So what was the inspiration behind my three little books?
Here are the official blurbs (also written by Melanie and myself) from the Marshall Cavendish website, followed by how I came to write these stories.
When I found out one of the themes I was commissioned to write about was “bullying”, it got me thinking of how insidious bullying is these days.
More than one friend had lamented the subtle nastiness their kids were subject to within group chats, being covertly or overtly (can’t decide which is worse? 🤷🏻♀️ ) excluded from playdates, birthday parties, etc.
Inspired by books like Grimwood, I decided to depict these Whatsapp Chats in the illustrations of the book as part of the flow of the story text.
It used to be easier to tell who the mean girls are in real life, but now over text, words that look innocuous can sometimes be laced with sarcasm. Being able to share screenshots of private conversations just adds further weapons to the arsenal of hurt.
Physical bullying is still very much alive and kicking (pun intended) as well, and I wanted to portray that too. “Might is right” is too often seen not just at the playground but even on the world stage. Sadly, it is only in books where justice can be meted out fairly and with finality.
Beyond all this, I felt it was important to depict that those who bully tend to have their own hurts and insecurities which are hard to suss out. After all, most people are icebergs, only revealing the tip of who they are above the surface. Some kids wear their hearts on their sleeves, but often it is those who are privileged with happy childhoods who feel safe to do so. Those who hurt others have sometimes been deeply wounded themselves, and manipulate others as an unhealthy coping mechanism.
So we learn to be discerning, and seek to be kind to all, because we seldom truly know what burden another is carrying.
This was the book I knew from the start that I wanted to write. My kid has been mad about speedcubing for a few years, and I had not come across any middle-grade book portraying speedcubers or the variety of official World Cube Association (WCA) competition puzzles out there.
Without making it completely about speedcubing (like the Netflix documentary), I wove in a speedcubing club in school, a speedcuber protagonist, a teacher who used solving a cube as an object lesson, as well as a dramatic smash-up.
So this book goes out to all the avid speedcubers I’ve come to know over the past few years – I hope you enjoy seeing the hobby you are all utterly obsessed about portrayed in a book, and that the theme of nothing being too impossible to solve resonates with you. You are all living proof to me that passion is the true driver of achievement, with your perseverance in demolishing your own personal records time and again, not to mention the National Records and Continental Records I’ve had the privilege to witness at local and regional competitions.
I also gifted and autographed a book to David and Chris of @Cubewerkz, who have always warmly welcomed our family as we camp out weekly at their shop (which has the most variety of cubes in Singapore, and coaching lessons)! They are truly passionate about building up a strong community of speedcubers in Singapore, and bringing our top cubers to achieve their potential on the international stage.
For “Double Trouble” – I wanted each book in the set to be distinct, so that kids would have a more varied experience when reading through the set. So I decided to set this story more than a hundred years into the future (in 2127), where the realms of possibility would be limited only by my imagination.
Initially, I considered a dystopian future, but finally decided that I didn’t want the setting to be too dark. Instead, I outlined two groups of people, the Sentients and the Dullets, the latter being my not-so-subtle way of calling out behaviour that I’ve come to deplore.
I have been partial towards hedgehogs since I was a teen, and had a lot of fun weaving in a little talking hedgehog into this story. Hoping that the book would resonate with both boys and girls, I made the protagonists a set of boy-girl twins, with a particularly cool sport hobby of whooshing around “space-skateboarding”. My hope was for each kid to lose themselves in this different universe for a while, and revel in a new realm of possibilities.
So there you have it! The inspiration behind these three little books.
What else was fun in the writing and publishing process?
Goodreads Author Page
Well, another exciting first that got me really chuffed was getting a Goodreads Author Page! There were many steps to “claim my authorship” and it took many email exchanges with Goodreads’ admin before this finally came about – ta-dah!
I’ve been using Goodreads for many years, and found it a really helpful way of recording which books I’ve read, what I thought of each book, and looking back to see if I’ve read across a varied genre that year.
So I was incredibly excited to see my books were listed on Goodreads, after some extra help from Marshall Cavendish’s publicist wonder Mindy. And the next most wonderful thing was to have friends and fellow-writers submit reviews that can be easily accessed by other readers for posterity!
Power of the publishing network
Lately, I was just googling the title of my books for fun, and realised that wow, they are available far and wide!
My wish for these books
Guess my wish is really for the children who come across this book to know that they are not alone in trying to figure life out. Growing up in this day and age can be tricky, and I hope these stories resonate, and help them to realise that they can overcome bullying, that no problem is too puzzling to solve, and to be mindful of the decisions we make, because more often than not, they have repercussions on others too.
My wonderful helper bought a set to gift to her neighbour’s grandkids when she went on home leave. So glad that these little books have made it all the way to these lovely children, and I pray that they feel seen and inspired by these stories.
If you would like to purchase some autographed copies and support me directly, do fill in this form and the books will be whizzing towards you shortly, via registered mail to Singapore addresses!
Lots of love,
Lyn
Facebook Comments