The Felties are Coming! Lynn Huggins-Cooper

One of the first things people ask when they are introduced to someone new is what they 'do.' I know they mean 'What do you do for money?' but wouldn't it be more interesting if we asked 'What do you like to do?'

I like to write, and I like to create textile art.

Now, I have done lots of jobs in the past. I have liked all of them - and I know that's an amazingly privileged thing to be able to say. Some have been more challenging than others. I have been a teacher, wildlife warden, bail hostel worker, barmaid, lecturer and more, but for the last 20 years, I've been an author. The thing is, I'd write even if nobody ever paid me to. I often do, in fact, because many of the books we write are not commissioned, but written 'on spec' - and then comes the task of selling them.

I write because I love to write - and can't really stop myself from writing. It just happens. Writing leaks out of me into notebooks, post-it notes, scraps of paper and even sometimes receipts scrabbled about for at the bottom of handbags. It's the same with felting. My head suddenly fills up with creatures that demand to be let out of the wool by my needle.

A tiny fox crept out this week, and curled up under a toadstool. 

Now, the really exciting thing that has started to happen is that my two worlds are meeting in 'The In-between.' Felties are turning up with stories to tell, and of course I am happy to write them. This fusion of my worlds is an exciting one for me, as I haven't been an illustrator before. Watch this space! The felties are coming...

(You can find out more about these little  creatures here)