When Women’s History Month rolled around this March, stories of women’s achievements were everywhere; I even read one profile on a small, digital screen at a gas pump. Instead of feeling cynical that this celebration was a form of tokenism, or being frustrated by the...

It’s easy at 62 to look backward. Most of my life is behind me. And wistfulness seems to increase with age. As a younger person, I used to be amused by my older relatives who talked about a loaf of bread costing a nickel and the good, clean fun of a high school sock...

I have been thinking a lot about perspiration, inspiration and the maddening ebb and flow of passion in my writing life. The first line of this post came into my head this morning at 5:30 AM after six weeks capturing vague thoughts on yellow sticky notes. At her book...

Writing a good lede is like meeting an angry drunk in a dark parking lot. You have to hit him over the head right away to get his attention. At least, that’s what an editor told me early in my career. While the comparison is a bit violent for my taste, it is...

Not long ago in a writing workshop, a colleague offered to read a personal essay I had written about a difficult life experience. My kind friend reported back that he felt as if I were dragging him, sad and depressed, to the abysmal end of the story. “I don’t want to...

“How do you choose a book?” Washington Post book critic Michael Dirda asked and answered recently, which naturally led me and other Mystic Writers, all avid readers, to have our say. Dirda’s advice to consult book lists by famous writers works only occasionally for...

My first novel, Gallows Road, is now available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and the publisher Elm Grove Press; soon it will be in a few local bookstores. Friends have often asked me, “Is this a true story you’re writing, Lisa?” Although certain plot elements and...

This past October, clutching my mug of tea, I surveyed the unpainted pottery bowls and leaves laid out on the table and selected a leaf with curling edges just larger than my hand. The six of us in the workshop painted our pieces. The workshop leader, Trish, planned...

In my mid-30s, mourning the unexpected death of a sister and wanting a change, I traveled to Ireland for the first time. I visited the farm in County Mayo that had been in my family since the 1600s. It was a lesson in the power of setting. I had always taken my Irish...

As a writer, I’m also a reader – both pursuits are intrinsically linked, in competition for the betterment of each other. Since I write fiction, I read mostly fiction, often selecting books that explore the complexities of relationships and the undercurrent of essence...