Interview With Author David William Lethbridge King

  

1. What inspired you to write this book? The short answer is that my wife “gently encouraged" me to publish my story. My grandfather, Rex, invented the character Inky Pinky in the 1930s, and told his version of the story to my mother, Gwen, and then to me, his grandson. In turn, I then told my version of the story to my children and then my grandchildren. Rex’s version was submitted to a Sydney radio station in the 1960s, and won a competition. We decided that publishing my version would be a way of remembering my grandfather.  

2. What exactly is it about and who is it written for? In my house, The Story of Inky Pinky is a bedtime story, with much audience participation! The book is essentially about the universal theme of most children’s experience - innocent transgression, punishment and forgiveness. The general target audience is children aged two to eight. I currently read it to my grandchildren aged two to eighteen! As a bedtime story it has its problems, as the audience is usually very excited and far from sleep by the end, with calls for an encore of the as-yet unpublished sequels.  

3. What do you hope readers will get out of reading your book? I hope that adult readers will bond with their children by reading my book together. I hope that the children’s imagination will be excited, and that of course they will learn the colours of the rainbow! Older readers might have the insight to empathise with Inky Pinky, and know that they are not alone enduring the trials of growing up. 

4. How did you decide on your book’s title and cover design? The book’s title was decided sometime before 1960, as that’s always been the title of the spoken version. The cover design was done in-house by my publisher, Austin Macauley.   

5. What advice or words of wisdom do you have for fellow writers - other than run!? Given the way that my book came into being, I am in no way qualified to give advice. I certainly do not see myself as a “writer” in that sense of the word. However, if there is a story to be told, get on with it. Don’t die wondering.  

6. What trends in the book world do you see — and where do you think the book industry is heading? Ask me about diabetes or heart disease. I know nothing of the publishing world. However, there is certainly a sad trend away from children reading, and children being read to.  

7. Were there experiences in your personal life or career that came in handy when writing this book? The sad death of my daughter was a catalyst to publish the book. The story had existed for years, so the writing was easy.  

8. How would you describe your writing style? Which writers or books is your writing similar to? My style is simple and direct. I was keen to emulate the spoken version, where the audience is encouraged to embellish the story with their choices of food on the party table, or their reciting of the colours of the rainbow. These opportunities remain in the book. I have read many stories to my children, and no doubt there has been a subliminal influence from many authors.  

9. What challenges did you overcome in the writing of this book? The writing of the book was easy. The publisher was essentially happy with my first version, save for the position of several full stops. The to-and-fro required for the illustrations (in-house also) was drawn out and ultimately I was happy just to get it finalised. 

10. If people can buy or read one book this week or month, why should it be yours?  I love to see parents reading to their children, and the sooner they start, the better. In the hands of an enthusiastic reader, The Story of Inky Pinky offers the opportunity for audience participation at any age level, with a universal theme that most children will relate to. 

About The Author:
I am a 68 year old working full time as a family physician on the east coast of Australia, one hours drive north of Sydney. I am married to Claire, and have four children and fifteen grandchildren. We are a tight-knit extended family group, bound together even more firmly after the tragic death of my younger daughter, Annabelle, killed by a testosterone-fuelled young car driver in 2016. You can see the dedication to her in my book, and we are very involved in the upbringing of her four sons. We are blessed with a truly wonderful son-in-law. For more info, please see: www.facebook.com/thestoryofinkypinky

 

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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 5,000+ 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.