Author Archives: Lisa

The Labyrinth

The Labyrinth

Today I found a magical place. It’s Sunday, May 8th. Mother’s Day. But my children are not out here on tour with me and so I decided to go out alone and explore my host city of Kamloops, British Columbia. I was told to walk the path by the river and there I would find the…Continue Reading

Wanders and Wonders

Wanders and Wonders

A wise and funny writer of books for children once told me that, while being an author in Canada might not be the way to make a fortune, it will possibly afford opportunities to travel. Fortunately, when I was 10 years old, filling notebooks with mystery stories and wild descriptions of worlds, I don’t recall…Continue Reading

Looking Forward

Looking Forward

As we sit here today with a new year upon us, I’m excited by the promise of 2016 and yet I can’t help but feel nostalgic for 2015 and the adventures it held. January 2015 arrived on a wave of excitement with the release of my first non-fiction book. Be the Change in the World…Continue Reading

Turning Pages

Turning Pages

Recently, Dave Beynon contacted me to tell me about a new show on TV Cogeco called Turning Pages with Roxanne Beale. He asked if Roxanne, the owner of Roxanne’s Reflections Book and Card Shop could interview me for the guest author feature on their very first show. I was excited, honoured – and just a little bit scared…Continue Reading

Intense, Inspiring, Insane!

Intense, Inspiring, Insane!

  Wow!  Well, that was intense, inspiring and… just a little bit insane.  3 Rainforest of Reading literacy festivals, over 4 days, in 2 countries, with well over 6000 students. Under tarps in the rain, under sun in 37C heat, with soaking wet materials and–after my voice deserted me–a bullhorn.   I’d intended to blog…Continue Reading

Getting Ready for Festival Day in Grenada

Getting Ready for Festival Day in Grenada

Our hosts told us to pack ear plugs. But, I find the night-time singing of the tree frogs relaxing. The repeated onslaught of rain that crashes down the hillside behind our little cottage, slams into the tin roof above my head, and then stops without warning is another story. And so now I am awake,…Continue Reading

Leaving for the Rainforest

Leaving for the Rainforest

I may have announced a couple of months ago how EXCITED I was–and still am–that Skink on the Brink has been chosen as one of the picture books to be included in the Rainforest of Reading in Grenada and Saint Lucia this year. OneWorld Schoolhouse is a fantastic not-for-profit organization working to promote childhood literacy…Continue Reading

One Confession. Two realizations.

One Confession. Two realizations.

I went to a conference this weekend as a total imposter. I’m supposed to be a writer — I was even receiving an award — but I haven’t written a new idea in over a year, or maybe longer (!) Is that “writers’ block?” I don’t know. I have been writing. But in the absence…Continue Reading

Inky Girl Interview

Inky Girl Interview

A year ago, Debbie Ohi interviewed Suzanne Del Rizzo and me for her Inky Girl blog. In her post, Debbie included all sorts of information and terrific visuals about the writing and illustrating process for Skink on the Brink, our road to publication and beyond… Book Café loves this kind of book chat. To read the interview, please visit Debbie’s…Continue Reading

On Breathing Fire & Happy Dancing

On Breathing Fire & Happy Dancing

So I finished my first novel yesterday–well, the first novel I will actually confess to having written, the first novel I can actually envision maybe someday seeing the light of day.  I didn’t post anything about it because completing that final chapter did not leave me on a high. I didn’t pour a glass of…Continue Reading

Words on a Limb: Spotlight on Authors

Words on a Limb: Spotlight on Authors

Thank you, Lora and Mauricio of Words on a Limb for interviewing me for your Spotlight on Authors. Thank you also for your diligent research – an unexpected result of this interview being it finally nudged me into the world of Twitter! At the bottom of the Words on a Limb interview, I was surprised to find…Continue Reading

That One Spooky Night – Dan Bar-el, ill. David Huyck

That One Spooky Night – Dan Bar-el, ill. David Huyck

Grades 1-4 (Kids Can Press, 2012) That One Spooky Night is a collection of tales about a Halloween evening filled with haunted happenings and creepy characters. These linked stories are vibrant in their comic book style of illustration and scary in the way that thrills and delights young readers. Dan Bar-el is known for playing…Continue Reading

Larf – Ashley Spires

Larf – Ashley Spires

Preschool to Grade 2 (Kids Can Press, 2012) Larf enjoys his quiet life in the woods, alone but for his pet bunny, Eric. He jogs, observes nature and, on Wednesdays, he does laundry. If he were ever discovered, people would never leave him alone, for Larf is a sasquatch, you see. While he enjoys his…Continue Reading

Me and the Blondes – Teresa Toten

Me and the Blondes – Teresa Toten

Ages 18+; Young Adult  (Penguin, 2009) At the same time hysterically funny and deadpan serious, Me and the Blondes is an engaging read for girls aged 13-16. From Auntie Eva’s unforgettable life philosophies – “You got to inspire za boobies.  A beautiful too-big brassiere vill … encourage zem to fill up za cups” – to…Continue Reading

Last Airlift: A Vietnamese Orphan’s Rescue from War – Marsha Skrypuch

Last Airlift: A Vietnamese Orphan’s Rescue from War – Marsha Skrypuch

Grades 2-6  (Pajama Press, 2011) What I love about Marsha Skrypuch’s writing is how she explores stories often considered too complex, too controversial or too emotionally-charged for a book. Then she addresses these stories to children – delivering them openly with respect and candor and with their deepest humanity intact so that each reader, child…Continue Reading

Trouble in the Hills – Helaine Becker

Trouble in the Hills – Helaine Becker

Ages 12+  (Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2011) Nailed it! Inside Helaine Becker, there must reside the soul of a 15-year-old boy. I know this because I just spent the afternoon pulled into into the world of Cam Stewart, the mountain-biking, adventurous and somewhat rebellious main character of Trouble in the Hills. Grounded by his father, Cam…Continue Reading

Pussycat, Pussycat, Where Have You Been? – Dan Bar-el, ill. Rae Maté

Pussycat, Pussycat, Where Have You Been? – Dan Bar-el, ill. Rae Maté

Preschool to Grade 2  (Simply Read Books, 2011) Dan Bar-el’s creative extension of the Mother Goose rhyme is a lyrical journey perfectly accompanied by Rae Maté’s dreamy paintings. As the illustrations show, a young girl is asking Pussycat to recount tales of his travels which the pair re-enact by puppet show under the light of…Continue Reading