Suzanna Lynn has been doing plenty of traveling since she became a published author 12 years ago.
The resident from southwest Missouri drove over 100,000 miles, visiting schools and talking with children about writing.

On April 2, Lynn made a stop at Jonesburg Elementary School as the featured author for Delores Miller Young Authors Day. She even brought along her dog, Buddy the Blue Corgi. Her book series is named after him.

“I came and read to the kids and talked to them about loving what makes them unique,” Lynn said. “Buddy is a unique Corgi. He’s blue, which is not the typical coloring of a Corgi. He was the only blue puppy in the litter, so nobody wanted to adopt him. That’s what the story is about. It teaches kids that what makes them unique is something to celebrate, not something to be picked up or bullied.”

The Delores Miller Author Day event was held all day at JBE with Lynn visiting all of the classrooms. During the afternoon, community leaders got to listen to stories that were written by students and students created a class story with the community leaders.

Lynn visited Jonesburg for the first time. She said she was invited by JBE staff members to come to Young Authors Day after they read her social media pages.

“It’s lovely,” Lynn said. “I think everybody is really nice. I love small schools. That’s where I grew up. So I love a small school because there’s a sense of community. Everybody knows everybody. Everybody is really nice. I really like it. It’s a nice school.”

Young Authors Day began in the early 1990s at Bellflower Elementary before it later moved to JBE. It is named after one of the co-founders.

“Delores was my grandma, so this day is very important to me that I can continue on what she started,” JBE fourth-grade teacher Paige Hillebrand said.

The community leaders in attendance were Sam and Donna Cobb, Maureen Cope, Cherilyn Davis, Jodi Deuser, Matt Jones, Kali Salazar and R-II Assistant Superintendent Dr. Jocelyn Schluss.

Lynn lives in a small town called Seymour, which is east of Springfield. She just wrote her 20th book. She has her own publishing company called Little Pumpkins Publishing.

“I help others get their books published as well through it,” Lynn said. “My youngest client was actually eight years old. He was eight years old when his first book was published. He has now published four and he’s 12.”
Lynn said one of the most interesting facts about Buddy is he has his own social media accounts.

“He makes a good ambassador because kids feel comfortable around him,” the author said. “They feel like they can be themselves. Those people love dogs.”

Lynn wrote her first published book in 2014, but she has been writing since she was in third grade. She shared some advice to the JBE students about writing.

“I encourage them to keep writing and keep using their imaginations,” Lynn said.