Last week we reported that Lynn and Harper Collins will be publishing a children's book in the summer of 2009.

We're pleased to tell you that the book was illustrated by Lynn and written by Beth Cruikshank, Lynn's sister-in-law, who is the author of the extremely popular character biographies available here in our website. Beth also assisted Lynn with research and writing for her books The Lives Behind the Lines and Suddenly Silver. Congratulations Beth and Lynn on another exciting collaboration!

Please watch our website for more info and updates on this upcoming book!

Recently, Publisher’s Weekly posted an interview with Brenda Bowen, in which she reveals that Harper Collins will be publishing a children's book by Lynn, which will be released next summer.

"It is a full-color picture book for children from four to seven years old. It is about a dog who loves to eat and doesn’t care about what he is eating, and he gets lost following one delicious scent after another, and then after a day of being lost he comes home."

Read the full text of the article here.

We've just unveiled our latest in a series of biographies of Lynn's secondary characters. The most recent character to be profiled is Paul Wright, Liz's former boyfriend. You can find the character biographies here in our Who's Who in FBorFW section, or skip straight to a printable copy of Paul's biography. If you missed last month's bio of Warren Blackwood, you can find the printer-friendly version here.

These excellent character backgrounds are written by Lynn's sister-in-law, Beth Cruikshank, whom you can meet here.

Lynn was recently interviewed by Marc Lichter for Caring Today magazine, a publication for caregivers.

"Caring Today: Why is the storyline about Grandpa Jim's stroke so important to you?
Lynn Johnston: My mother-in-law actually suffered the stroke, and we were there when it happened. It was what she most feared. She'd said, "I don't want to be a burden to anyone, I don't want to be half there."

It was amazing to see. She simply looked at us with a strange expression and started to crumple. A friend sat her down. She looked at us-yet, she wasn't looking at us. We called the ambulance to take her to the hospital. Her stroke was sudden yet so gentle.

I wanted to show that it affected the whole family. It had involved everyone in the room that day and continued to involve everyone. Because the grandfather in the strip is in his eighties and had smoked and had had a rich life, perhaps that's what happened to him. I wanted to explore it because I'd experienced it."

You can read the full interview on their website.