Posts by Lisa Unger
My Secret Identity
In a little more than three weeks, my tenth novel DARKNESS, MY OLD FRIEND will go on sale. You didn’t know I had ten novels, did you? Well, once upon a time I was someone else. I was a nineteen year old writer, going to college in New York City. I was also someone who had…
Read MoreMy First Time
Once upon a time, I was a secret writer. Writing had been my passion for as long as I could remember. But when I graduated from college, I knew I had to get a “real” job, as my father called it. (A “real job” is defined as one that pays, if not well, then at…
Read MoreNon-Fiction
Last week, I started The Wave: In Pursuit of Rogues, Freaks and Giants of the Ocean by Susan Casey. I found myself immediately drawn in, blown away by the utterly fascinating nature of her subject matter and her beautiful, impassioned writing. I loved her last book, The Devil’s Teeth, and her newest is every bit…
Read MoreRead Women
Before writers are anything, we are readers. Those early books we held in our hands, the ones our parents read to us, they formed us. And I often think about that as my husband and I, both readers, read each night to our daughter. Books are such a gift, doorways into other worlds, other minds. …
Read MoreGreat Books
Even with all my years as a reader, and as a writer, I wouldn’t claim to know what makes a book “great.” There have been many books touted as such that have left me cold, and others that have escaped any serious note, which have moved and seduced me. Even as my tenth novel DARKNESS,…
Read MoreUnlikely Friends
A long time ago I stopped thinking of characters as creations of my imagination, and started to understand that they are more like people who I’ve met along my colorful, complicated, ever-changing fictional journey. They come to me as they are, with their own names, personalities and spirits. Sometimes I love them, sometimes I endure…
Read MoreIt's Not Me, It's You
Like most writers, I’ve had my share of bad reviews. I’ve also had more than my share of glowing raves. Early in my career, there was so little attention to my work that the good reviews could make my day. And the bad ones could send me to bed. Over the years, after having experienced the full range of…
Read MoreIn Memory of David Thompson
There is a misconception that the writing life is a lonely one. While it’s true that we write in solitude, the business of publishing is foremost a business of relationships. Over the years, our colleagues become our friends. Maybe this is true of all businesses, but none so much as publishing. Most of us come…
Read MoreClosing the Door
There’s a village in my computer — friends, fans, readers, and colleagues. It’s a populous, sometimes chaotic little burg always bustling with news, gossip, opinions and potential excitement. It’s very attractive to the writer, the quiet, semi-recluse who is often alone in her own head. When the words dry up and the blank page seems a mile long,…
Read MoreBook Groups and Pajamas
I love book groups. What could be better than a gathering of smart, funny, engaged woman (well, it usually is all woman, and maybe a husband or two) talking about books? Generally, wine and snacks are involved. And I’m usually in my pajamas. It’s true — a couple of times a month, sometimes every week, I join in book group…
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