THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY: No Bears Allowed by Lydia Lukidis (by Lydia Lukidis)

THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY

No Bears Allowed

By Lydia Lukidis

[Note: Apologies for spacing -- there are not only bears and rabbits, but GREMLINS!]

The story: Rabbit is afraid of many things, but most of all he’s afraid of gigantic, monstery,

BEARS! The very nervous Rabbit is soon confronted by his worst fear who appears

to be far more interested in making new friends than causing Rabbit any real harm.

Despite his apprehension, Rabbit agrees to join his jovial new acquaintance for dinner,

but wait a minute . . . is Bear planning to “have” Rabbit for dinner? In this tender story

about a very nervous rabbit and a lovable bear, Rabbit discovers that things aren’t

always as scary as they seem, and sometimes you may just have more in common with

others than you think.

The story behind the story:

The story being this story is particularly exciting! As writers, we feel immense joy

when our ideas come to life, and when our characters jump off the page. I feel privileged

and honored to have many published books under my belt. Each one holds a special place

in my heart. I started out my career writing eBooks, then moved onto to work-for-hire

projects. These were books for which I received directions from the publisher on what

to write about, and how. I went on to publish two trade pictures books, but again, I

worked with characters already created by the publisher. I do love this kind of work,

but my head was also bursting with so many other ideas of my own, waiting impatiently

to be unleashed.

And with NO BEARS ALLOWED, it all magically came together. For the first time,

my own ideas and characters were going to star in their very own book. I think I did

the “happy dance” for a week straight! The concept of the book trickled out slowly

but naturally. I’ve always been fascinated by bears. Then I imagined a bear who,

although looked menacing, was friendly, kooky, and lovable on the inside. My character

Bear quickly took flight. Then I thought it would be comical and also endearing if

another animal was petrified of bears. And with that, Rabbit was born in an instant.

Not only is he afraid of bears, but he’s also pretty much afraid of everything in between,

including his own shadow.

NO BEARS ALLOWED was always character-driven right from the start. Characters

came first, and story came second. It was not deliberate on my part, I just followed the

flow. I had two solid characters, Bear and Rabbit, who seemed like opposites. But…were

they? What would happen if one day, while Rabbit was going about his day, he came face

to face with his worst nightmare: a bear? Would his fears come true? Or would Bear

surprise him? It might just be that a most unlikely friendship might develop.

You’ll just have to read the book to find out!

A big thank-you to Alayne Christian and Steve Kemp from Blue Whale Press

https://www.bluewhalepress.com/) for seeing the magic in this story and to Tara J.

Hannon (https://www.tarajhannon.com/) for making the most whimsical illustrations

in the world.

About the author:

Lydia Lukidis is a children’s author with over 40 books and eBooks published, along with
numerous short stories, poems and plays. She writes fiction and nonfiction for ages 3-12,
and also composes educational texts. Her background is multi-disciplinary and spans the
fields of literature, science, and theater. Lydia is also passionate about spreading the love
of literacy and has been giving writing workshops in elementary schools across Quebec
since 1999.

Social Media links:

Website: http://www.lydialukidis.com/

Blog: https://lydialukidis.wordpress.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LydiaLukidis/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LydiaLukidis

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lydialukidis/?trk=hp-identity-name

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