Christmas Tales from the Woodpecker Tree – Alumni Stories, Lesley Rawlinson

We were delighted to hear from 1977 alumna Lesley Rawlinson who trained as a teacher at Ripon Training College and has just published her third book, Christmas Tales from the Woodpecker Tree.

Lesley explained that although she spent her entire working life as a teacher, writing has always been a passion of hers. ‘I can honestly say that I’ve been writing stories for as long as I can remember,’ she said. ‘My father, from whom I inherited a love of words and storytelling, made up stories about a little girl living on the riverbank with the woodland creatures. I still remember him saying, in later years, “I wish I’d written those stories down.” Maybe that is why he always encouraged me to write.

‘My love of nature has been behind much of my writing. I was lucky enough to grow up in a village, surrounded by woodland and fields, and I also spent a lot of time at my grandmother’s home in Cumbria. As a teacher, I was aware that a lot of my pupils had little appreciation of the countryside, and I wanted to share my experiences with them and teach them to look closely at the world around them. As a consequence, I took every opportunity to tell stories and write for them, many of those ideas inspired by my own experiences, or the imagination of those young children. My own daughters were a sounding board for those stories too, and I collected the ideas in the same way that I’d kept my childhood tales all those years ago.’

But it was Lesley’s retirement in 2013 that provided the real catalyst for her writing, giving her the time to explore her stories further. ‘In 2014 I signed up to a short course on writing for children, which was led by someone who had done what I’d always dreamed of. I then signed up for a six week course, and through I got in contact with Sue Miller, founder of TeamAuthorUk, who support and publish independent authors.’

TeamAuthorUK put Lesley in touch with an illustrator and Lesley began to compile the short stories she had written throughout her life. Tales from the Woodpecker Tree was published in 2017, and is aimed at children aged 3 and up. ’Having my first book published was incredible,’ Lesley said. ‘The book was launched at Norton Priory which is surrounded by a wonderful woodland and has an upper gallery children’s area. The book was also launched on Amazon, and for a while was third in one of the children’s book categories behind two of David Walliams books.’

One book soon led to another and in June 2018 Lesley published Jojo’s Star, a book designed to help children come to term with the loss of a pet; the book is now often recommended at Lesley’s local vets to families with pets.

Lesley’s latest book Christmas Tales from the Woodpecker Tree is another compilation of short stories, taking further inspiration from Lesley’s teaching experiences. The book see the return of a few familiar faces from the first woodpecker tree book along with the addition of some new characters, adding a festive wintery feel to Lesley’s passion for bringing the woodland to life.

So what lies in store next for Lesley? ‘I have a few more books lined up for next year, including Monty’s Blackbird, inspired by a blackbird who regularly visits a family member.  I’m also developing a longer story for older children which will be part ghost story, part mystery set in the 1970’s, following four teenagers finding their way and relating to each other.

Finally, we asked Lesley what advice she would give to anyone thinking of writing their own stories. ‘Do it! If something inspires or interest you write it down, you never know when you might have time to publish it, but don’t lose it! I would also say find a good writing group you can join to spend time talking to likeminded people who can encourage each other as writers.’

You can find more information about Lesley’s latest book as well as previous publication through her website.