![]() An Interview with Lisa H. Owens, Non-Fiction Writer: Today I got the chance to chat with Lisa H. Owens, author of a fascinating memoir and numerous short stories. [Poppy Kuroki] Hi, Lisa! Thank you for talking with me today. Tell us about your upcoming book release. I completed my first book, written in 2020 during the shelter in place element of the pandemic, titled Dear Melinda, How I Met Your Brother. It was an accidental book that began when I started writing a letter to my sister-in-law about mine and her brother’s (my husband of thirty-four years) separation. One letter became many, so it turned into a something I never anticipated, a humorous epistolary memoir. I began querying traditional publishers in October 2020 and plan to continue on that route for a while and see what happens. I have put 30 queries out with 4 rejections to date, so a slightly over 10% failure rate. Not too bad! I wish you all the luck in the world with your queries and hope it’ll be picked up by a publisher soon! What’s the first book you ever remember reading? One of the Richard Scarry children’s books published in the late 1960s. I think it was Great Big Mystery Book, and I was absolutely obsessed with it. I received it as a Christmas gift from my Aunt Joyce and it was the nicest gift I had received (except my creepy ventriloquist doll, Sammy Cement, who I still have in my closet fifty years later… just to mess with my kids when they visit! My lips always moved anyway). I slept with it and carried it everywhere I went. It started me on the path to appreciating and collecting books. Getting books as gifts is the best! Clearly your Aunt Joyce had good taste. So what inspired you to start writing? Being an avid reader my entire life, I always had it in the back of my mind that I would like to write some of my childhood stories, memories of multiple moves my family made over the years. Six of us were stuffed into an aging Volkswagen Beetle causing a veritable clown show everywhere we went. Instead, my first story was taken from a vivid dream that I had when I was fifty-six years old. After writing the one dream inspired micro-fiction, I never looked back and began to write a monthly humorist column (stories about my oddball family) for two newspapers. Once the two-year stint with the newspapers ended, I continued to write flash fiction and essays and then the “accidental book.” Currently, I’m working on turning photos into illustrations for a children’s book about my personality-challenged rescue dog called Fred is Grumpy. Fascinating! It all sounds so exciting. Who is your main inspiration? Gosh! I would have to say I have been inspired by my family and some of the things we have been through together. Without those antics, I wouldn’t have been able to write the funny weird stories that pop into my brain. Aside from writing, what do you like to do in your spare time? I am working full time, remotely, as an environmental compliance manager for a small company, but also just spent the last several months having my house put back together. It was literally falling apart. I call it my “Brady Bunch House,” because like the home in the show, it was built in the 1970s in a similar style – floating staircase and all. Now that the house is no longer falling apart (and I am broke… lol), I work, garden, walk with my rescue dogs and volunteer one afternoon a week at a horseback riding facility for special needs children. It has been such a blessing in my life. I also try to write something each day. I have a great fear that one day I may forget how to write. It sounds like you have a productive lifestyle, which is great. Good news about the house being complete too, that must be a lot of stress off your shoulders. It’s also important to write daily, something all aspiring authors should do! Tell me about your writing space. Where do you usually write? Believe it or not, I wrote my entire book on my phone. I typically sit outside on my patio with coffee and open a Google document and type using an awkward combination of thumbs and clumsy fingers. Thank God for spellcheck. On occasion, usually when querying, I use my office set up which is a living-room-behind-the-sofa, wall-facing, giant wood and iron Pottery Barn desk with matching file cabinets that I bought at a garage sale for about $100 many moons ago. All on your phone, wow! I respect you so much for that, it couldn’t have been easy. Are you a morning or night person? What time of day do you prefer to sit and write? I write in the morning. I am up having coffee with my daughter by 7:30 am before she heads off to work as a journalist for our local newspaper. I crash by 9:30 pm but spend about an hour doing crossword puzzles before turning on the Calm App bedtime story of the night. I’ve heard about that app; sounds like it works! It’s good to be up early and sleep early. Do you plan out your stories or are you a pantser (making it up as you go along)? Pantser all the way, so far. If I am going to attempt to write another book or even a short story longer than 2,000 words, I am going to have to learn how to outline and plan, I think. Maybe not, though. I will wing it and see what happens. Of all the authors I’ve interviewed, you’re the first who’s said they’re a panster. That’s great! And it’s definitely okay, especially for shorter works. What’s your favourite book genre? Do you write in that genre? I read a lot of suspense/thrillers and milder horror stories but also enjoy authors like Fredrik Backman and Louise Penny. I just enjoy reading books that paint a picture. I don’t write in a specific genre. I have had short stories published in several genres: horror, comedy, relationship stuff and even a bit of prose. Have you ever read a book that changed your life? Yes. Some self-help books here of late. The most important one helped me with social anxiety and changed the way I think about conversations with strangers and even friends. How to Be Yourself by Ellen Hendriksen, Ph.D. That’s so great. Self-help books can really help people. Who is your favourite book character who you’ve created? Well, having only a memoir, I enjoyed recreating my flight attendant training experience and building/embellishing the characters of my three roommates. Two out of three of them read and loved the story. The third, I haven’t located yet and she isn’t portrayed in the best light (at times) but she was still a fun character. Where can we find out more about you? You can find out more about me, as well as my short stories, on Lisahowens.com. Thank you, Lisa! Best of luck finding an agent! Lisa H. Owens Link to Interview: Lisa H. Owens conducted by Poppy Kuroki, Dark Fantasy Author August 18, 2021
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