Tuesday, February 2, 2016

The Inspiration Behind 'Lorenzo, the Pizza-Loving Lobster'

I'm getting really excited because in three months my book Lorenzo, the Pizza-Loving Lobster will be released!

Many people have asked me how I got my inspiration for this unique idea - a pizza-loving lobster!
The answer is a bit silly and has a story behind it.

It started when I was back in college and my boyfriend and I were at a gift shop that sells Rhode Island merchandise (we went to school in Rhode Island).  My boyfriend noticed a cute lobster stuffed animal and said how much he liked it because it reminded him of a pet crawfish he had growing up.

When his birthday came around I decided to give him the stuffed animal lobster that he had admired months earlier.  We chose the name "Rhodie" for the lobster stuffed animal because his backstory is that he is from Rhode Island.  Somehow, one day when we were eating pizza we decided that Rhodie was Italian and loved pizza. It became a joke and I thought how ridiculous it was that a lobster loved pizza!

Rhodie enjoying some good ol' Brooklyn pizza.

I thought this would make a great character in a children's book.  After many revisions and many sketches later Lorenzo, the Pizza-Loving Lobster is now going to be an actual book!

I'm excited to say that Rhodie will be joining me when I have book signings and appearances. I want to show others, especially children, that ideas can come from anywhere - even a stuffed animal.