Current Issue

Interview with Lisa Logan

Lisa Logan is the author of VISIONS, a romantic mystery released January 2007, and has two other books currently under consideration. An award-winning short story writer, her work has been featured in publications like FUTURES and EXPLORE! magazines, CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE RECOVERING SOUL, and MISADVENTURES OF MOMS. Lisa is also editor of MysteryAuthors.com, an author promotion site and flash webzine. She lives in Southern California with her husband and preschooler.

Q. How long have you been writing fiction?

A. The need to write stories was always with me as a child, but fell along the wayside for a while when I hit the workforce full time at age fifteen, married a year later, then started a family of my own a couple of years after that. While I wrote non fiction on and off throughout those years, the desire to write stories niggled at me until about ten years ago. I hit the local library and read everything I could get my hands on about crafting fiction, joined writer's groups to soak up ambiance before ever typing a word, and took classes and workshops ranging from Character Development to Fast Drafting to Forensics. I practiced writing exercises in my head everywhere I went, until my brain did so on auto pilot. Once I was up and writing, I couldn't stop, and have written or outlined over two dozen novels and short stories since.

Q. What inspired you to begin writing?

A. The love of a good story, plain and simple. As an only child, I perhaps lived even more inside my imagination than the average kid. Books were my constant companions and friends. Favorites were read and read again until dog eared, rat tailed, and falling apart at the seams. Writing is a form of reading for me, one where I (sometimes) get to direct the action. Gotta love that.

Also, fiction is a great equalizer. In our "other lives," writers may be fishermen in Alaska, celebrities in Hollywood, or CEO's in New York. Inside the realm of our books, however, lies a vast playground whose edges reach well outside our normal routines. I love having the opportunity to step outside life's classroom and take recess in a land that knows (almost) no bounds. Refreshing.

Q. What types of books do you enjoy reading?

A. Just about every type of book cycles through my TBR pile (which I'm forever behind on). I go through phases with reading, and notice my writing has followed similar patterns. I devour everything from mystery to romance to science fiction and fantasy, with a smattering of mainstream and literary to boot. To name a few (among dozens) of favorites, Timothy Zahn, Dean Koontz, Stephen King (the final Dark Tower volume is half read in my TBR), and Nora Roberts. And yes, I'm a fan of the Harry Potter series.

Q. Who published your first short story?

A. That would be the awesome FUTURES Mysterious Anthology. I saw a call for submissions asking for stories involving a cat or dog and a murder. The idea for A KINK IN THE TALE--where a cat was used to commit murder--hit immediately. That's the way it is with some stories--the whole concept strikes in a flash of inspiration in the car, bathtub, or while out for a walk. Others take weeks or months to develop.

Q. Well, then, you and I have something in common, as they accepted my first story, too. I'm also very proud to have the honor of reprinting A KINK IN THE TALE in this very issue of MFOB.

How did that first acceptance impact your writing career?

A. I'd had non fiction pieces published, but to know someone was willing to take a chance on my imagination was a thrilling and terrifying feeling. That first acceptance didn't change my life overnight; I reveled in the moment for ten minutes, then went back to writing and submitting, then writing some more. Rejection slips piled up like dirty clothes when you're out of change for the laundromat. Still, eventually more acceptances followed, and the honor of having that first story appear alongside the likes of Nancy Sweetland and Miles Archer was one that helped pave the way for the day

Q. For those of us interested in reading your very first published story, where can we find it?

A. Futures Mysterious Anthology's Predators at Play issue, 4th quarter 2003.

Q. How many hours per day do you devote to writing?

A. When I'm working on something new, at least an hour a day--even if that means squeezing words onto the tiny keyboard of my PDA during break times at work. During November's NaNoWriMo challenge I log closer to four or five hours, mostly late at night. Once I finished a piece I put it away for a while to let it think about what it's done before I start to edit. Then I take a short break--a week or two--before starting on the next piece. I've found if I don't do this, the last work is still too much in my brain and it's hard not to let it overlap.

