Getting published took Lisa awhile. She considers herself the poster child for patience (not her strong suit) and perseverance. She spent years writing short stories and then trying to wrangle the longer novel form, and more years attending conferences and workshops.
She finally got her break after working with New York Times bestselling novelist Elizabeth George in three workshops. Ms. George invited Lisa to apply for a writing grant from the Elizabeth George Foundation. Lisa won a writing grant that allowed her to quit her day-job for a year so that she could devote full energies to her fiction.
In addition, Ms. George invited Lisa to write a short story for an anthology that she edited. The anthology, TWO OF THE DEADLIEST (HarperCollins) includes such notables as Laura Lippman, Susan Wiggs, Dana Stabenow, and Patricia Smiley. Specifically, Ms. George thought of Lisa for inclusion in an “Introducing. . .” section to spotlight up-and-coming writers.
Lisa’s second published short story was nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and she won a Walden Fellowship for writing.
Lisa graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a degree in economics (of all things) and a minor in Spanish literature (to keep her sanity). In various incarnations, she has worked as a librarian’s assistant, financial analyst in Ecuador and Brazil, cocktail waitress, journalist, and, most recently, technical writer. By far, her favorite short-lived career choice was book publishing, where she worked in the editorial departments at Warner Books and Doubleday.
Lisa lives in Oregon with a spunky Chihuahua mix, an accident-prone cat, and her trusty laptop. She likes photography, gardening, red wine, and scary movies. She’s an active member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime.