Author Lynda Mullaly Hunt: “My Road to Publishing was Paved with Espresso”

Having struggled in school with reading, I had never dreamed of writing my own book. But as a third-grade teacher, I began writing stories for my students as part of teaching revision and I grew to love it. I had written a lot for my students but had not written anything for myself until I saw a sign at our local Barnes & Noble advertising a writers’ group that would meet in the cafe. I remember thinking that a night out and a cappuccino would be nice. And so it began. I showed up for that first meeting and began scheduling my other plans around my writing group calendar. It turns out that writing filled a void I didn’t even know was there—and I was determined to fill it.
With that Barnes & Noble group, I wrote a story that I know will never be published but I learned a ton while writing and revising it. The assistant manager, a fellow member of the group, suggested that I write something for their newsletter so I did. It was a poem about a girl named Paige Turner who goes on a literary shopping spree. At the time, I joked that this meant I’d been published. I still didn’t actually believe I had the talent to land an actual book contract. But then again, I’ve always been a big dreamer.

And then a girl named Carley Connors literally spoke to me and I had to tell her story. In the months that followed, I wrote a good deal of my first novel One for the Murphys in that Barnes & Noble Café. At a small table right next to the window. Most mornings the book sellers found me waiting outside when they unlocked the doors. I didn’t even have to order my coffee at the counter, as the baristas would begin making it is soon as I came around the corner.
When I received a contract from Nancy Paulsen Books/Penguin the spectacular people of this Barnes & Noble threw me the best launch party. Ever. And now, I still visit this Glastonbury, CT Barnes & Noble every couple of weeks to see Jane, Nora, and other staff members and to sign copies of One for the Murphys as well as my second novel, Fish in a Tree.
Fish in a Tree is a semi-autobiographical novel about a girl named Ally Nickerson, who misbehaves in school to hide the fact that she struggles with reading and writing. She feels like she will never fit in until she gets a teacher who can finally help her. I had written half of this book before realizing that it is a love letter to my sixth grade teacher, Constantine Christy, who helped me by shining a light upon what I did well rather than upon my shortcomings. In that one year, I was completely transformed—as both a student and a child. In my novel, Ally gains confidence and forms her first friendship with Albert and Keisha. As these three outsiders begin to fit in, surprising things happen within the classroom and there’s a real shift in how the kids all treat each other. Writing helped me illuminate so much. I wish I had understood as a kid that the things that set you apart can turn out to be your greatest gifts.
I don’t think that anyone who knew me when I was a kid would have ever guessed that I’d grow up to publish novels. But writing gets under your skin like a sliver. It’s difficult and uncomfortable to dig a story out—but it’s more uncomfortable not to. Every time I visit the Glastonbury B&N, I think of those early days when I would sit at that café table from opening to closing, writing about really decent kids who find themselves in tough circumstances but find ways to persevere. Kids who don’t give up. The phrase, “more than I’d ever dreamed” is a cliché, but it’s an apt description of my journey and the smell of the store never fails to bring it all back in a rush.
So, now I’ve become one of those writers who longs to share her stories and hopes to change the world, if only a little bit. I hope my story will remind kids that their differences make them special, and just might surprise them and help them achieve what they want, as mine did.
Lynda Mullaly Hunt’s newest novel, Fish in a Tree, was published in February of this year.