What was the motivation for writing this story?
Growing up, I too faced challenges with bullies – it’s a difficult experience that many of us encounter. Through Tilly Lu’s story, I wanted to share a message close to my heart. As the story unfolds, you’ll see that even those who bully can learn and grow.

Why is this book so important to your love of learning and literature?
The Birthday Crown is a testament to the power of a teacher’s influence, and the enduring mark it leaves on a student’s life.

What tools has Lauriston given you that aided in the development of this book?
Definitely the desire to make a difference and a big thing for me is the importance of giving back. Also, Lauriston has given me the confidence in my own voice and to speak up against any negativity, or speaking your true passion and standing up for what you believe in.

Lauriston greatly values courage – how do you feel you enacted this in developing this book?
I was definitely nervous starting out with this project as I didn’t know how the publishing was going to go, and it’s a big move for a Year 10 given I had no experience in that area – especially publishing that’s open to criticism and public opinion. For me however, there were more benefits than negatives, and I saw it as something I couldn’t go wrong by giving it a try! At the end of the day, I’d be helping people by sharing the story and making a difference – that was my main goal. Obviously it also gave me the experience of trying new things and seeing if I like writing books and something I want to continue.

How important is Ariel’s style of illustration to telling Tilly Lu’s story?
So important! I feel the illustrations are the main focus of the story – they show you what words can’t tell you. There were moments when it was difficult, where we might’ve disagree on whether the characters should be smiling or looking distressed on a particular page – we went back and forth with the editors for quite some time, but it was so important that the words and illustrations were cohesive. If there were no disagreements, it’s kind of worrying because it means you both don’t have an opinion on it! We just had to make sure to listen to each other – it’s hard to mix friendship and work, and there were times when we’d need to give each other space – we both knew that it was important to maintain a healthy friendship throughout this process.

What did you learn about your friendship with Ariel during the process?
Our friendship has only gotten stronger – there were plenty of differences along the way and stress about timelines, but we worked through them all and our relationship has definitely benefitted from it! The core of our friendship hasn’t changed, but our respect for each other is much stronger, and to go through the process together was so great for the both of us.