“It popped into my head one night when I was watching T.V.,” said Turpin. “So I wrote it all down and played with it. Before I knew it, I had a whole book.”

Bippity Boppity is a children’s rhyming book “with lots of action” about the adventures of a family of octopoid-like creatures. For Turpin, an established artist of the region, known for her work in oils and acrylics, the book was not just an exercise for her newfound creative talent in storytelling, it also served as her first professional venture into watercolour as a primary means of illustrating the images in her mind.

Finding a home for her new artistic child occupied Turpin for six years until she received an offer from local publisher, Louise Sproule. Now Bippity Boppity is in print and available for order by email to lorie.turpin@gmail.com or in person by the author, with autographs on request, when she is out and about for events like the Vankleek Hill Art Scavenger Hunt or during a recent book-signing session July 3 on Main Street in the village.

“I’m thinking of doing a sequel,” Turpin said, smiling. “I’m still formulating it in my head.”