History: I was born in 1961, the tail-end of the generation known as the Baby Boomers. Growing up, my family moved around—a lot. I attended a total of nine schools-in six cities-in four states before my first year of college in 1980.
Following a gap year, I moved to Oklahoma to attend college, graduating from the University of Oklahoma in 1984 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education. Not able to land a job in my chosen profession in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, I began a 25-year career as a flight attendant with Delta Airlines, retiring in 2009.
Even before fully retiring, I started a new career working for an environmental corporation in Tarrant County Texas founded by my husband shortly after we married in 1987. It has been a welcome change of pace and affords me the flexibility necessary to write and pursue other interests and hobbies.
“By day,” I am an environmental compliance manager, writing as well as editing technical reports. The creation of job-specific Excel spreadsheets and GAEA Winlog Soil Borings, something I approach with gusto, has earned me the coveted title of nerd among my office peers.
"By night," (and weekends) I can be found sending out queries for my recently completed first book or writing short stories inspired by numerous moves when I was a child—from north to south and east to west—with my oddball family. A number of these stories (24) were published, beginning in April 2018 in the form of monthly columns for two local area newspapers. Currently, on a freelance basis, my work has been published on Beneath the Surface News, International Lockdown Journal, WOW! Women on Writing, The Muffin, Spillwords, Short Story Avenue , Dark Nowhere and pending publication on Short Story Town and The New Zealand Dream. My monthly column essays are in archived hard copy with the Stephenville Empire-Tribune and the Glen Rose Reporter. One of the greatest honors as a writer (and super validating), is that my bio has been included in "Who's Who of Emerging Writers 2021."
Writing: My interest in the written word began at a young age. I guess I have always had a love affair with books and began to read many of the classics (Little Women, Mark Twain, Oliver Twist, The Call of the Wild, Don Quixote, Treasure Island, The Iliad, The Odyssey, and Gulliver's Travels to name a few) as early as third grade (1969) when my Daddy would drop me at my hometown public library in Graham, North Carolina almost every Saturday. I would occupy myself for hours reading, curled on the floor with a stack of books by my side. I always considered books to be my educational babysitter.
My love of reading inspired me to try my hand at writing, beginning in fifth grade when I won a school-wide essay contest at Graham Elementary School with my submission titled, Why I Love My School. Continuing in high school, I won a class-wide songwriting contest, creating an original Christmas Carol, Christmas Time is Here Again. Following the creation of a musical score (also created by my classmates), the song was performed at our annual Christmas Chorale Performance.
Moving forward to keep things fresh, I love to challenge myself by entering online nonfiction and flash fiction contests or taking inspiration from writing prompt or image prompt challenges. Some of the pieces have been published on literary ezines (listed below).
Books and Manuscripts:
Books and Anthologies:
Publications and Awards:
Home life: I have two children. My daughter, born in 1987, is an award-winning journalist for a North Texas newspaper, a gifted musician, a weekend volleyball enthusiast and avid planner of weekend-with-friends activities. My son, born in 1989, is working in an executive position for a Fortune 500 company in Boston, Massachusetts. He loves to travel, having already created a bucket list of places to see, and is an outdoor-sport enthusiast, participating in a variety of weekend activities and adventures.
I can often be found at home, in the North Texas county in which I have resided since 1995, writing, swimming, gardening, reading, painting, binge-watching one of many binge-worthy television series, or walking through a nearby park with my two rescue dogs.
Thank you for visiting my website. I hope you are able to find some of my musings of interest and may they bring a smile to your lips.
Lisa H. Owens
Mother • Dog Rescuer • Author
Member: The Author's Guild since 2020
Member: Writer's League of Texas since 2021
Inclusion in: Who's Who of Emerging Writers 2021
Visit my Author Page on Spillwords.
Following a gap year, I moved to Oklahoma to attend college, graduating from the University of Oklahoma in 1984 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education. Not able to land a job in my chosen profession in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, I began a 25-year career as a flight attendant with Delta Airlines, retiring in 2009.
Even before fully retiring, I started a new career working for an environmental corporation in Tarrant County Texas founded by my husband shortly after we married in 1987. It has been a welcome change of pace and affords me the flexibility necessary to write and pursue other interests and hobbies.
“By day,” I am an environmental compliance manager, writing as well as editing technical reports. The creation of job-specific Excel spreadsheets and GAEA Winlog Soil Borings, something I approach with gusto, has earned me the coveted title of nerd among my office peers.
"By night," (and weekends) I can be found sending out queries for my recently completed first book or writing short stories inspired by numerous moves when I was a child—from north to south and east to west—with my oddball family. A number of these stories (24) were published, beginning in April 2018 in the form of monthly columns for two local area newspapers. Currently, on a freelance basis, my work has been published on Beneath the Surface News, International Lockdown Journal, WOW! Women on Writing, The Muffin, Spillwords, Short Story Avenue , Dark Nowhere and pending publication on Short Story Town and The New Zealand Dream. My monthly column essays are in archived hard copy with the Stephenville Empire-Tribune and the Glen Rose Reporter. One of the greatest honors as a writer (and super validating), is that my bio has been included in "Who's Who of Emerging Writers 2021."
