Interview: Lari Don - Author hasn't lost the plot . . it's child's play for her

Published on Saturday 29 May 2010 11:21

THEY are questions only a child could answer.

So an Edinburgh children's author has decided to call in some help when penning her latest novel.

Lari Don will be looking for help on issues including whether a centaur can row a boat and how fast dragons fly when she becomes the first writer in Residence at the Children's Bookshop next week.

The Leith-based author has decided to spend three days working on her next book in the Bruntsfield Place shop. While scribbling down her latest ideas, she will welcome youngsters who want to make suggestions for the plot, help her find a title for the book, or just see what she is writing.

The shop's Becky Hearne, said: "Lari comes in quite often and she was saying she was writing the sequel to her book Wolf Notes, which is the sequel to First Aid for Fairies.

"We were saying it would be great to do an event with her and she said 'As I'm writing a book, why don't I come in and write?' I think it will be a great opportunity for children who live in the area to come in and ask a few questions about being an author, and she's coming in with a few questions so they can come and help move the plot on. It's quite exciting."

Ms Don, whose writing is often inspired by her two daughters, said: "I love the Children's Bookshop, it's got a great atmosphere and they really know their stuff, so I tend to take my own kids there to choose books. One of the hardest things about being a children's writer is that I spend a lot of time in schools and at book festivals and libraries and very little time sitting at my computer just writing. I've been scribbling in my notebooks at bus stops. I've written books on planes, on trains, yesterday I was writing in a park while my children were playing.

"I was mentioning this to the bookshop they said 'You could come and sit in here for some peace and quiet' and then I thought if I can write a book in a bus stop or in a classroom, why can't I write in the corner of a bookshop?"

Ms Don's current work-in-progress is a fantasy set on the north coast. She said: "I write in great big A4 notebooks, and they're full of lines and arrows, there's currently a drawing in my book as to whether a centaur can row a boat, that's the sort of thing I spend my days doing – trying to work out how fast dragons fly, what do fairies pack when they go on holiday – and to be honest, I could do with some 10-year-olds' help with that."

Ms Don will be writing at the shop from 2pm-5pm on 4 and 6 June, and from 10am-5pm on 5 June.