X-Men meets Spy Kids in The Invisible Spy, the thrilling second installment in The Forgotten Five fantasy/adventure series that began with the instant New York Times bestseller Map of Flames.
Hi, Lisa! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
I’m the author of 29 books for kids and young adults. I’m married to debut author Matt McMann (Monsterious, May 9, 2023, Putnam) and we have two adult kids—our son Kilian McMann is an illustrator and graphic designer, and our daughter Kennedy is an actor (she currently plays the titular character Nancy Drew on the CW and HBO Max). I like taking walks, cooking, and reading.
When did you first discover your love for writing?
When I was in 4th grade, my teacher had the whole class write stories. He told me he loved mine and sent me to the Young Author’s Conference—an event where I got to hang out with other writers and authors.
Quick lightning round! Tell us the first book you ever remember reading, the one that made you want to become an author, and one that you can’t stop thinking about!
This is probably Charlotte’s Web, followed by the Narnia books. Charlotte’s Web introduced me to light fantasy, and Narnia hooked me on magic. I was so shocked to find out you could write stories about anything, even if it couldn’t happen in real life.
The Invisible Spy is the second installment in your Forgotten Five series! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Found family takes on the world. That’s six, but I’m bad at following rules.
What can readers expect?
It’s a continuation of Map of Flames, which introduces the five supernatural kids who were raised in an isolated hideout because their parents were escaped criminals. Once the five enter civilization, they meet Lada and The Librarian, two supers from Estero, and they team up to stop the oppression of supernatural people—and maybe have to fight against their own criminal parents.
Where did the inspiration for the Forgotten Five series come from?
I loved The Incredibles movie, and really wanted to see more kid superheroes in action. And I wondered about the children of the villains…what would they be like? Would they follow in their parents’ footsteps or go a different route?
Can you tell us a bit about the challenges you faced while writing and how you were able to overcome them?
I got a lot of rejections before my first book sold. I started to look at rejection as a challenge to keep searching for the right agent/editor who would say yes to my work. And I kept writing new things all the time. The more you write, the better your chances.
Were there any favourite moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring further?
I loved writing Aaron in The Unwanteds series. Clarice and Charles Sebastian were favorite characters in Clarice the Brave. And I adore all five (six, really) kids in The Forgotten Five series—they aer some of the best characters I’ve ever written, and we’re just getting started.
You’ve written within both the YA and middle grade genres. Are there any genres you might take on one day?
I’m pretty focused on middle grade right now.
What’s next for you?
Book 3 in The Forgotten Five (Rebel Undercover) comes out June 6, and I’m working on book four now! Things are really ramping up.
Lastly, what have been some of your favourite 2022 reads? Any 2023 releases our readers should look out for?
I loved Attack of the Black Rectangles by Amy Sarig King, and Christina Soontornvat’s graphic novel The Tryout. I’m currently reading an early copy of Gossamer Summer by H.M. Bouwman, which is lovely—it comes out in 2023. And my husband’s debut monster mystery series begins May 9, 2023. It’s called Monsterious and the stories are spooky, scary (but not too scary), and funny.
