Day one- Lyn Fountain

My childhood comprised the classic elements to produce a writer; family tragedies, insecurity and solitude. The biggest catalyst was my mother, a voracious reader and daydreamer. A day out was a day spent in the library, and every evening was an evening in with a book. The other constant in my life was the animals: the dogs; Trixie Trot, Whiskey, Prince and Kerry: the cats; Tiger, Ted. Looking back now at photographs of grandparents I never met, they all pose with animals by their side.

The very first story I remember writing was about a young deer rescuing other woodland creatures. I suspect I was influenced by Bambi. Animal films were the only ones my mum took me to see. On one summer afternoon I remember us going to the ABC cinema in Norwich. We’d taken in fresh cherries to eat, but because we became so engrossed, we forgot about the cherries and all the juice soaked through the brown paper bags and into our laps. It didn’t matter, because I’d fallen in love; with beautiful Virginia McKenna, with handsome Bill Travers, with Elsa and all those other wonderful, wonderful lions. The film, of course, was Born Free.

I didn’t think ordinary people could be writers. I thought they all lived in London and worked in publishing offices. Then I read an article in a teenage magazine about a young writer who wrote from home and submitted her stories by post. After that, there was no stopping me.
My very first short story was accepted for publication by a magazine called “Secrets”. Since then, I’ve had stories published in the Mail on Sunday’s You magazine, Take a Break, Fiction Feast, Woman’s Weekly, Woman’s Weekly Fiction Special, Chat, best, That’s Life! My Weekly, The People’s Friend and Annabel.
I occasionally write articles, and these have been published in Chat It’s Fate, BBC Homes & Antiques, Organic Gardening and Home & Country.
I was a runner up in the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association Short Story Competition in 1995 with a story called ‘Change of Heart’. Narrated by Betty Marsden, it was produced on CD and broadcast on the World Service and local BBC radio.
Although writing for magazines is wonderful, my ambition is to write something of more permanence. So far, I’ve had short stories included in a couple of anthologies with satisfyingly solid hardback covers: ‘Welcome to Toad Hall’ appears in The Wind in the Willows Short Stories (published by the Kenneth Grahame Society, 2009), and ‘Change of Heart’ in The Spirit of the Commonwealth (Commonwealth Broadcasting Association, 2005).




Tomorrow, I’ll be explaining how I came to write my story ‘The Last Big Cat’ for Bridge House’s Gentle Footprints anthology.