Meet the Author - Fiona Lowry

Tell me a little about yourself and what you do?

My name is Fiona Lowry and I am an award-winning children’s author based in Perthshire, Scotland. Inspired by my family and the powers of positive thinking, I write books which encourage children to retain their inner voice, use their imagination, and look for the best in themselves and others.

I grew up outside a little village in Scotland called Saline. It is my relaxing place. The air is clear, the birds and animals are aplenty, and the uninterrupted view toward Stirling and Wallace Monument is beautiful. This will forever be ‘my home’. I am so grateful for the space, freedom, unspoiled protected uniqueness, and independence instilled in me as a child, by my parents, and through my upbringing.

I started writing in 2022 after a car journey with my children. We were stuck at red traffic lights and I suggested they think of the Green Light Fairy, the light would change to green, and we would be on our way. This is exactly what happened. The children thought they were magical, and I thought it was a great idea for a picture book that encouraged optimistic thinking. Franco and the Green Light Fairy was born, and resonates with adults and children alike — we all get stuck at red traffic lights in life sometimes, but there is often a positive reason for it.

Three years later, I have dedicated half my working week to my author life. I write every day and enjoy the relaxing world that writing takes me to.

image with thanks to Ben White on Unsplash

Why did you become an author?

I became an author to make children smile, giggle, and remind them to believe in themselves.

When my children were younger, we read to them every night at bedtime. As a parent, these were special moments to share together, snuggling under the blanket.

In my opinion, books are an essential part of a child’s development and imagination. They can take us all to another world from the comfort and safely of our home.

As an author, I’d like to pass encouraging messages onto children worldwide. A thread of positivity runs through all my books, whether assisting children to look for the best in themselves; appreciate the world around them; look out for a little magic; or helping build and retain good friendships.

Where does your inspiration for children’s books come from?

Early in 2022, I became aware of ‘The Secret’ by Rhonda Bryne. After reading this book from cover to cover several times, I was inspired to start writing children’s books, translating my knowledge into simple, easy to follow ideas for children. I also take inspiration from hilarious nuggets my children or their friends say, or a word, or sentence, from another book or TV show. Inspiration is all around and it can come from anywhere — often when I least expect it.

In an ever changing world of hustle and bustle, my books remind children to look for the best in the moment and to hopefully listen and retain the inner voice we are all born with.

Writing helps me to cement knowledge into my life, as well as into my own kids, which has made an enormous difference to how they deal with situations now. When difficult events happen, they are much more relaxed, considered, and calm than they were prior to my education from The Secret. As a result, I know this information works and can help not only now, but in their future lives.

Why did you choose to write for children’s books rather than adult, teenage or comic strips?

At the risk of sounding cliché, children are our future.

After learning the knowledge I have from ‘The Secret’ by Rhoda Byrne, as well as reading several other books about learning to listen to my inner voice and instinct, I wanted to translate my wisdom into children’s books in a simple, engaging, and inspirational way. When you have the engagement of even just one child who wants to dream big, it is the most profound emotion. Making every boko worthwhile.

What is your process to translate an idea into a book?

When I write, I focus on my initial inspiration, asking myself questions such as: Who the characters may be? The reasons why they do the things they do? And, What message do they want to tell?

I write lots of notes to start with and build a storyboard in my mind, then allow the words to [hopefully] effortlessly flow into the first draft of my manuscript. If I feel myself starting to force an idea, then I stop for a break. The characters and themes I create are relatable, not only from the child’s perspective but also from an adults. This makes my books interesting and helps to generate further conversations with the reader.

After this, the editing process begins, which can be time consuming and enlightening. I often end up making changes I did not see coming, but for the greater good of the storyline. For my picture books, I needed an illustrator who, for every book I have created, has made a stunning job of translating my storyline into engaging, elegant, and stunning colourful pages that children love.

(Image with thanks to the original owner) 

What was your biggest struggle starting out?

Becoming an author is a time consuming and steep learning curve. Because writing is something I love to do, and I find very therapeutic, I made time in the evenings to work on my author journey. This was around my full-time day job and family life with two children, so entailed long hours. Starting late into the evening however, made the marketing and promotional elements of being an author more difficult as most people were in their beds as I was starting to message.

Three years down the line now, the reality is, this didn’t matter and it was my mindset that made it feel difficult. An email will still have arrived in an inbox, and a social post will still be in the feed. I felt I had to have everything done ‘now’ and that pressure I put on myself was what made things difficult. I have learned that consistency is the key. Everything will happen just when they are meant to. So now, I am more relaxed about the whole process of being an author and all the elements that come with it.

Do I have plans for the future?

Haha, of course, yes! Many!

Over the past three years, I have written several manuscripts, ready for editing when the time is right. These include new picture books, an early reader chapter book for ages 5-7 years, a longer chapter book for ages 8-12 years, and I am currently considering dipping my toe into non-fiction for children ages 8-12 years.

Aside from writing itself, my future plans include engaging with children through schools, nurseries, and family events as well as growing my audience online via my website and social media.

My website is updated as new titles, or teacher resources are available. To keep up to date with my news, please subscribe to my monthly newsletter at www.fionalowryauthor.com