About
About Writer Lyn Sirota
Hi and thanks for visiting. I grew up loving picture books and nonsense poetry. My oldest brother, Jon, used to read me poems when I was too young to read them myself and that first ignited my interest in poetry. When I was about ten, my best friend, Patty, was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. She died very quickly thereafter. The best way I knew of, to deal with this huge loss, was by writing. I filled notebooks with poems and bad drawings. Bugs and animals were things that delighted me as a child and I spent most of my spare time outside. So, it's no surprise that the majority of my work is about living things in nature.
There was always a demand for good writing throughout my college years, graduate school and my fifteen year career in corporate Human Resources. Dr. Paul Strauss, one of my professors in graduate school, said I was the most creative student he had ever taught. It's little comments like that, that really boost your confidence. In the corporate world, most letters and memos that came from the top were usually ghost written by me. I didn't have much time to do my own work because my colleagues were always asking me to read over something they wrote to see if it sounded okay. I am still frequently asked to look at and comment on resumes-ugh! I guess I can’t really leave that behind.
It wasn't until the year 2001 came that I considered a career change out of corporate. Seeing and feeling what came out of the 911 tragedy gave me a new perspective about life, family and the need to do something truly impactful.
I applied to the Institute of Children's Literature (ICL) in 2002 with an essay about a sixth grade experience and received an acceptance shortly thereafter. I longed for a more formal exposure to writing for children.
The April 2004 issue of "Wee Ones Magazine"
featured Lyn's first work,"Don't Run, Don't Hide."
There was always a demand for good writing throughout my college years, graduate school and my fifteen year career in corporate Human Resources. Dr. Paul Strauss, one of my professors in graduate school, said I was the most creative student he had ever taught. It's little comments like that, that really boost your confidence. In the corporate world, most letters and memos that came from the top were usually ghost written by me. I didn't have much time to do my own work because my colleagues were always asking me to read over something they wrote to see if it sounded okay. I am still frequently asked to look at and comment on resumes-ugh! I guess I can’t really leave that behind.
It wasn't until the year 2001 came that I considered a career change out of corporate. Seeing and feeling what came out of the 911 tragedy gave me a new perspective about life, family and the need to do something truly impactful.
I applied to the Institute of Children's Literature (ICL) in 2002 with an essay about a sixth grade experience and received an acceptance shortly thereafter. I longed for a more formal exposure to writing for children.
The April 2004 issue of "Wee Ones Magazine"
featured Lyn's first work,"Don't Run, Don't Hide."
BECOMING A PROFESSIONAL WRITER
After becoming comfortable with the writing and submissions process, I submitted one of my assignments with the ICL to Wee Ones Magazine and received an acceptance for Don't Run, Don't Hide. Refer to my Directory page for more background about this story. This was officially my first piece of published children's literature. However, at the same time I had submitted "Holey Moley" to both Spider and Fun For Kidz Magazines and received an acceptance from both, which was extremely unusual. A tough decision had to be made and I went with Spider Magazine. Refer to my Directory page for more background about "Holey Moley."
Personal Interests
l Spending time with my children as well as my three furry rescued pets: Saige, Koal and Rayvan.
l Scrapbooking
l Animals (I volunteer in an animal shelter)
l Biking (refer to chocolate)
l Outdoor animal habitats, sanctuaries, zoos and aquariums. Visiting the rain forest.
l Museums and centers-natural history, cultural, science and technology
l Lindt dark chocolate truffles (refer to biking), Ritter Dark Chocolate Marzipan bars and cherry pop-tarts
l A great book and cup of coffee
l Collecting rocks and colored stones
l Watching Animal Planet and Survivor
l Bird Watching (particularly birds of prey)
l Wearing soft sweatshirts and tie-die (yes, I'm a closet hippie)