Interview with Lisa Ard

On the Literary Rebound is please to introduce Lisa Ard. Lisa is an amazingly talented up and coming author based out of Portland, Oregon. She is author of the Dream Seeker series which the second installment was just released along with Lisa's Saving Halloween. We are excited to have a chance to talk to Lisa about Saving Halloween which is the recipient of this year's Kay Snow Award for Young Readers. Lisa is a fun and interesting person and no doubt her books will follow suit!

1. Can you tell us a little bit about your new book Saving Halloween?

I like to describe Saving Halloween as Matilda meets the Munsters. (the book blurb on my website might be added here). It's really a tribute to one of my favorite authors - Roald Dahl. He was the best at creating terrible parents we love to hate. In Saving Halloween Anne's parents are busy with their careers, seeing Anne as another item checked off on their to-do list. Anne needs a friend. She needs family. She finds both in the mysterious Spavento family.

2. Where did you find your idea or inspiration?

Hard to believe but my inspiration for the story came from one word: grimoire. I read it somewhere and had to look it up. It means spellbook. That started everything.

3. Who is your favorite character? Is the character based on a real life experience?

My favorite character is a hard one. I love them all. But I suppose I'm very fond of Signora Spavento, the mama. She bustles about her kitchen whipping up bewitching cookies. She never has enough time, except when it comes to her child. And she sees a child left on her doorstep as a gift. There's more than a bit of me in the signora.

4. Can you tell us about your challenges getting your book published?

I sent the manuscript to a couple agents and one publisher. I had a personal response from the publisher, so although it was rejected, I felt like that was a milestone. I had a nice critique from an agent, who then left her agency. By this point I had such particular ideas about how I wanted the book to look, that I decided to self-publish. I hired an illustrator and an editor. This gave me the freedom to guide the cover design and interior illustrations, the fonts, the back copy, etc. It was a wonderful project and I'm very happy with the results.

5. What words of advice would you give aspiring writers?

Keep at it and surround yourself with others. join a critique group. Join the SCBWI or other writing organization. These groups and people should lift you up in your efforts, help you improve and give you the courage to keep on. If not, then find another.

Thank you Lisa and congratulations!

To read more about Lisa, see samples of the Dream Seeker series and Saving Halloween and order her books, please visit her website:
www.authorlisaard.com