Ask the Author: Lauri Fortino
Answered Questions (8)
Lauri Fortino
Naruto and Hinata from Masashi Kishimoto's Japanese manga series Naruto are my favorite fictional couple. Naruto is the underdog turned hero and Hinata is the shy girl who has supported him his whole life.
Lauri Fortino
Thank you for the review! That's a tough question to answer, but put simply, the squeak, squeak, squeak comes from the thought that many people's noses whistle and squeak when they're alsleep and snoring. Or even when they're awake and just breathing, but maybe they have a cold or an allergy. So in the story, since we know the bed is too sturdy to squeak (old box springs are probably what usually makes a bed squeak), I had to find a way to help the little man win the bed. So I gave him a squeaky nose, and that was good enough for the peddler who was very appreciative of the little man's kindness. Thanks for the great question!
Lauri Fortino
Currently, I am working on revising three of my best manuscripts to make them submission ready. I also have two brand new ideas that I've begun to get down on paper and mold into stories. Perhaps sometime in the near future, you will see one (or more) of these five stories listed as a published book here on Goodreads. Keep your fingers crossed!
Lauri Fortino
I absolutely love being a part of a wonderfully supportive, encouraging, and friendly community of children's book authors from all over the world. To be a part of this group, knowing we are all working to put books into the hands of children, is just fabulous.
Lauri Fortino
A lot of my ideas come to me when I'm doing other things, like getting ready for work in the morning, or when I'm trying to sleep at night. It's my ideas, the ones I think are worth while, that inspire me to sit down and write. Sometimes I have an idea that I feel is so good, I can't wait to get it down on paper or computer screen.
Of course, I am also inspired by all of the other picture book writers who are part of an online community of children's book authors to which I am thrilled to belong. We support one another, share our successes and our struggles, and we take comfort in knowing others are experiencing the same things and can understand what we're going through.
Of course, I am also inspired by all of the other picture book writers who are part of an online community of children's book authors to which I am thrilled to belong. We support one another, share our successes and our struggles, and we take comfort in knowing others are experiencing the same things and can understand what we're going through.
Lauri Fortino
I can't say with certainty how I got the idea for The Peddler's Bed, but I think it came from a combination of things. When I was in my twenties and moved into my first apartment, much of the furniture I had was given to me by family. And I was grateful to have it.
Then after my husband and I got married, my mom gave us her queen-sized bed. My dad had passed away a few years earlier and she had switched to a smaller bed. Again I was grateful to have been spared the expense of buying a bed.
Now add to this a snoring husband and a little dog who snores from his cozy bed in the corner of the room, and you might begin to see how my mind formulated the idea for The Peddler's Bed. I think that's how it happened anyway.
Then after my husband and I got married, my mom gave us her queen-sized bed. My dad had passed away a few years earlier and she had switched to a smaller bed. Again I was grateful to have been spared the expense of buying a bed.
Now add to this a snoring husband and a little dog who snores from his cozy bed in the corner of the room, and you might begin to see how my mind formulated the idea for The Peddler's Bed. I think that's how it happened anyway.
Lauri Fortino
If writing children’s picture books is in your blood, if it’s a part of you that you can’t imagine being without, and you long to put something beautiful into the hands of children (and there’s nothing more beautiful than a picture book), then don’t give up, don’t quit, don’t get discouraged, your dream can come true. You can be published. Keep writing, keep submitting, keep improving, and keep the faith. Believe me, I know!
Lauri Fortino
I will often read and reread everything I have written for that story, up to that point where I got stuck, over and over again. I work on polishing up what I've already got down on paper until I get unstuck. That usually does the trick. If it doesn't, then there's a good chance I’m done for the day.
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