1) When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer, and what has your path looked like to get here?
In fourth grade, I wrote a short story my teacher liked. I held on to that praise, but my father didn’t encourage me, even though he was a prolific reader who finished a book a day. At sixteen, a palm reader told me I would be a writer, and I laughed. At twenty-three, I wrote radio commercials, then spent several years writing, editing, and producing television promos. Eventually, I moved to Los Angeles, where I learned Avid early on as a film editor, cutting commercials and a few films. In my forties, I began taking writing classes. In my fifties, I attended writers’ retreats and conferences. Then, at sixty-two, my first memoir came out. It was a long and winding road, telling different types of stories that eventually brought me to becoming a published author.
2) What sparked the idea for this particular book?
A psychic channeler. My father had died a few months before, and I wanted to know if he had anything to tell me. He told her to tell me, “Heaven has the best library,” and that’s when I knew she was the real deal. So when she told me I needed to write about a very unusual trip I had been on, I did—first writing it as a novel and then as a memoir, when I realized that owning the story was the only way to tell Sit, Cinderella, Sit.
3) If you could go back and tell yourself one thing at the beginning of this journey, what would it be?
Find teachers who get and support your ideas. My first few teachers only taught novel writing, saying memoirs are dead.
4) Where can readers connect with you? (This is a good place to share website, socials, a book ordering link, and any upcoming events!)
Website: lisacheek.com
Instagram: instagram.com/lisacheekauthor
Facebook: facebook.com/lisa.cheek
Threads: threads.com/@lisacheekauthor
Substack: substack.com/@lisacheek
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/lisacheek
Purchase my books at your favorite book stores or here:
https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Lisa-Cheek/229601903
