Lynn Reiser: Exploring the edges of her mind

Teaching Pre K-8, Jan 1996 by Winarski, Diana L

"I never wanted to be a writer," Lynn Reiser stated very matter-of-factly. "I've never even thought of myself as a writer. I'm a very bad speller, and I've always had terrible handwriting. Every time I wrote something in elementary school, it was criticized because of my handwriting or spelling."

With a slow smile, Lynn added, "But now I'm a doctor, so I have an excuse."

We don't know whether her handwriting legitimately falls into the illegible category, but believing her claims, it's no surprise then that Lynn turned to art. "I was the kid who always did the bulletin boards at school."

So how could anyone possibly convince Lynn Reiser that she would eventually love illustrating and writing children's books?

One step at a time. Indeed, Lynn did dislike writing. Perhaps that's why she pursued her interest in science. A native of Charlotte, North Carolina, Lynn majored in biology at Duke University. She loved studying animals, especially. "But as my research became more advanced," Lynn explained as we sat in her Hamden, Connecticut, studio, "the further away I got from the whole animal. I decided the only way to get back to the whole organism was to go to medical school."

At Yale University School of Medicine, Lynn realized that an even better way to relate to people as a whole was to "talk to them rather than do procedures on parts of them." In 1970, she completed medical school and emerged a psychoanalyst.

For most of the 25 years since, Lynn has been teaching clinical psychiatry to medical students at her alma mater. "I really like being a physician and I like teaching. It's enlivening to work with students. When they ask questions, and I answer them, I find myself understanding

the topic

differently. It keeps me feeling alive."

When she isn't teaching, Lynn devotes time to her private practice. For many people, these two careers are more than enough. Not for Lynn, though, who professes that she likes to do a lot of things at once."

Another life. "I've always done some painting," Lynn said nonchalantly. "You know, Valentine's cards, birthday cards for my friends. And I travel with my sketchbook and paints; I do little watercolors when I'm on vacation, but it's always been informal."

That is, until a friend -- children's singer-songwriter Tom Chapin -- asked Lynn to illustrate a songbook of his. "It was lots of fun," smiled Lynn. "It took me back to elementary school when I loved to do projects."

It was a year before Tom asked her to illustrate another book, and Lynn had had so much fun doing the first that she enrolled in a children's book writing class and began a picture book of her own. As a semester project, Lynn painted Bedtime Cat. "I thought I'd get around my 'writing problem' and do a book without words," Lynn said through a mischievous grin.

Upon its completion, a friend suggested Lynn submit her book to Susan Hirschman at Greenwillow Books, saying simply, "She's the best." Susan loved the book, but told I Lynn it needed words. "But it's clear without words," protested Lynn. "If it's so clear," retorted Susan, "just write them down."

And so she wrote. In 1991, Bedtime Cat became Lynn's first published book, the second, Dog and Cat, appeared at about the same time. Since this "accidental" foray into publishing five years ago, Lynn has written and illustrated about two books per year yes, all while continuing her other full-time careers.

She admits, however, "It's been hard since we're doing the house

she and her husband just moved into the 19th century house they've been restoring for the past year

, but I write and sketch wherever I am -- in train stations, airports, wherever."

Take her most recent book, Night Thunder and The Queen of the Wild Horses, for example. The original artwork for this story was done on several cross-country flights to Los Angeles. In instances where she's "trapped," Lynn says she likes to "draw things that I'm not sure I know how to do. There's no where to go, so I have to do it."

In this case, she was a bit wary about drawing the horse that would accompany the main character (who, along with her feline friend, you might recognize from Bedtime Cat) on a nighttime journey to find the source of thunder. Considering Lynn's background in science and her love of animals (look for her book about oceanic life, Beach Feet, later this year), you won't be surprised to see beautifully executed horses in this fantasy story.

Digging right in. Besides renovating her house, Lynn spends her free time exercising and gardening. "I love hands-on work," she said. "And preparing the earth is so calming and satisfying. I think I like preparing the garden better than planting it."

It's during these times that Lynn is most often struck with story ideas. "Books come to me from the edges of my mind. I do better when I don't sit down intending to write," she explained.

Once the story is in place, the process becomes even more fun for Lynn. "It's very communal; it's like playing a game with somebody -- me, the designer, the editor -- a group of kids, really. I think of books as a vacation.