Emmeline Lakin An Interview with a Master Storyteller by Sue Vogan (www.suevogan.net)

There are ways to tell a story and then there are naturally born storytellers. If you have the pleasure of meeting the latter, you will know it instantly. Even if you have never had an interest in the topic, they will grip you from the very first sentence. You will find yourself being woven into the tapestry of their tale, meshing with the characters and sensing the magic in the air. In the end, the teller of tales will have ingeniously dropped a gift in your lap – a souvenir of your captivating journey into the world of enchantment. With not a great deal of interest in stories for children, I almost passed up a magical experience. Emmeline Lakin is a true raconteur. Q WHEN DID YOU FIRST START WRITING? A: I have always kept a diary. But my first novel I wrote when I was just thirteen years old. It was a YA (young adult) novel that my parents found unsuitable for a young teen, even though they encouraged their children to read and had an amazing library, there were boundaries set as to what books we were allowed to read or to write about according to our age. So, sadly to say, my story fizzled out.

Q: WHY DID YOU BECOME AN AUTHOR? A: It’s something inside you that you can’t describe--an intense desire to put all those ideas that bubble inside your head into words. I love reading and I want to share with the children the same emotions and excitement books bring out from me. Q: TELL ME ABOUT YOUR FIRST WRITTEN STORY A: I have so many firsts . . . I’ve been writing for many, many years, and I estimate to have around twenty stories all finished but not published. Some are good plots, some are not

so good and many are picture books—where I made my own illustrations. I studied writing with a South African Children’s book writer—fabulous tutor, and she encouraged me to write middle grade books and scary stories. She told me I was good at writing them. But my very first story was like I said before a YA novel about a doctor in a Caribbean island who meets and falls in love with a native, and well, can’t say more. Maybe I re-write it later on for YA readers. Q: DID ANYONE INSPIRE YOU TO WRITE?

A: Many writers inspired me to write. Poe, Wilde and Dickens, contemporaries like Stephen King and Koontz, R. L. Stine, Neil Gaiman, Mary Downing, Lindsey Barracloud, plus I loved stories by Isaac Bashevis Singer, and so many more. Q: WHY WRITE CHILDREN’S STORIES? A: I adore children. I think I wanted to be a teacher at one point in my life. Since I loved books so much and I wanted children to have the same wonderful feelings I had when reading a story, be it a scary tale or a beautiful classic. That feeling of wonderment, excitement, discovery, living the book with all its emotions tied to it. You forget all about this world and step into wonderland. Books open your mind to explore and let you dream. I want my young readers to feel and do the same. Q: WHAT TYPES OF STORIES DID YOU READ? A: I started reading the classics when I was five years old—although I didn’t really understand much of what I read, it didn’t stop me from going for the ‘hard’ books from the eighteenth and nineteen century writers. My taste as a child was diverse. I was a book hoarder or I should say hog? Any book that fell into my hands I read it voraciously then piled them on my bed, under my pillow, under my bed . . . . I loved reading Poe, Wilde and Dickens. Children’s literature, Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, Wilcox . . . so many, many more and if I could list all of the authors I loved, we’d run out of paper.

Q: WHERE DO YOU GET THE IDEAS FOR YOUR BOOKS? A: Anything can inspire me. Show me a rock, a stick, a color, a scent, newspaper articles, news, a photograph and ideas begin to percolate inside my head. I don’t think I suffer from writer’s block. To the contrary, I have to calm myself because there are too many ideas bubbling up ready to explode. I go to bed always thinking about my next story . . . a film begins to

form in my head. I reach for a pen and notebook and jot down just few words that will lead to my next story. Q: HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FROM IDEA TO BOOK? A: My three books took a few years. I was working with my tutor with my first book for one full year. Some books, I say around three to six months to complete the draft, and final edit can take a year. It’s all the little things that you need before you sit down and put the ideas into writing. A lot of research goes into each book. Never underestimate the children of today. They are keen and many are well read and can call you out if not given facts. I usually have many ideas, I write them down, then start one story and I leave it for a couple of months, then move to another, then put them on file. But I’m always organized. I plot and map my stories. It’s a good way to go back to where I left off.

Q: ARE SOME OF THE PLACES IN YOUR WORK PLACES YOU HAVE VISITED OR LIVED? A: Yes, I lived abroad and also visited many of the places in my books. Europe is great inspiration, but also here at home. Great ideas sprout from each place. Q: IF SOMEONE WOULD LIKE TO WRITE CHILDREN’S BOOKS, WHAT WOULD YOUR ADVICE TO THEM BE? A: I say, go ahead do it. Do not let anyone or anything stop you. It’s very rewarding. If a child asks me about advice, I tell him or her to let imagination

paper for others to There have

famous storytellers. gave us Adventures in and Hans Andersen’s Ugly Duckling Princess and

the Pea. Most of us grew up on these stories and have passed them on to our children and grandchildren. Now, there is a new storyteller that will surely go down in history along with these greats. Lakin weaves interesting characters into a scenery so vivid that you can almost smell the salt air or hear the sounds of a country fair. And the endings are not always as we might imagine they will be – which will make her tales in high demand with children and adults. Emmeline is talented, to say the least. Her tales are cleverly crafted and the endings show sheer brilliance. Along with the sceneries steeped in accuracy, the effect is everything the author hopes for us – they are sure to whisk you to a place of dreams and open your mind to all things possible. Q: ANY CLUE AS TO WHAT YOUR NEXT BOOK WILL BE ABOUT? A: I have three books I’m working on. When one slows me down and I get lost I jumped to another. I’m working on a story that takes place in Venice which I love. It’s fantasy, time travel, ghosts, wizards, all very dear to me. It’ll be very exciting and always counting with elements of fright and the ever present battle between good and evil forces. I expect to have it ready by the end of this year or beginning 2017. But in the meantime I’ll have both full length and short stories in my blog where children can read by

their soar. Put all

the words onto enjoy. been

numerous Lewis Carroll Alice’s Wonderland Christian tales that include The and the

visiting her web site: www.emmelinelakin.com and http://emmelinelakin.com/blog/ . When asked about her hobbies, she was quick to reply, “I'm a writer with infinite likes and hobbies. My first love is reading and writing, followed by going for walks by the beach at sunset to hear the waves and watch the clouds. I like music--I have a guitar and I'm just learning strumming patterns. I also knit, paint with watercolors, love sewing, photography and designing clothes (I studied Fashion Design at F.I.T. in New York City) and have a passion for International cooking. I have a love of tasting all foods from around the world, except tasting worms, meats from snakes, frogs, alligators and endangered species.” Today, Lakin shares her life with her husband where they enjoy their family and grandchildren in sunny Florida.