Warm, cozy: Acclaimed Chapel Hill picture book author offers new story of 'William's Winter Nap'

Ashman of Chapel Hill is author of more than 30 picture books, including a steady stream that have come out in the past couple of years - "Ella Who," "All We Know," "Rockabye Romp" and "Henry Wants More," among them.

I checked in with Ashman to learn more about "William's Winter Nap" and what's she's up to. Here's a Q&A:

Go Ask Mom: William's Winter Nap is a sweet, sweet story about a cold winter night. What prompted you to write it ... one of our long, hard Triangle ice storms?

Linda Ashman: Close! The story came about when my Disney-Hyperion editor, Stephanie Lurie, told me she was craving a cozy hibernation story and asked if I’d like to give it a shot. I said yes, and started researching what different animals do in winter. Then we got one of those North Carolina snowstorms that shuts everything down. As I looked out my window at the neighborhood kids sledding down the hill in front of our house, I imagined a little boy settling into bed in a cozy cottage, his sleep interrupted by a string of furry guests looking for a warm place to sleep. So I do think the weather had something to do with it!

GAM: You write a lot in rhyme. What do you love about this form - especially for children's books? Why was it perfect for telling William's story?​

LA: I love the musical rhythm of stories in verse. When done well, they’re fun to read aloud and a pleasure to listen to. And kids can very quickly pick up rhyme patterns and help fill in the blanks, which builds literacy skills and makes the reading experience more interactive. For William’s Winter Nap, I also used lots of repetition. I wanted to encourage kids to read along and hoped the repeated yawns and “Good nights” might induce sleepiness — something I always appreciated in a bedtime book when my son was small!

GAM: A lot of people are surprised to learn just how long it can take to get a book published. How long did you work on this - from starting the draft to seeing it in bookstores and libraries?

LA: Yes, the publication process for picture books is very lengthy — typically more than two years and, for several of my books, more than six! William’s Winter Nap was about average, arriving four years after Stephanie Lurie proposed the idea. The story itself came together very quickly. I spent just a few weeks doing research, ruminating, then writing the manuscript (most take several months, and some much longer). But, of course, the artwork takes quite a while, and Chuck Groenink, the illustrator, was busy with other projects and couldn’t start right away. And once the artwork is done, publishers typically need a year or more to develop their sales and marketing plans. That process has already begun for a companion book, William Wakes Up, which is coming out spring 2019.

GAM: We're closing in on Christmas, and I'm guessing you might be giving and getting a few books. What are some books you're looking forward to reading in the coming months - children's or adult?

LA: My husband, son and I have each kept a “Book of Books” (“Bob” for short) for years, so I’m eager to read Pamela Paul’s memoir about her own: "My Life with Bob: Flawed Heroine Keeps Book of Books, Plot Ensues." My library hold list always seems to have a few books on spirituality (right now: "Pagans" by James Joseph O’Donnell, and "Why Buddhism is True" by Robert Wright). I’m also drawn to books about aging and dying (Nina Riggs’s beautiful memoir, "The Bright Hour," was one of my favorite books this year). I also have "The Good Death" by Ann Neumann and Diana Athill’s late-age memoirs on my “to read” list. I loved Jennifer Ryan’s "The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir" this year, so will be looking for more absorbing novels — so much the better if they’re set in Britain. And my husband just gave me "Silence in the Age of Noise" by Erling Kagge, which I’m looking forward to reading as well. And so many more . . .

GAM: What are you working on next?

LA: I’ve got several books coming out in the next few years, so will be sporadically involved with those, and have been working on new manuscripts as well. Given how long the process takes, I try to keep the pipeline full! And I’ve got a couple of local events coming up in the new year — a story time at 11 a.m., Jan. 19, at Kidzu Children’s Museum, and the Whirlikids Book Festival at Fearrington Village on Feb. 3, which is organized by McIntyre’s Books. It features an impressive group of kid lit authors, from picture books to YA.