Lynn Plourde is making up for lost time.

The Winthrop resident spent 13 years trying to get her children’s picture books published, collecting rejection letter after rejection letter, before her “Pigs in the Mud in the Middle of the Rud” came out in 1997. She then had six books published over the next five years.

Then came this year. So far, the University of Maine graduate has had three of her books released, with another one set to come out this fall. Two more are set for next year, with another three to be published in 2005. Her “Pigs” book has been selected for the Read with ME program, and will be distributed to all kindergartners in the state this fall. And she’ll be the featured Maine author at the Southern Maine Library District Celebration Aug. 22 at the Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport.

“With children’s book authors, it’s a case of feast or famine,” said the 47-year-old Plourde during a recent interview at her home. “I’ve certainly gone through famine, with 13 years of rejection. I still get rejected more than I get accepted. But this is the feast time, and I’m going to savor it. This gives me a wonderful sense of celebration and affirmation.”

What kept Plourde going during those lean years?

“Actually, a few times during those 13 years I did think about giving up,” she recalled. “Maybe I wasn’t good enough. Maybe I wasn’t meant to be an author. But I didn’t give up because I loved creating new stories – it was like pulling ‘magic’ out of thin air. An idea – which is invisible and something that we can’t hold in our hands – could turn into a story on paper, and maybe one day into a book, that people could read, listen to, enjoy.

“When I wrote new stories, it felt like I was making magic – a magic that pleased me, even if I never had any stories published to share with others. And so, I made a decision that I would keep writing because I loved the actual creation of stories.”

First out this year was the poignant “Thank You, Grandpa,” published by Dutton in March. The picture book, illustrated by Jason Cockcroft, tells about a man and his granddaughter who go for nature walks together. When they discover a dead grasshopper and other animals on their walks, the grandfather teaches the girl a lesson about how to deal with death – a lesson she takes to heart and uses when her beloved grandfather dies.

The book has provoked a great response among Plourde’s readers.

“I have heard more reaction, in the short time it’s been out, than I have from my other nine books put together.”

Plourde said she had no trepidation about tackling such a difficult topic in a children’s book.

“I’m really proud of the story,” she said. “When someone dies, we say ‘goodbye,’ but we forget to say ‘thank you.’ And I think that’s important. I hope that teachers, parents and librarians will pull that book out when it’s needed and share it.”

“Teacher Appreciation Day,” the second in a series of school-day books, came out from Dutton in April. The book tells the story of an insecure girl who isn’t sure how best to honor her teacher, but who comes through in the end. Like last year’s “School Picture Day,” it’s illustrated by Thor Wickstrom, whom Plourde has never met. The pair’s talents will come together again in 2005’s “Pajama Day.”

“Thor does wonderful work,” Plourde said. “He has such a sense of humor.”

Children’s books are like an arranged marriage, with the author and illustrator usually working separately on a project. Yet “Summer’s Vacation,” released this month by Simon & Schuster, marks Plourde’s fourth collaboration with Greg Couch. The title is the fourth in a series of seasonally themed books, which began with 1999’s “Wild Child,” a meditation on fall inspired by Plourde’s daughter, Kylee.

Usually, an author has little say over who will illustrate the book. But when Plourde was approached to write the “Wild Child” sequel that would become “Winter Waits,” she agreed, with one condition: “I said, ‘If you don’t want Greg Couch, we’re not going to do it.”

Next up for Plourde is “First Feud,” from Down East Books this fall. She teams with another favorite artist, Jim Sollers of Rockland, who also illustrated her “Moose, of Course!” book. “First Feud” is a fable about a feud between Mount Katahdin and the Atlantic Ocean over which of them is the most beautiful place in the north.

Plourde wrote as a youngster growing up in Skowhegan. Since she didn’t know that anyone could make a living as a writer, she turned to her other love, education, and worked for 21 years as a speech therapist. During that time, she and her husband, Paul Knowles, were raising a family of her stepsons, Seth and Lucas, and later Kylee.

She also developed a series of instructional books, “Classroom Listening and Speaking.” Her experience in that field is a major influence in her writing today.

“There’s being aware of words and sounds [in writing],” she said. “I’m developing language and wordplay using oral-language skills in my writing. Also, there’s the educator part of me. I don’t just read stories [during visits to schools]. I educate people about how to write and how to reach kids with books, because listening and speaking are the foundation of reading and writing.”

Her first experience with picture books came when she would read them to Seth and Lucas, and later would sit up reading those books to herself. That’s when she first began trying her hand at picture-book writing.

An interview with Lynn Plourde is much like reading one of her books. Words come in colorful bursts, and she animatedly makes her points not just with her voice, but with her hands, her arms, her body.

Being a children’s book author with a growing reputation is hardly the same as being a regular on the adult best-sellers list. Plourde doesn’t have the luxury of just writing at home while the royalties roll in; her main source of income is her author visits to schools.

But Plourde’s reasons for going to schools are more than just financial.

“I get to see how children react to the story, to see if they react at the right time, to see if I’m on the right track,” she said. “I also help kids to write and show them things I’ve learned.”

The author has little problem with creativity, as she has notebooks full of story ideas. She has 50 stories in various stages of development, which she’ll run by those she trusts as sounding boards: her husband, her agent, a couple of favorite editors.

“I have to figure out which ones are worth my time to try to write, whether they do or don’t work,” she said.

Plourde’s favorite writing time is the late-night and early morning hours, when everyone else in the house has gone to bed.

“Nobody’s going to bother you then,” she said. “It’s my special time. It probably goes back to my college days, because that was when I’d be working on papers.”

She admits her biggest problem is writing on a consistent basis, in part due to lack of hours in the day and in part due to her disorganization, gesturing to the piles of papers that surrounded her writing corner in her living room.

Both sons have graduated college (one yesterday), and her daughter is finishing up her junior year of high school. Plourde hopes these life changes will free up more time for writing.

“As our kids get out on their own, and there’s not so much financial pressure, I’m trying to just write and see what happens,” she said. “I’m hoping to cut back on the author visits, and to block off some time a couple of times a year to write.”

Plourde has toyed with the idea of chapter books, but is sticking with picture books for now.

“Picture books work best for me now because of the wordplay, the way they rhyme,” she said. “I don’t know if I have an idea big enough for a chapter book.”

One message Plourde carries to students is that they can be whatever they want to be in Maine.

“I love when I get to talk to thousands of school kids and tell them that I grew up in Maine and I did this,” she said. “So can you. You don’t have to leave the state to follow your dream.”

Lynn Plourde will be doing a book signing at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 31, at the Briar Patch in Bangor. Future signings are June 14 at 10 a.m. at Mr. Paperback in Farmington and then at 1 p.m. at the Children’s Book Cellar in Waterville.