Isn't this an intriguing title for a book?
Just wait till you read it!
Hi everybody. Welcome to
my kitchen table. Pull up a chair and meet my friend.
Lisa
J. Lickel, is visiting with me down here in Texas. She came all the
way from Wisconsin. She says she's glad to be in warmer weather—at least for a
few days.
Lisa is multi-talented.
She's not only a writer, but an editor. She's edited several of my books, and I
loved working with her. I know you'll like her books too, but first, let's get
acquainted.
Lisa, let's start at the beginning. Where were you
born, your early life, and how did you meet your husband?
Thanks, Gay, and the warm weather is nice. I was born in a
small city on the west shore of Lake Michigan south of Green Bay, Wisconsin
where my parents had their first public school teaching jobs. We soon moved
down the coast to Racine, where I grew up. I met my husband in college
through Intervarsity Christian Fellowship in Stevens Point, at the
UW, where we prayed for John Denver.
My goodness! You've
always been in what I call "The Cold Country." I've never lived north
of Oklahoma. We had snow and ice there, but nothing like what I see you have on the
TV. Were you praying for John Denver to
write more songs?
No, not songs. In the 1970s John Denver
professed to follow one of those faith-based offshoots that was a little
quirky, so we prayed that he would find and follow the truth of Christ alone as
Savior.
I hope he did, and I love his music. Do you wear tons of long-johns? How about heating bills? What do you use? Gas?
Electric? Do you have a fireplace? If so, does hubby chop wood?
Hubby is chopping another tree to prepare wood for the heating season of
2020 as we speak. He and his chainsaw have a pretty tight relationship. We are on an
electrical co-op, so our electricity bills are offset by a huge solar array the
co-op runs. We may do some more alternative power in the future for ourselves,
but right now, the co-op does a good job for our electrical needs. We also are
part of a co-op and run our water heater and back-up house furnace on liquid
propane. We have a powerful, beautiful wood stove that, so far, kept both upper
and lower levels of our new house surprisingly warm, even in those -20-degree
days. I prefer to keep the house a little cooler anyway, but didn’t need to put
on long-johns this winter, but I did back in our old drafty house.
Do you have
kiddos?
We have two grown boys
(one of whom graduated from Stevens Point and the other went on to get his
M-Div and is now area director for Intervarsity Christian Fellowship
from---yes, Stevens Point!), and four and a half grandchildren, two
grandkitties and lots of grandchickens.
What do
you do with animals in the winter months?
When we have our own chickens and raise a pig or calf,
we’ll keep them in pens. They’re pretty hardy animals, and out of the wind,
don’t really need special treatment, just fresh water that’s not ice, and feed.
What is your favorite
season way up there in Wisconsin?
Oh,
that's easy. Fall. I love the
transitions.
Fall is
my fav too, but I must travel to see colors change. Here in the Houston area,
we go from green to brown. If
you could, what would you change about your state?
I love Wisconsin, and I’d
like to make sure the changing government policies go back to thinking long
term about environmental preservation issues and supporting and enriching our
progressive public educational system.
That sounds like a lofty plan. Changing anything in government is difficult. What is your favorite
thing about your Wisconsin?
The wonderful progressive
and diverse, enlightening culture. Sure, we’ve had challenges as any other
state in the Union, but from the richness of the Voyageurs to the Welsh miners
who gave us our nickname of the Badger State, to the wonderful shorelines,
forests, hills and farms to manufacturing to the culture of the earliest
residents of many tribes, the stand against the runaway slave act, I don’t
think I could my finger on any one thing that’s my favorite. Maybe the
spectacular sunsets we see almost every night from our deck.
I'd love to visit and
see those sunsets. I think you've posted them on Facebook. Have you lived
elsewhere?
No. Born and bred in
Wisconsin!
That’s amazing. I wonder
how many of my readers have always lived in the state they were born. I’ve lived in two. I lived that one year in Oklahoma, but the rest of the time, I've been in the heart of Texas. Okay, friends, in the
comments, tell us how many states you’ve lived in. How many of you have lived in more than two? Lisa, any writers in the family?
My dad tells lots of
stories, and once co-wrote a textbook for Civics (one of those subjects that’s
now about as passé as Latin and didn’t get published), as well as some
articles, but that’s about it.
I prefer to write and read fiction.
How about you? Do you spend most of your time in the fictions genre?
I
do read mostly fiction for pleasure, though the book club I belong to makes
sure I get an even balance. I just finished Black Man in a White Coat by Dr.
Damon Tweedy—excellent. And I’m reading theological books now about the
new-to-us faith my husband and I are thinking of joining—Quaker.
