National Storytelling Week: 30 Jan - 6 February

80-year old author Lotte Moore calls for more reading inandout of schools - and freely offers her time to inspire more children to believe, imagine and enjoy stories

Bringing two generations together and sharing a passion for storytelling

Growing up in a house with Churchill, Bates and Charlie Chaplin, with literary talent in the bloodline (John Pudney and Sir Alan Herbert), certainly inspired Lotte Moore to write, in fact Lotte has been telling stories through ballet, acting and writing all her life, yet her first book wasn't published until she was in her 70s. Since then Lotte has published many books including children's picture books, her memoir (the second edition of Snippets of a Lifetime is due for release in Spring 2016) and various collections of short stories. Her latest children's book - Saved - will be published later this month.

Now approaching her 80^thbirthday (March 2016) Lotte Moore, who lives in West London with husband Chris Moore, continues to offer her time for free, reading her stories in primary schools in the Capital and the surrounding counties. Lotte says: "I'm particularly keen to read to children in schools around World Book Day (March 3 2016), as this is the perfect time for teachers to welcome authors into their community. I've read in many, many schools over the years and I'm often asked to return to read again the next year. The children remember me and run over, happy to see me and eager to hear my latest stories. It is so important for children to be inspired to read and write in a fun and engaging way."

Lotte Moore reflects on life in the syndicated interview below, available for reproduction in its entirety or as extracts. Review copies are available (please specify which book you're interested in); Lotte is available for interview in February and March 2016 and editorial commission. She would also love to hear from schools that would like to experience an author visit - she doesn't charge for her time.

Lotte Moore has always written, but was only published in her 70s. Approaching 80 in March, Lotte talks candidly about her life, loves, inspirations, and hopes for a legacy that inspires young and old to imagine, create and write.

Syndicated interview with Lotte Moore, author of new releases - Snippets of a Lifetime (memoir), In The Fast Lane (contemporary fiction) and Saved (children's story) plus many more books.

Q. You have literary talent flowing through your veins Lotte! Tell us about your father and grandfather...

"It is an extraordinary experience to have suddenly blossomed as a writer in my 70s. I was born into a literary family. My father, John Pudney, wrote a lot of poetry, novels and biographies. My grandfather, Sir Alan Herbert, was a prolific writer, satirist and librettist. I remember coming home from school and always finding my Dad locked in his study, writing. The same with A.P.H. when I lived at his home in Hammersmith Terrace. He was always scribbling longhand in pencil."

Growing up surrounded by literary stars

Q. You grew up in Kent surrounded by household names; can you tell us about your childhood?

"I had a difficult childhood. Our house in Kent was very busy with many visitors from Churchill, Charlie Chaplin, and Burgess & McLean, to WH Auden, HE Bates and Benjamin Britten. My parents enjoyed political debate and literary discussions. I often felt lonely during these endless events and started writing stories as an outlet for my isolation. I began to express myself while at a local girl's school in Sevenoaks, by writing 'The Adventures of Rochelle'. I remember the girls huddling round me every Wednesday in their brown uniforms, eager to hear the next instalment."

Q. What other writing did you do as a young girl?

"I also wrote a diary, which I often talked to as a friend. Each family holiday was recounted in a journal-cum-scrapbook with my father's encouragement. Incidents such as a violent nose bleed in a grand hotel in Rouen or the meat-safe falling off the back of our narrow boat on the Oxford canal were recorded in juicy detail. Meanwhile, the more interior, sensitive side of life often produced poetry. I found that feelings poured out of me naturally in this medium. Perhaps inspired by the many colourful characters who came into our house in Kent, I began composing the odd short story, and also loved writing letters, which I still do. Communicating on paper to a friend or relative is liberating. I often found my pen racing on in the excitement of describing an event. This abundant imaginative energy has also been essential more recently in various stories for children."

From ballet to acting

Q. What happened in your teenage years?

"After all this youthful writing, I became totally dedicated to training as a ballet dancer in my early teens. Point shoes replaced the pen. The strict training required bore fruit when I was selected by the Royal Ballet School to dance in the Opera Ballet. This was the most wonderful experience, combining, as it did, dance with the sublime opera music. The lyricism and sensitivity that had been shut-up inside me emerged fulfillingly. Music is similar to writing. The emotions are so powerful. Self-expression wove patterns from my soul.

Q. What led you to acting?

"Sadly, a few years later everything changed when I was rejected by the ballet company for growing too tall. Devastated, I then started an acting career, which was creative in a different way, but also highly precarious, both financially and psychologically. During this insecure time I started writing stories, often based on fellow cast members who hid behind a mask of self confidence (something which fascinated me, because I had very little myself). I sensed many hidden feelings in people. Being deeply sensitive, my writing was often highly coloured and very emotional.

In love with trees...

Q. You talk of a love for nature, but trees and the sea in particular, please can you elaborate...

"When in love, I wrote passionate letters and poems, sometimes embarrassing the recipient to my own detriment, having overwhelmed the person. During my acting career I had great loneliness, caused by a lack of progress and achievement. Perhaps to compensate for this, I began to appreciate nature, especially trees. Their power and beauty deeply move me still and I have a profound affinity with their endurance, often talking to them even now. Over the years, I've written a great deal about their wisdom and strength."

