Writing Children's Lit: An interview with Patricia L.H. Black

 

Writing Children's Lit: An interview with Patricia L.H. Black

A few years ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Patricia L.H. Black during a poetry workshop led by Wendy McVicker at Stuart’s Opera House in Nelsonville, Ohio. Patricia is an active member of a poetry group that gathers weekly at the Athens Public Library. Her poetry stands out for its whimsical nature and prolific output, weaving her extensive knowledge of literary arts into every line she writes.

Several years ago, Patricia had an idea for a children’s book Twillaby Pond. We collaborated and, with the help of Ohio artist Deborah Hayhurst, Twillaby Pond became an award-winning, Readers’ Favorite 5-Star title. With the release of Lilyfield Bog in 2025, Patricia continues to show her flexible writing skills, creating new creatures who live in extraordinary places.

Welcome, Patricia!

GM: What inspired the magical setting of Lilyfield Bog, was it a real place, a dream, or something else altogether?

PLHB: I wanted to loosely tie the story to Twillaby Pond. There is a boggy area of Lake Hope in Southeast Ohio that is absolutely stuffed with water lilies every summer. It looks like a field because it’s almost impossible to see the water. I’m sure that was much in my mind when I was searching for a place name.

GM: Can you tell us about the very first spark that led to this story? Was it a character, a moment, a mood?  

PLHB: It was the booloop. He had been much in my mind – swooning at the thought of lopaloo pie and berrybud jelly, falling out of trees he was unwise enough to climb. He needed a story to rein him in.

GM: Lilyfield has such a cozy, mysterious vibe. Did you imagine it more as a place to explore or a place to get lost in?

PLHB: I drew somewhat on Twillaby Pond though those characters were definitely exploring and the booloop knew where he was going (if he could get there).

GM: Which character surprised you the most while writing – someone who changed or grew in unexpected ways?

PLHB: The bodacious frog. He has been around in my mind for longer than the booloop and I assumed he’d just push his way into the center of the story. But he wisely sat quietly on his log and let the booloop and the fox tear right on past him.

GM: What kinds of readers do you hope will find Lilyfield Bog? Is there a particular age you had in mind?

PLHB: I hope for a child (or the adult reading the book to a child) who can build mental images of the characters and actions in the book. Or maybe I hope the book might spark such thoughts in a child.

GM: Did you read any favorite children’s books while writing this one, for inspiration, comfort, or nostalgia?

PLHB: Not really. I was aware of Twillaby Pond, of course, but with this one I just went along as the story unfolded. I read many, many books as a child. I read every book Albert Payson Terhune wrote in the Lad of Sunnybank series; I read Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys mysteries, I read the Sugar Creek Gang books. I looked into adult books (being the child of reading parents). Our parents really didn’t put any restrictions on what we read. And their response if we ran up against a word we didn’t know was, “Look it up in the dictionary and then you’ll remember it for the rest of your life.”

GM: What one scene in the book makes you smile every time you think about it? 

PLHB: That silly booloop falling out of trees he didn’t have enough sense to stay out of.

GM: If Lilyfield Bog had a soundtrack what kind of music would play in the background?

PLHB: I have no idea, other than a “Ta DAH!” sound as the sun comes up at the beginning of the book. One or other of my nieces or nephews might have an answer but my forte is with words, not notes.

GM: Are you working on anything new right now, maybe something that shares a thread with Lilyfield Bog?

PLHB: No much at the moment. The mental door is open to the loquacious old frog though it seems more likely to be his grandchild, “a polliwog – that’s a tadpole, a wee baby frog” but that’s as far as it has gotten. I’ve been working more seriously on a memoire/episodes of my life/collection of poems/observations/short fiction/the occasional recipe – a concatenation.

GM: What’s one piece of advice you’d give to young readers who dream of writing their own stories someday?

PLHB: Read, read, read! Read anything and everything that can’t outrun you – books, magazines, poetry, sports articles, owner’s manuals, whatever. And listen to the words, to what they mean and how they sound. They sing and growl and crackle and pop. Look up the word onomatopoeia and have fun with it!