September 2012
Photo © Lisa Verge Higgins.
Lisa Verge Higgins is the RITA-nominated author of fourteen novels that have been published worldwide and translated into fifteen languages—quite a switch for this former PhD candidate in chemistry. Currently this opera loving, novice archer and mother of three is finding inspiration in women's lives and women's friendships. The Proper Care and Maintenance of Friendship, her first foray into mainstream women’s fiction, won the 2011 Golden Leaf Award for Best Single Title and was anointed a top-twenty book-of-the-year by Barnes & Noble's General Fiction Book Club. Her next book, One Good Friend Deserves Another, hit the shelves in June 2012. Lisa currently lives in New Jersey with her husband and their three teenage daughters, who never fail to make life interesting.
What are you reading?
Currently, I’m re-reading LIGHTLESS, a scifi space opera that was just released. It just happens to be written by my daughter. ;)
Where do you go to get inspired?
Inspiration is a bucking bronco that has to be tied the heck down. I do all the wrangling while seated firmly in my office chair.
What’s something that surprised you recently (in a good way)?
The good spirits, enthusiasm, and joi de vivre of my high school friends at our most recent reunion. We have so much in common and so very much to be grateful for, thus we celebrate with gusto.
Where do you write?
In a garret. Literally! My home office is under the attic eaves.
What/who makes you laugh?
Even after mumble-mumble years of marriage, my husband still has that twinkle-eyed Irish wit. He makes me laugh every day.
Favorite fictional character?
Oh boy, this is like trying to choose a favorite among my many, many nieces and nephews. From general fiction, I’m a big fan of Jacky Faber from L. A. Meyer’s Bloody Jack series, because Jacky is a street urchin who becomes a pirate queen, and who wouldn’t want that? But I’m also particularly drawn to Jenna from my novel RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS, a shy, math-brained introvert with a club foot who struggles to come out of her shell.
What are you working on?
Right now I have three projects in the works, and a fourth on the back burner. I’m re-releasing some of my historical romances as eBooks on my own, I’m in the editing phase of a fourth book in The Celtic Legends Series, and I’m in the brainstorming phase for a sequel to my last women’s fiction release, SENSELESS ACTS OF BEAUTY. I’ve also got a young adult trilogy idea percolating. So many stories, so little time!
"Higgins scores with a richly told story of what every girl wants, and the friends who'd sacrifice everything to help her get it."
—Publishers Weekly
"Higgins does a nice job of balancing the characters' voices, and with each woman at a different stage in her life, diverse readers will find something to connect to. A natural for group discussions."
—Booklist
"Readers who lose themselves in this wonderful book will be rewarded with the discovery of the value of true friendship."
—Kirkus Review
"Higgins's romantic tendencies (she's penned several romance novels) inform the proceedings; with her mainstream debut, she creates a happy reminder that life is all about taking risks."
—Publishers Weekly
Higgins balances humor and a touch of pathos to deliver an amiable tale of friendship."
—Kirkus Review
"Women readers won't wish to miss one mile of this rich, thoughtful, and sagacious novel. Men smart enough to want to know what women really think would be wise to dip a toe in Pine Lake."
—Library Journal
"Fans of chick lit will enjoy this humorous and uplifting homage to good friendships and a variety of Americana."
—Booklist
Senseless Acts of Beauty by
A towel with a faded camp logo is the only clue that fourteen-year-old Sadie Tischler has to the identity of her birth mother. With her family life in upheaval, the reckless teenager runs away to the Adirondack camp, determined to find her mother and force her to take responsibility for the child she'd so callously given up. Tess Hendrick has a secret. For years, she has been following the life of the daughter she gave up for adoption, firmly believing that Sadie has a better home than she could have ever provided. Now, with Sadie on the run, Tess has no choice but to rush back to the hometown she swore never to set foot in again. But Tess's unexpected return has stirred up old memories, probing questions, and a dangerous investigation. The only way Tess can protect her daughter is to hide the ugly truth about the past-and deny, at all costs, that Sadie is hers. In this deeply moving new novel from Lisa Verge Higgins, the unbreakable bonds of family unknowingly guide two strangers in making difficult choices, adapting to momentous changes, and finally finding their way home again.
One Good Friend Deserves Another by
HOW MANY OF THESE DATING RULES HAVE YOU BROKEN? 1. Choose Your Own Man 2. Make Sure Your Friends Approve 3. No One-Night Stands 4. Trust Your Instincts 5. Never Make the Same Mistake Twice 6. After a Break-Up, Wait Six Months Before Dating Again. Dhara, Kelly, Marta, and Wendy have been the closest of friends since college. So close, that after a series of romantic disasters, they bond together to create Rules of Relationships to keep their hearts safe. Years later, the rules seem to have worked . . . until Marta discovers that her hot boyfriend is married, Kelly begins a risky love affair, Wendy inches closer to a pre-marital infidelity, and, most shocking of all, Indian-American Dhara suddenly agrees to an arranged marriage. Hearts are about to be broken and the bonds of friendship are tested. Is it possible to find true love, when you're breaking all the rules?
Friendship Makes the Heart Grow Fonder by
TOP THREE REASONS TO VISIT EUROPE: 1. Explore foreign cultures 2. Sample outstanding food 3. Desperately flee impending personal crisis Lenny left his wife, Monique, a bucket list of things they'd dreamed of doing together before cancer took his life. For four years, she ignored it, too busy raising their daughter to consider the painful task of resurrecting shattered dreams. But when her next-door neighbor, Judy, starts a slow slide into a personal crisis, and another friend, Becky, receives shocking news about her future, Monique realizes that Lenny's legacy could be a gift to three women in desperate need of a new perspective. Whisking her friends away on adventures from London to Paris, from Monaco to Milan, she is determined to follow the bucket list to the letter-until one eventful evening knocks the three friends off the beaten path. Caught up in adventures of their own making, they begin to understand: Sometimes getting lost is the only way to find what you're really looking for.
