About the Author
- An Interview with Janet Taylor Lisle - Answers to frequently asked questions.
-
JTL Talks With Students in RI -
Ms. Lisle discussed her book AFTERNOON
OF THE ELVES with
students at the Gordon School in Rhode Island. See the photos,
comments and her response to "...why did you pick that
ending?" - BLACK DUCK Interview - Booksellers Baker and Taylor interviewed Janet Lisle about her novel BLACK DUCK. Her answers, emailed from her home on the Rhode Island coast, shed light on how she came to write the story, and some of the means she used to bring the past to life. Read the interview.
- JTL Appears on the Fairfax Network’s Meet the Author Video Series - "On this live edition, Janet Taylor Lisle shared writing tips, explained how she mixes fact and fiction so successfully in her books, and of course, answered student questions about the writing process".
- Author Profile - 2002 Riverbank Review. In this revealing interview, the author talks about her life and writings.
An Interview with
Janet Taylor Lisle
Ms. Lisle shown here on the Sakonnet Harbor breakwater,
a favorite place near her home in Rhode Island
What kind
of family did you grow up in?
A large one. There were five children in
our family, four boys and me, the only girl. Luckily, I was the
oldest. It helped balance things out.
Was
anyone else in your family a writer?
My father wrote stories as a young man, but
he stopped when he went to work for an insurance company to support
our family. He had a high regard for children's books and, toward
the end of his life, worked on a fantasy story about a ship's cat
sailing the high seas. He died before it was finished. It's nice
to think that, in a way, I'm carrying on where he left off. I would
never try to finish his story, though. I love it the way it is--all
his.
Do you have any children?
A daughter, Elizabeth. She's a writer herself,
working in theater now, but she's helped me with my stories
since she was six. She's the only one who can say, "This chapter
is the stupidest thing I've ever read!" and get away with
it. We talk a lot about books of all kinds, not just mine.
How
about pets?
I live with two cats: Kayla, a dainty Siamese
who looks shy but is really smart and quick as an old weasel;
and Roosevelt, a large Maine Coon cat with a taste for fresh
mole. Kayla stays indoors and often lies (calculatingly) on my
desk while I write. Rozie hunts outside and comes home for dinner,
but he doesn't eat much because he's already so stuffed with
mole.
Sometimes you put elves,
fairies, and fantastic worlds in your books. Do you believe in
magic?
I believe in the unknown. There's a lot we
don't know about the world, like how big the universe
is, or whether time stops somewhere or goes on forever. Scientists
don't have enough facts yet to solve these mysteries. I think of
magic as being that which is still waiting to be discovered. I put
it in my books so readers (me included) can practice keeping an open
mind. The unknown is all around us. As the old fishcatcher
in The Lampfish of Twill warns Eric: "There are larger schemes
in motion!"
Where do you
live?
My house is on the Rhode Island seacoast.
In summer, the days are warm and everyone goes swimming. The winters
are wild and windy. I hear the waves thundering against the rocks
as I work in my writing loft.
Do
you put people you know in your books?
Never whole. I borrow bits and pieces, hair
color, a way of speaking, a pair of boots. For my first book, The
Dancing Cats of Applesap, I gave my own shyness as a child to Melba
Morris, the heroine. In Afternoon of the Elves, Sara-Kate's thinness
came from a thin school friend of my daughter's. Aunt Minty's ratty
straw gardening hat in The Lost Flower Children, belongs in real
life to my ninety-nine year old great Aunt Bee. Sometimes that
hat looks better, sometimes it looks a bit worse for wear, just
like Aunt Bee herself...and Aunt Minty.
What's
best about being a writer?
Being a watcher. I like to stay back in the
shadows where I can see without being seen. All sorts of amazing
sights present themselves. My imagination fires up. Then, I write.
What's
worst?
It's lonely work. A writer needs a lot of
friends.
I'd love to hear from you about my books, and so would others. To leave opinions, comments or critiques, go to online reviews.
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