Writing: My interest in the written word began at a young age. I guess I have always had a love affair with books and began to read many of the classics (Little Women, Mark Twain, Oliver Twist, The Call of the Wild, Don Quixote, Treasure Island, The Iliad, The Odyssey, and Gulliver's Travels to name a few) as early as third grade (1969) when my Daddy would drop me at my hometown public library in Graham, North Carolina almost every Saturday. I would occupy myself for hours reading, curled on the floor with a stack of books by my side. I always considered books to be my educational babysitter.
My love of reading inspired me to try my hand at writing, beginning in fifth grade when I won a school-wide essay contest at Graham Elementary School with my submission titled, Why I Love My School. Continuing in high school, I won a class-wide songwriting contest, creating an original Christmas Carol, Christmas Time is Here Again. Following the creation of a musical score (also created by my classmates), the song was performed at our annual Christmas Chorale Performance.
Moving forward to keep things fresh, I love to challenge myself by entering online nonfiction and flash fiction contests or taking inspiration from writing prompt or image prompt challenges. Some of the pieces have been published on literary ezines (listed below).
Books and Manuscripts:
- Dear Melinda, How I Met Your Brother: a humorous epistolary memoir describing my first year as a new-hire flight attendant. [manuscript 2020 - Editor: Chelsey Clammer]
- Fred is Grumpy: an illustrated book geared toward preschool children inspired by my personality challenged rescue dog, Fred. [work in progress]
Books and Anthologies:
- Who's Who of Emerging Writers 2021: inclusion as one of 128 selected authors [p. 153-154] - published by Steve Lester Carr and Sweetycat Press. [released June, 2021]
- The Whole Wide World Anthology: inclusion in a compilation of stories written by selected authors - published by Steve Lester Carr and Sweetycat Press. [work in progress - estimated September, 2021]
- The Writer's Journey Blog Anthology: inclusion in a compilation of multi-genre "journey themed" stories - published by Elaine Carnegie and Barrio Blues Press (proceeds to be donated to Doctors Without Borders). [work in progress - November, 2021]
Publications and Awards:
- Joseph and His Silent Friend: published on June 28, 2021 on Short Story Town.
- Her Chair: video production, narration and music by Alan Johnson ( The Poets Lounge, June 2021)
- Till Death Do Us Part: video production, narration and music by Alan Johnson (The Poets Lounge and Fandalism, June 2021)
- Invisible Wounds : a finalist in the WOW! (Women on Writing) Q4-2019 Creative Nonfiction Essay Contest and published on Spillwords on June 1, 2021 and nominated for June Publication of the Month
- Little Notes Everywhere: a finalist in the WOW! (Women on Writing) Q1-2021 Creative Nonfiction Essay Contest, published on Spillwords on March 16, 2021 and Short Story Avenue on May 11, 2021.
- Something About Stan: published on April 14, 2021 as part of the Dark Nowhere Series, on Horror Tree.
- Redemption: Round-1 NYC Midnight 250-Word Micro-fiction Challenge essay selected as a finalist and I moved on to Round-2 with Te Amo, Mi Amor.
- What You Can Do in 8 Minutes and 46 Seconds: awarded second place in the WOW! (Women on Writing) Q4-2020 Creative Nonfiction Essay Contest.
- Big-Red-Truck and a Purple Leash: awarded first place in round-one of an online June-2020 Image Prompt Contest.
- A Lover's Kiss: a finalist in the WOW! (Women on Writing) Spring-2020 Flash Fiction Contest.
- This Poem’s Not Funny: runner up in an online monthly poetry prompt (May 2020 Poetry Contest-Humor).
- Consider the Lilies: published on a renowned international blog titled International Lockdown Journal April 4, 2020 . It was humbling to see my piece alongside stories of the pandemic experiences of others, submissions from the four corners of the earth—all sheltering in place.
Home life: I have two children. My daughter, born in 1987, is an award-winning journalist for a North Texas newspaper, a gifted musician, a weekend volleyball enthusiast and avid planner of weekend-with-friends activities. My son, born in 1989, is working in an executive position for a Fortune 500 company in Boston, Massachusetts. He loves to travel, having already created a bucket list of places to see, and is an outdoor-sport enthusiast, participating in a variety of weekend activities and adventures.
I can often be found at home, in the North Texas county in which I have resided since 1995, writing, swimming, gardening, reading, painting, binge-watching one of many binge-worthy television series, or walking through a nearby park with my two rescue dogs.
Thank you for visiting my website. I hope you are able to find some of my musings of interest and may they bring a smile to your lips.
Lisa H. Owens
Mother • Dog Rescuer • Author
Member: The Author's Guild since 2020
Member: Writer's League of Texas since 2021
Inclusion in: Who's Who of Emerging Writers 2021
Visit my Author Page on Spillwords.
Daughter Autumn Playing Volleyball in Texas [2020]
Autumn - "A Little Nighttime Guitar" [2020]
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Son Al Snowboarding in New Hampshire [2019]
Al - Kyoto Japan "Learning the Art of the Samurai" [2019]
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Copyright © 2021, Lisa H. Owens and Lisahowens.com
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site's author/owner is strictly prohibited.
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Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site's author/owner is strictly prohibited.
Website Built by I Am Mad Art and Autumn Year Round.