Say Hello to Mary Luciano - author of The Busy Garden

I have always adored books particularly when I was a child, rags to riches type stories particularly around the Arts (which were my interests). There is something about winning against the odds which is most inspiring. I can still vividly remember how engrossed I would be in certain titles - they always had such an impact on me.

 

What did you want to be when you were ten? 

I wanted to be a ballerina! I loved everything about dancing – including a beautiful book series around Sadlers Wells (very famous ballet school in London)


Did you write stories when you were a child? 

I did write lots of prose-based stories. In fact – my first book “I woke up one morning only to find’ was actually derived from a poem I wrote when I was in school;. The poem had never left me and then one day I decided it would form a fantastic basis for a children’s book.

 

Tell us about your writing process? 

I tend to just have a very abstract-type idea, then delve into my imagination to map it into a story/book. Funnily enough, a lot of my ideas actually come to me when I am swimming laps. It’s my place for reflection and thinking.

 

How do you dream up new ideas? 

Always starts off small with a spark of an idea. A lot of the time ideas are based on my observation of my children, their interests and interactions.  I love expressing playfulness in my writing which I believe children respond well to.

 

What advice would you give young storytellers? 

Just write because you love it – without necessarily an end goal in sight! The process of writing is itself an incredible joy and once you can remove expectations you can enjoy it just for the creative expression it is.