I was that kid madly in love with my dolls, imagining all sorts of Raggedy Ann adventures for them.  If you know someone like that, then this picture book is perfect for them.

Laura Bower lives in Westchester, New York with her husband, three kids and their loveys Puppy, Petunia and Nedburt, who have gone missing thousands of times over the years (most often right at bedtime). They have dealt with their fair share of imposters, but have figured out how to keep it real and all get along! When not reading or writing, Laura loves traveling to new places, live theatre, walking her dog Clover, and starting her morning with a strong cup of tea (necessary for the late night lovey searches). THE IMPOSTER is her debut picture book. Learn more about her at her website.

THE IMPOSTER is the story of Olive who loves her Mr. Snuggles more than anything in the world.  So when he goes missing one day, she’s devastated.  Where could he be?  But then Mr. Snuggles mysteriously reappears.  Or did he?  He doesn’t smell quite right.  Could it be?  Is he some sort of creepy fake replacement?  This is the struggle many a parent will recognize and it’s handled with a lot of humor and heart here.

Welcome Laura!

Me: Can you talk a little bit about yourself and about your writing journey up to this point?  What brought you to this book?

Laura: I have been writing ever since I can remember. I have stacks and stacks of journals from my childhood with lots of thrilling, edge-of-your seat details such as what I had for dinner that night and what time I went to bed.  🙂  I started my career in public relations but after I had children I decided to stay home and became interested in combining my love of reading and writing. I thought about it for a while, but started taking writing seriously in 2016.

I worked on stories during the time my kids were in school, frantically trying to get down as many words as possible during the short hours of pre-school. THE IMPOSTER was written in a cafe at Nyack, NY in the summer of 2018 while my kids were all at theatre camp. The story just flew out of me as it is very true-to-life. I have three children and as they grew, they all gravitated to one specific lovey —a puppy for my oldest daughter (aptly named Puppy), a bunny named Petunia for my middle daughter, and a raccoon named Nedburt for my son. My son was just a baby so my daughters named him. They couldn’t decide between Ned and Burt – thus, Nedburt was born.

Puppy, Petunia and Nedburt became full-fledged family members. They were often not out of our kids’ sight, except for bedtime, when they always seemed to lose them and of course since bedtime couldn’t happen without them, it made for a LONG night. THE IMPOSTER deals with the pure love between a child and lovey and the absolute devastation when that lovey is lost.

Me: I love the idea of a treasured lovey gone missing and being secretly replaced.  What gave you the idea for this story?

Laura: Puppy, Petunia and Nedburt have gone missing more times than I would like to count, or remember. There have been some thrilling rescue missions (i.e., out of the garbage can at a town pool — fortunately, the lovey was inside another bag and could be salvaged after many spins in the washing machine), and some near losses (when we left Petunia in a hotel room — the staff was kind enough to send her back)! But there were times we were not so lucky and have tried to give the kids imposters over the years, which is what inspired this story!

The kids could always tell right away because the loveys’ fur was way too fluffy and it is didn’t have its signature scent. We definitely had some dramatic moments like Olive does (“I CAN’T GO ON……”), but eventually my kids learned to open their hearts and make room for their imposters! We now have 3 Nedburts, 2 Puppies and 1 Petunia. We would have more Petunias but they don’t make her anymore. I had to track the imposter down on ebay! My daughter definitely can’t lose her again or I will have to make her myself — like Olive tries to do in The Imposter, which would not be a pretty sight!

Me: I love the details you included in this story: Olive’s love of olives and lemon bars, and Mr. Snuggles crusty spot behind his ear and heart on his neck.  Were these details always part of the story?  Or did they come about during revision?  How many revisions did this story undergo?

Laura: Thank you! The story has gone through many revisions (over 20!), which includes when the manuscript was down to simple line/word edits. Critique partners, classes that I have taken (with critiques included) and my awesome publisher/editor Sandra Sutter at Gnome Road Publishing really helped shape the story and make it what it is today. Most of those details were in the first draft (the olives, crusty spot, heart on the neck).

The lemon bars were added in later versions based on feedback from critique groups/partners. They were added to develop Olive’s negative feelings towards the Imposter even more (the Imposter doesn’t get the rules of the games like Mr. Snuggles did, doesn’t give Olive the last lemon square–Olive’s favorite treat–like Mr. Snuggles did, and doesn’t even listen to her stories–Mr. Snuggles was the best listener). These details were added in to increase the divide between Mr. Snuggles and the Imposter. They really emphasize all the things Olive is missing out on when Mr. Snuggles disappears and make it clear why she wants him back so much. As Olive’s relationship with the Imposter changes over the course of the book, the lemon squares are brought back in (she offers the Imposter a lemon square) to demonstrate that her position on him is softening.

Me: What is one thing that surprised you in writing this story?

Laura: I was surprised by how quickly this story flew out of me. I drafted the story in one afternoon. It felt like the story was waiting for me to tell it (like Elizabeth Gilbert says in Big Magic). That’s not to say that is hasn’t had a lot of editing/changes, because it definitely has!, but the initial framework/structure didn’t change that much. I definitely think there is truth to “write what you know” as I have lived through the events (more or less) that happen in THE IMPOSTER and that made it easier to get the initial words down on paper.

Me: As a child, I remember being devastated by the loss of a favorite doll.  Why did you want to share this story with young readers in such a humorous way?

Laura: The loss of a favorite lovey, toy, doll , etc., is so devastating and I wanted to show readers that the heart is capable of expanding and growing more love (even if it is different way). I incorporated humor because this situation can be pretty serious for all parties involved. Lots of tears (for kids and adults)!.

Me: The illustrations by Kerisa Greene are absolutely perfect for this story.  I loved the color palette she used. Were there any illustration surprises for you?  Any favorites?

Laura: Kerisa is amazing. I was so excited to be matched up with her. She made THE IMPOSTER even better than I imagined! She has a true talent for conveying emotions through her art and since Olive goes on a journey of emotions throughout the story, she was a perfect fit! I loved all the choices that she made — the color palette, the characters’ expressions, and the fun, bright and funny details she includes on each page.

I love the animal she created for Mr. Snuggles/The Imposter! That was a surprise for me. I had pictured Mr. Snuggles as a bunny when I was writing the story but I love that Mr. Snuggles is more of a nondescript/less common animal (I think it looks like a combination of a squirrel and a bear). My absolute favorite is the double-spread where Olive is down on her knees shouting “AGGGHHH! NOOOOO! I.. CAN’T… GO ON!” Kerisa also made the brilliant decision to add a dog in the story (I didn’t have this in the art notes) and have the dog be involved in the re-emergence of Mr. Snuggles. That was such a fun surprise. I had left that purposely open for the illustrator and I was so delighted with what Kerisa came up with!

Me: Any advice for other new picture book writers?

Laura: Never give up, have fun along the way/enjoy the process and don’t rush! I definitely fell into the trap of sending things out before they were ready. It is hard to be patient, but patience in this industry is a must! Take classes, find critique groups, and network/make connections. And, there is definitely truth to writing what you know, something based on your own experiences! I feel like the stories that I have a personal connection to are the ones that end up with the most heart because they are a part of me and our my story to tell.

That’s great advice Laura.  Thank you for stopping by my blog today.

Dear readers, this book was released on Tuesday.  If you haven’t had a chance to read it yet, I highly recommend it.  It’s a great book for studying the emotional journey of a main character, as well as for any parent or child dealing with lovey drama.