In love with the sea...

"When out of work (a frequent event) I often went to Brighton and sat at the end of an empty pier, totally absorbed in my other passion - the sea. I loved the rolling, surging waves as they ended in a dribble across the sand and stones. I adore the rhythm of the sea. Alone on the pier I was inspired to write a lot of poetry. When the waves dwindle and slither over each other it is almost like a page turning in a book - quiet and inevitable.

I often wrote letters to my father describing certain anecdotes and happenings. He once replied, "I think you should become a writer. You express yourself so vividly!" Well, I didn't become a true writer until decades later."

Married & into motherhood

Q. When did you get married and how did life change?

"I finally got married at 38 and became totally immersed in my stepchildren and then my own two girls. In those days, creativity was mostly required at 6am when various small people bounded into the bedroom yelling, "Can we have a story?" Their exuberant little voices started me inventing many imaginative tales. After school the children dressed up in characterful old clothes, and I wrote a play, or else they created one of their own. During their childhood I started giving music and singing classes and later produced Edward Lear's The Owl and the Pussycat, which was then performed in a big convent. Sixty old people joined in the songs. It was wonderful and a very exciting time for the kids."

Q. You have always enjoyed working with, reading to, and being surrounded by children, why is this?

"I find young people incredibly inspiring and still taught two to seven year olds music, mime and rhythm until my late 70s. Their imagination propels me into action. The immense value I find writing for children is to fire this inner world and make it obvious how creative their ideas are. It's crucial to the development of young minds. A child's openness and vulnerability are gifts to an adult writer."

Writing in the empty years in an empty nest

Q. You have written all of your life, but what happened when your children had grown up and left home?

"When the girls left home there were empty years, sadly filled by quite a lot of illness and family problems. I didn't feel inspired to write much - except the continued poetry, which I eventually self-published later on in a collection entitled 'Sensitive Sounds'. Both my parents died during this time and I feel deep regret that they never saw my writing develop into a prolific production lines of children's books, autobiography, novels and various short stories."

Q. What prompted you to start writing more seriously, frequently and with the aim of being published?

"All this came about through a series of fateful events. The first was a Radio 4 programme I heard in 2006 where Blake Morrison said, "Not enough ordinary people write their autobiographies". I'd had yearnings to write my life story, so I contacted the producer and he forwarded my letter to Anna Foster, who runs a self-publishing company. As a result, I got a response from Anna saying she'd published various autobiographies and would I call her. She has subsequently produced my memoir, "Snippets of a Lifetime", but also many children's books and short story collections. My work is now in the capable hands of White Fox, which means that my collection of books across the genres will be available much more widely, and many will also be online as eBooks.

Q: What else happened?

"Another stroke of luck almost a decade ago was a notice on the board at my health club which said 'Instead of exercising your body, why not exercise your mind - let me help you write'. So, the following week, Stephen Rabley came to my house and into my writing world in a big way! He is a professional author himself and caught me at the beginning of a long journey writing my autobiography. His patience, understanding and sensitivity have given me confidence on the page, which I had never experienced before. He has encouraged me to write, write, write. I'm so lucky to have found him at the age of 70. He wound up an old clock, which hasn't stopped ticking since! Tense, structure, grammar and technique have al been problems which I slowly resolve whilst writing. Ideas are never far away! I have learned the hard way to delete certain passages, which Stephen always explains are not essential. "Less is more, Lotte. Less is more," I found a lot of my autobiography painful to write, but Stephen urged me to be as frank as possible. It's a project I'm now very proud of."

Campaigning for a future full of imagination

Q. Besides writing what else keeps you busy?

"Like my grandfather, I am quite a campaigner for local issues such as the frequently gridlocked Hogarth Roundabout where I photographed the speeding traffic for our local newspaper and Transport for London. I'm also an avid supporter of the Keep Charing Cross A&E Department Open campaign, which involves regularly writing urgent, impassioned letters. Most important of all are my daily efforts to read - free of charge - to little people, as hearing stories can play such a vital role in the development of their imaginations."

Q. And how about the future?

"Well, I'd like to think that what I've achieved will encourage others to nourish children's creativity in years to come. Also, perhaps, some elderly people might pick up a book of mine and be inspired enough to try writing themselves. What a lovely legacy that would be; uniting young and old."

--Notes to editors--

Lotte Moore now has a publisher, White Fox, which is taking many of her books to a wider audience via bigger distribution and online as eBooks. Her short story, Marvellous Mavis was published for the first time, and offered free as an eBook on Kindle on Christmas Day as a gift from Lotte. She has more new books including a novel, short stories and children's books due for release in 2016. The first release of the year is Saved - a children's picture book - due for publication in late February 2016. Her back catalogue of books including her autobiography - Snippets of a Lifetime - will be sold as eBooks for the first time as of early 2016.

For media requests please contacthelenlewis@literallypr.com.

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