Getting to Know the Authors: Featuring Lisa Gail Green!

Bio:

     Lisa Gail Green lives with her husband the rocket scientist and their three junior mad scientists in Southern California. She writes books so she can have an excuse to live in the fantasy world in her head. She likes to share these with readers so she's represented by the lovely Melissa Nasson of Rubin Pfeffer Content. She has a parrot but would most definitely get a werewolf for a pet if she weren't allergic.
    Lisa loves YA. She believes with all her heart that teen readers are ready and willing to experience things that some adults have closed their minds to, that books are the safest way to explore, learn, and escape, and that imagination is the key to just about everything.

What has she written?

She has written:

      Soul Crossed (Of Demons and Angels #1), Soul Corrupted (Of Demons and Angels, #2), Soul Conquered (Of Demons and Angels, #3), The Binding Stone (Djinn, #1), Journeys of Wonder: An Anthology of Genre Fiction, Volume 1, Playthings of the Gods, Journeys of Wonder, Volume 2 (Volume 2), Gods of Justice, Journeys of Wonder, Volume 3 and Journeys of Wonder, Volume 1.

Now on to the Interview!!

1) How old were you when you started writing, in your opinion?

I’ve been writing since I was seven! I’ve always wanted to be a writer, but kept thinking, after that… Then one day I decided to do it for real. So I sat down and treated it like a business and full time job. That was about six years ago. It’s a slow business, but if you have to write, then you do it no matter what! I can’t imagine NOT writing. My life wasn’t complete until I did it and it wouldn’t be if I stopped. :D I just hope readers enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it.

2) What do you want a reader to gain from reading your works?

I want the reader to be completely immersed in my world, believing that my characters are real. I want it to be a wonderful escape (which is why I read) and in the case of this specific series, I want the reader to really think about good and evil and the nuances that make it so hard to truly judge sometimes.

Also that Josh is hot.

3) What are your three top suggestions on becoming an author, or being a pleasure writer?

1. If writing is a burning need inside of you, don’t let anyone stop you.

2. Perseverance is the key. You can never do it if you stop trying.

3. READ and WRITE. Learn as much as you can and those are the top two ways to do it. Writers read. Period.

4) What is your favourite novel, why?

It’s so hard to choose! I love HP of course. I know you hear that a lot, but there’s a reason! :D I love sooooo many good books. Recentish YA ones that are my faves include COMPULSION and BONE GAP.

5) Who is your favourite author, why?

Libba Bray. I will always, hands down, say she is my hero. I envy her mind and love her sense of humor. BEAUTY QUEENS and GOING BOVINE would be listed above, but I get to spotlight them here. Brilliant.

6) What are your favorite pass times besides writing?

Reading. Spending time with my kids. Though, to be fair I’m usually searching for writing time and trying to escape them, but if it were the other way around… LOL I also used to act. Now I get into character when I write.

7) Who in your life do you credit your imagination to the most?

Great question!! I want to hug it because it really made me think! I’d say both my mom and dad. My mom because she’s the librarian/teacher who taught me the magic of books - and what better road to imagination is there?? My dad because he’s always shared his silly sense of humor and his love of theater with my brother and I. I’m pretty sure I got that from him.

8) What are the top five things on your bucket list?

Oooh. That’s tough. I may cheat in that I’ve realized a couple of these, but let’s see… 1. Seeing a wild zebra (which I checked off this summer by Hearst Castle). 2. Scuba diving 3. Meeting J.K. Rowling 4. Having an event at which I am the “author” (done this summer, but I’m not opposed to more)! and 5. Spending the night in an actual haunted castle with other writers (because who can spend the night alone in a haunted castle?)

9) What is your funniest childhood memory?

Funny for you or me? Because I remember following my brother around and not noticing when he closed the screen door to the back porch behind him then falling flat on my face through it. So that was probably pretty funny from the outside! Also I went to the bank with my dad once and this guy brought a monkey with him (it wore a diaper). He went into the back, I guess for a safety deposit box or something and told the monkey to behave. It didn’t. I was in hysterics and so was my dad (remember I mentioned his sense of humor above). When the guy came out the monkey acted like nothing had happened. But it had climbed all over the bank and onto some strangers who didn’t know what to do. Great memory.

10) To the youth of today, if you could tell them one thing, what would it be?

Be the best you possible. Don’t give up because of what someone else says. Believe in that little voice inside and try to do what you’ve always wanted. Because if you work hard enough it IS possible and by doing that, you’ll be happy and make others happy too. YOU can make a difference in this world. Don’t get jaded.