Interview With Author Lindsay Choudhry

 

1. What inspired you to write this book? I wanted to write a story for children to introduce them to the idea of pollination while they are young and spending lots of time in the garden, still full of wonder at nature, and of course the wonderous work of bees. Teaching pollination in school inspired me as I realized that the subject could be understood by much younger children if set in a story context. 

2. What exactly is it about and who is it written for? Humble Bee is a conversation between a Honey Bee and a Bumble Bee; the honey bee is watching the fascinating work completed by the Bumble Bee, and tries to guess what type of bee it is. Honey Bee then brings to attention the work that the Bumble Bee has been doing without even recognizing it's impact. 

3. What do you hope readers will get out of reading your book? Using rhyme and a repeating rhythm, I hope young readers will enjoy the sound and feel of the words as they listen and read, increasing their vocabulary and experience of language. Also, I hope young readers are encouraged to plant in their gardens, a selection of plants that help entice bees to visit, and to watch closely what happens as bees work... all helping to increase the bee population!  

4. How did you decide on your book’s title and cover design? Humble Bee as a title came easily as it's the main event at the end of the story, and it hopefully gives young readers a bit of fun and anticipation knowing that Honey Bee is guessing the wrong name all through the book ... but the right guess is coming! The illustration is simple but bright and colourful, again to reflect the content of the story and catch one's eye. 

5. What advice or words of wisdom do you have for fellow writers – other than run!? Simply to have a go and see what happens! To write what you want to write without thinking about how it will be received, so write for the joy of writing. And, to keep all your notes and jottings, you may come back to them another time, or in another piece of work. 

6. What trends in the book world do you see -- and where do you think the book publishing industry is heading? It's an interesting time as there are many routes now to getting published and people of all ages access books in different ways. Despite many books being accessed digitally, I believe there will always be a place and a love for a paper published book.    

7. Were there experiences in your personal life or career that came in handy when writing this book?  As a teacher for many years, I most likely thought about the way children respond to language, and how a book can sound when read aloud which influenced the way I put the story together.   

8. How would you describe your writing style? Which writers or books is your writing similar to? This is my first book and it is very specific in it's audience so I don't think I have developed ' my style yet', I'm working on a few others so will see how they develop! I have thoroughly enjoyed reading Julia Donaldson, Katherine Rundell, Robin Stevens, Enid Blyton, Helen Nicoll & Jan Pienkowski ... and so many more children's authors, with my children. Reading together with my own children has been one of the absolute joys of my life. I think Julia Donaldson's 'Tiddler' is a genius piece of story telling, so clever!  

9. What challenges did you overcome in the writing of this book? It's short so was enjoyable to write, the challenges were in understanding the publishing process. Not working physically with the publishing team was definitely a challenge for me as I felt removed from the process and less able to communicate well.  

10. If people can buy or read one book this week or month, why should it be yours? It's so fulfilling to share a special few minutes reading with youngsters, joining together to read anticipated words and guessing what happens next. Humble Bee is a brilliant starting point for so much other work or activity in the garden, in nature, classroom science ... There is a guide at the back of the book of plants to encourage bees into your garden, and foods we eat that are pollinated by bees, and there are even a couple of blank pages for children to write their own notes or draw! Enjoy reading Humble Bee!  

About the Author: Lindsay Choudhry has taught children in schools in the UK and US for over 20 years. She has worked with school leaders in developing approaches to literacy, advising on provision for pupils with learning challenges and with UNICEF.  She also teaches chess club in school and manages a girls’ cricket team. Lindsay lives in Surrey, England, in a house with Lego, books, her husband, two beautiful children and two mischievous bunnies! For more info, please see: https://youtu.be/1W9avG8xueo, www.linkedin.com/in/lindsay-choudhry-a2188164, and https://lindsaychoudhry.ampbk.com/

 

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About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2024. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This award-winning blog has generated over 3.9 million pageviews. With 4,900+ posts over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades, including 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and director of publicity positions at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, BookCAMP, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, Morgan James Publishing, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. His first published book was The Florida Homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.