Wow! I'd love to hear how you came to think Quaker, but I guess that's a topic for another day. Have you had other
jobs besides writing and editing?
I've enjoyed a few after the kids started
school—housecleaning, childcare, lots of different temp jobs, driver for an
automobile dealer, temp refurbishing a major retail store, various secretarial positions, school lunch lady and temp school
cook.
You sound like me, I've had multiple
jobs too. Many of my experiences show up in my books. You?
I
can see that in your Sarah stories, I also it in your latest book, Mattie’s
Choice! Yes, some of my experiences I’ve used, such as secretarial work and
driving cars, lots of the journalism experiences can be found in side
characters, and is Lily’s background in UnderStory.
If I visit, what sort of food would
you feed me and what would you show me if I visited you in your city?
If you didn’t have any
dietary restrictions, I’d feed you pasties, which are meat, potato and onion
flaky crust individual pies, with barbecue sauce, apple something from our
trees, and depending on what time of year you come, fresh berries or steamed
carrots and beans from the garden, or my husband’s trout and morel mushrooms.
I’d take you around to the various shops of our Amish neighbors, and if you
came during Cesky Den, Czech Days, in the summer, we’d go to the party in
nearby Hillsboro. We haven’t lived here year round until this year, so we’re
exploring the “neighborhoods.” I’d probably show you the remaining round barns,
which inspired the second book of my Buried Treasure mystery series.
You're making me hungry. I'd love to see the round barns. Let’s talk about writing. How did
your characters come to mind for your book?
For Centrifugal Force,
which is a second book in the Forces of Nature series, I saved an obituary from
several years earlier when the first book, Meander Scar, released. The obituary
described a man I knew was Maeve’s father, and although I wasn’t ready to write
the book yet, I knew one day I’d come back to it. I enlisted my writing group
for help a few years back when I was ready, and we brainstormed some story
concepts.
I loved Centrifugal Force, and I know a lot of research went into the book. Do you enjoy research?
Adore it. I’m a
historian by bent and like nothing else quite as much.
How did you get the idea for
Centrifugal Force (Forces of Nature)?
It’s a natural follow
up for Meander Scar, which released from Black Lyon Publishers back in
2010. In that book we never learned anything about Rachel’s little
lapse in judgement (Maeve’s father), and I always knew this story would be
about that issue. Gervas’s nationality added the spice.
In this intriguing book, Rachel had
a love/hate relationship with Gervas. Do you believe there’s much difference in
the two emotions? Do you think it is easy to slip from one to the other?
I once heard that love
and hate are actually very similar; they are both fully passionate and you
can’t really know one without the other. I am inclined to embrace that thought,
and yes, do believe, and admittedly experience, those emotions. For example, if
someone can’t break your heart, how much did you love in the first place? I
believe some types of love are gentle and kind, but that’s different from
sacrificial, vulnerable, romantic love.
You seem fascinated with medical
issues. How did you come up with Katrine’s illness?
Again, research. I’m
just trouble with medical databases. I wanted something serious, and something
undergoing current studies, and something genetic. I wanted to explore some
other aspects of the disease, but that would have convoluted the story even
more, and there was already enough going on.
That's true, and I hope science finds cures for diseases soon. Rachel has a valuable gem she took
from Gervas. Have you ever seen a ring similar to the one in your book?
I have, yes, in a
museum in Athens, Greece. You can look at the book page on my website to find
out more about the culture that created the lost jewelry and a link to
pictures.
What is the one thing you want
readers to take away from this book?
These stories in the
Forces of Nature series explore family more than anything else. I hope readers
will think about what makes a family, what keeps it together, as well as what
tears it apart. Obligation shouldn’t hold sway over love, romance shouldn’t
force choices, and faith should be the glue.
Amen! What are you working on now?
I have several
projects going on, including producing a series of Bible adventure books for a
talented man. I’ll be teaching a workshop for a conference in April and
teaching at Bookcamp for a week in May (www.novelbookcamp.com), so I’m getting ready for those. For my
writing, I’m looking forward to the reboot of a mystery series, the Fancy Cat
series, releasing later in the year or early next year, a third novella for
Christmas with my running characters, Danny the accidental movie star and
Shelly the film promoter, and the third book in Forces of Nature, Parhelion,
which is the story of Maeve and features some truly intriguing research with
genetics and adaptation to different environments I still don’t know how I’m
going to pull off.
Thanks for visiting Lisa. Now let's eat lunch. I'll take you to my favorite Mexican food place and we'll talk more about our books. I wish all my readers could be at our book table!