummy to the wrong office of an agent and it was a big agent and they said, “Well, we can’t look at this, you want the agent in New York. But if she doesn’t want it, send it back to us.” And I didn’t because the agent in New York said, “No.”
I think I lost some opportunities but then again I wasn’t ready yet. You have to work and get a tougher skin before you go out there.
Tell us about your latest book, where to get it, and where to connect with you?
Monsters in the Briny illustrated by Scott Brundage is a rollicking read full of fun sea monsters who each have a problem. And this crew of young sailors has to save them before they completely wreck the ship.
It’s a sea shanty so it’s full of fun language. I worked really hard to have fun word play going on. I did a lot of walking.
And your cover by Scott Brundage is amazing! Tentacles closing in are so exciting!
Yes, the artwork is amazing and like I said before the recording, I’ve seen kids run across a bookstore–point it out and run to it and open the book because of the cover. It’s so fabulous and the inside is great too.
It’s available in most places books are sold: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and independent bookstores. The wandering jellyfish has signed copies.
On my website, there are all kinds of resources for the book, karaoke, coloring sheets and more.
And my board book, June Moon, illustrated by Nate Carvalho will be coming out May 21, 2024. I will have a preorder link on my site soon.
If readers want to connect with you, where should they go?
I can’t thank Lynn enough for taking the time to talk with me about her process and writing journey. Not to mention all the book recommendations I added to my TBR list!
Stay tuned for more upcoming interviews and news on Nia’s Rescue Box. It is now available for preorder in ebook and will be out in the next week or so in print!
I’m booking free author visits both in-person (if reasonable) and virtual right now, so please send me a message if you want a reading, signing, Q&A session, or presentation for your community.