Q. Do you have any marketing tips you’d like to share with aspiring writers?

A. If you're not on the MySpace bandwagon yet, climb aboard. Be prepared to spend at least an hour a week at it, then to be amazed at the results. The return makes it a great networking investment.

Q. Do you have a writing schedule?

A. When I'm rolling on a novel, yes. I try to rise an hour before the household in order to get that time in before anything else. I'm not a morning person to say the least, so it was a bit of a stretch to form coherent sentences. Took some training, but I convinced my muse to show up. I write until the official day begins, then again at night when it slumbers. When I have flashes of inspiration while I'm out, I sneak in a bit more on my trusty palm pilot. That has also been an invaluable tool in helping me edit.

Q. Can you describe a typical day in the life of Lisa Logan?

A. When I'm writing, I rise between eight and nine a.m. Certainly not most people's idea of "up early," but with our household's work schedule this is practically pre-dawn. I tiptoe straight to the keyboard and knock out as much as I can before my preschooler opens her eyes. Then it's time for her morning routine--getting dressed, eating breakfast, some sort of Mom-n-Me activity. By now it's between eleven and noon, and with my child on and off my lap I sit down to check Email, update websites and blogs, and do some online promotion. Then it's time to get ready for work, prepare a sack lunch, then chat with my husband, who is either up, showered, and dressed or just arriving home from his "outside" employment.

Around two-thirty I set off to walk the mile and a half up the hill to my outside full-time job as a unit clerk at the local hospital. I pull an eight-hour shift, either reading or writing during my break, then walk or get a ride home. I'm in the door around eleven forty-five, where my little one has been in bed for some time but has heard me come in. I go kiss her and tuck her back in, then spend a little time with my spouse before climbing in the tub for a hot soak, changing into nightclothes, and grabbing a snack. Then it's back to the keyboard for more writing, editing, and promotion work until the wee hours, typically between three and five a.m. A few hours later, it starts over again.

Q. Do you work on one story at a time, or multiple?

A. I work on one at a time, but occasionally something comes up so that I find myself pushing a current project aside. Recently I saw a submission call I was very interested in writing a piece for, but the deadline was fast approaching. I decided to put aside the manuscript I was working on in order to focus on the other piece. As of now I'm still editing in a mad dash in order to make the deadline in two weeks. Then I'll take a couple weeks off and see how much more I can get done on the other one before it's time for my (so-called) summer hiatus.

Q. What’s your personal favorite Lisa Logan story?

A. That would have to be a recent mix up involving my novel, VISIONS. Shortly after it came out, I received a complaint from a Borders back East. Seems they couldn't find my title to order it for their store. I did a bit of digging around and received a bit of a shock when I spotted my listing on Barnes and Noble: "VISIONS, written and illustrated by Theodore Geisel Seuss." Not that being mistaken for one of the most renowned children's authors of our time is the worst possible fate for a new novelist, but if I were a reader I'd be a bit leery of buying a 'romantic mystery'--with drawings, no less--done by Dr. Seuss! No one knows how the error occurred, but it took my publisher several weeks to have the listing corrected.

Q. What is it about that story that makes it your favorite?

A. Characters I can sink my imagination's teeth into, richly layered settings, and the occasional unforeseen twist and turn.

Q. Can you tell us about your book?

A. VISIONS tells of Trenton Dane, a rising star in Hollywood who bumps into a stranger--and suddenly develops her psychic powers. When she gets away before he can so much as discover her name, Trenton launches a search for his psychic benefactor. Glory Windsor wants nothing to do with the "gift" that has caused her nothing but misery, but struggles with the powerful draw between herself and the man to whom she inadvertently granted a taste of the future. When his visions shift from passion to danger, a movie star must become a real hero in order to save Glory from a grim fate.

Q. How does one go about ordering a copy of your book?

A. VISIONS is available in paperback through booksellers everywhere, including Amazon and Barnes and Noble. VISIONS is also available as an eBook, which may be purchased through the publisher at draumrpublishing.com.

Q. Thank you very much for agreeing to this interview. It was a pleasure. It was also nice learning that you are a member of the proud FMAM First-Time Published Group. J