After hanging up her rolling pin for the final time, former pâtissier and novelist Lynette Fisher has now penned and illustrated her first children’s book.
Inspired by the day-to-day adventures of her ‘naughty’ Jack Russell puppy George, Lynette’s new book The Tail of George, Prince of Puppies also features original oil paintings by her.
The Beaminster-based writer said: “I wrote this new children’s book during lockdown shortly after buying George.
“I also started oil painting during that time, doing pictures of the dog, and I thought I would incorporate those paintings into the book. I think oil paintings have a timeless quality to them and I thought it would be something very different for a children’s book.
The Tail of George, Prince of Puppies is basically an introduction to George and the mischief he gets up to. I’ve never owned this breed before – he’s lovely but he’s also very naughty.
“I’m also working on a second book about George, which might have something to do with a day out shopping for hats that we had with my mother-in-law that turned out to be quite fun and eventful.”
Lynette Fisher is perhaps best known in Beaminster for running Le Vieux Four (The Old Oven in French) patisserie from 1991 until three years ago.
During that time Lynette wrote two recipe books and two novels, The Warmth of Waves and The Flowers that Bloom on a Dark French Night.
Lynette said: “Writing a children’s book is a complete shot in the dark for me but I enjoyed writing it enormously.
“I spent the first half of my working life cooking on yachts at sea and I’ve spent the best part of the last 30 years running the patisserie, but I decided a few years ago it was time for a change.
“Sometimes people stop me in the street and ask if I could do a cake for them, for a birthday or something, but I always kind of side-step the question.
“I love baking and I will always be a pâtissier, but I’m really enjoying writing and painting at the moment.”
Lynette’s new children’s book will be available in local book shops in Beaminster but she is also pursuing a potential deal to stock the book with Waterstones.”