Official Bio: Lisa Schroeder is the author of four teen verse novels including I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME and its companion, CHASING BROOKLYN, FAR FROM YOU, and the Oregon Book Award finalist, THE DAY BEFORE. Her latest book for teens is a combination of prose and poetry and is titled FALLING FOR YOU. She's also the author of the middle grade novels IT'S RAINING CUPCAKES and SPRINKLES AND SECRETS. Her books have been translated into several languages and have been selected for state reading lists. She lives in Oregon with her husband and two sons.
Commonly Asked Questions and Answers:
Where do you live? Oregon
What books have you written? My web site has tabs with LOTS of information about the books I've written for both teens and kids, but I'll list them here too. Click on the links and you can order them from Powell's bookstore. They'll ship them right to you!
For ages 13 and up, I currently have four books out:
I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME
FAR FROM YOU
CHASING BROOKLYN
THE DAY BEFORE
FALLING FOR YOU
For ages 8-12, I have two books out:
IT'S RAINING CUPCAKES
SPRINKLES AND SECRETS
Do you have any pets? Yes, I have a sweet dog named Stormy (pictured here with me) and a cat named Sparkles.
Can you tell me your birth date for a report I'm doing or a competition I'm in? For authors who are living, I think we need to be careful about giving out too much personal information. Identity theft is real. But I understand some of you really need at least the year in order to use my books in interpretive competitions. So here is the year I was born: 1967. Thanks and good luck!!
I need some information for a report I'm doing on you at school. Can you tell me some interesting and fun stuff about yourself?
I graduated from Lebanon Union HS in Lebanon, Oregon. I went on to college at Oregon State University and majored in Business Administration. I received my degree, and then worked in the field of Human Resources for a number of years and just recently, quit my day job to be a full-time author. I love it, but it can be stressful not having a regular paycheck coming in, so we'll see how long that lasts. For now, I'm enjoying every minute of it!
Things I enjoy doing: walking my dog, watching movies, baking yummy things, reading, and traveling. I haven't ever been out of the United States and dream of visiting France and Italy some day. If any French or Italian publishers are reading this, please, publish my books there!
My favorite movie is "The Sound of Music." My favorite band is Lifehouse. I love singer/songwriters and some of my favorites are Matt Nathanson, Civil Wars, and Adele. I'm inspired all of the time by music, and can't imagine my life without it!
How long have you been writing? Why did you become an author?
I've been writing books since I was a young girl. I still have one I wrote and illustrated, called "The Lion's Valentine," that my grandma saved for over 30 years. She gave it to me when I told her I was writing books and trying to get them published. But I seriously started writing for kids in 2003. I sold my first picture book in 2005, and my first novel in 2007. I wrote a lot of bad stories and got a lot of rejections (like over 100) before I finally sold a book.
I wanted to become an author because I loved books when I was a kid, and books are one of my most favorite things. Between the pages of a book, we can visit new places, make new friends, and when we're having a hard time, perhaps feel a little less alone in the world.
Can you read a story I'm writing? I'm sorry, but I'm really busy. Occasionally I will help a student for a big senior project by providing feedback on a story and answering questions about being a writer. But it's incredibly time consuming and I can only do one per year. If you want feedback on your work, you might think about forming a critique group so you have a group of fellow writers who can give each other critiques.
What advice do you have for young writers? Mostly, it comes down to three things. Read a lot, write a lot, and don't give up!
If you want more specific advice, I wrote a blog post for the teenreads blog giving my top ten suggestions for young writers that you can read HERE.
Can you tell me anything else interesting about yourself? I'm so boring. Really. But here are some things I love: Disney. Cupcakes. Cute animals. Tea and cookies. Here are some things I hate: Mean people. Cleaning the house. Scary movies.
Did you like school? Most of the time, yes. Sorry for those of you who don't like it much. Get involved in something you enjoy is my best advice. And if you don't know what kinds of things you enjoy, try new things. I didn't know I liked theater or marching band until I decided to try them in middle school. And I had so much fun once I did!
Any books you can recommend on writing? Yes!
If you are a serious writer, you’d be wise to invest in a few books to help you with your craft. I’ve found the first three on the list to be invaluable.
- Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass
- The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Publishing Children’s Books by Harold Underdown
- Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King
- Picture Writing by Anastasia Suen
- Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
- Take Joy: A Book for Writers by Jane Yolen
- On Writing by Stephen King
Happy reading and writing!
