Dame Lynley said it had been some time since the release of her last book in the Hairy Maclary series.
"It was in the works but just didn't get finished," Dame Lynley said. "It has been quite a while because I have had to change publishers, so I'm with Penguin now and adding to that there were a lot of things happening."
Some of these things Dame Lynley referred to included the bronze sculpture of Hairy Maclary destined for The Strand next year plus shows being performed in Britain. "So it has been very, very busy," Dame Lynley said.
The last book published was Hairy Maclary Shoo in 2009. Usually Dame Lynley preferred to release a book each year.
To finally celebrate the launch of Slinky Malinki Early Bird was a wonderful feeling, Dame Lynley said.
"It's great to get to this point but, of course, I always want to start again."
Dame Lynley said she already had plenty of ideas for a new book but would not disclose any details, yet. Slinky Malinki Early Bird is the thirteenth book in series since it began in 1983.