Guest Writer: Lisa Dale

From time to time I'd like you to meet some of my writer friends. Here's what Lisa Dale, author of the new book, Slow Dancing on Price's Pier, told me about her writing life:


1.What kinds of things are on your desk or near your work space to inspire you?


I have two workspaces: one for writing, and one for the business stuff that goes along with writing.

The latter is a mess right now—notebooks everywhere, bits of paper, strewn pens…my “mother ship” computer crashed two nights ago. It’s now at the infirmary for computers (Best Buy) drinking chicken soup, doing Pilates, and praying they don’t give it a lobotomy (aka wiping out my hard drive). In the meantime, my laptop is doing double-duty.

When I work on my novels or any creative writing, I write in bed. Curtains down, door closed, nothing to distract me or make me feel like writing is ever “work.”

2. Describe the last page/chapter you wrote.
While I can’t talk about my new fiction project yet, I can tell you I’ve been doing a lot of promotion for Slow Dancing on Price’s Pier—interviews and whatnot. Kelly—yours is especially fun! Great questions!


3.Who is your favorite fictional character from any book you’ve ever written--or read?

It’s early as I write this and I haven’t had my tea yet. So I’m not sure who my favorite character from all of literature is. Maybe Mrs. Dalloway?

I can tell you that my favorite character that I’ve written so far is Thea from Slow Dancing on Price’s Pier. She kind, warm, passionate, and because she owns a coffee shop, she knows a lot about coffee (which was really fun for me because I got to do a lot of research about coffee).

4.What is the funniest thing that’s ever happened to you at a book club or bookstore?

I can tell you about a life lesson I learned at a library when I was in middle school. I’d borrowed (and loved) Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, then returned it. A few weeks later, I got a call saying that I still owed the book. Then, later, they called again. I was a painfully shy middle-schooler, so I gathered up all my courage and walked myself to the library like the general of an advancing army. And when I got to the counter I told the librarian that I no way, under no circumstances, still had that book and that they’d better take it off my account. The librarian’s eyebrows just about jumped off her head. I tried to pat myself on the back about—for once in my life—being firm.

Sure enough, a few weeks later, there was the book—right under my bed. Boy did I feel silly bringing it back. But I did apologize, and that actually took more guts than anything!

5. Name a word you’d like to put into one of your upcoming books.
Defenestration. It means the act of throwing someone out a window. I love it, but have never had much use for it!

Thanks Lisa! Visit Lisa's blog for more on her book and life as a writer.