Lisa Tognola is a former humor columnist at The Alternative Press, she is a contributor to More.com and Salon.com and has contributed essays to five anthologies in the Not Your Mother’s Books series as well as “My Funny Valentine: America’s Most Hilarious Writers Take on Love, Romance, and Other Complications” and “My Funny Medical: Off the Charts Humor from an All-Star Cast.”
We had the pleasure of chatting to Lisa about her upcoming novel, As Long As It’s Perfect, along with writing, what’s next for her, and more!
Hi Lisa! Tell us a little about yourself!
I am an author, humor writer, Moth storyteller and social worker. Originally from California, I now live in New Jersey, where I spend long cold winters taking baths in a sunken tub and trying not to drop my Kindle in the water!
Where did your love of writing come from?
I came to writing as a young(ish) mom who was seeking an escape from the monotony of life. I love being a wife and mother, but at the time, as a stay-at-home mom, I had been ticking each of the boxes: husband, house, kids and was searching for something more; writing fulfilled my need for creativity, purpose and identity. It stirred something inside of me that had been hibernating for a long time. Once I started writing, it felt like a flame that couldn’t be extinguished.
Your novel, As Long As It’s Perfect, publishes on October 15th. If you could only use five words to describe it, what would they be?
Fresh, fun, engaging, tender and wry
Now, let’s hear a little more! What can readers expect?
As Long As It’s Perfect is about one woman’s obsession with perfection and how far she’ll go to get what she wants, no matter the cost to herself and her family. The book is set in Rye, New York where my protagonist, Janie, is bent on building her dream home. In her desperate search for happiness she goes on a construction bender, spending money she doesn’t have on a quest for perfection that nearly ruins her marriage. Think This Old House meets The War of the Roses with a dose of Ricky and Lucy thrown in.
Where did the inspiration for As Long As It’s Perfect come from?
My house was my muse. My husband and I knocked down a house and built a new one when our country was on the brink of the 2007 financial collapse. The trials and tribulations of home building served as great fodder and sparked a lot of ideas for my book. The story, about Janie’s struggle with who she is in the world and how she appears in the world vs how she really is, is a struggle I can relate to. I’ve spent my life worried about what people think of me. I think many of us do. We want things because we want to feel good enough. I grew up in a high achieving household with parents who had high expectations. My story raises questions like, When is it ok to stop trying to create a certain image? When can I just be who I am? It’s about battling the demons about what everyone else thinks.
What’s your writing process like?
When I was writing my novel, I was so excited to write that I would actually rise at 4 or 5 am and jump out of bed to transpose my thoughts to page. As a stay-at-home mom, my time was limited and I did much of my writing in my minivan while parked outside my children’s karate classes, piano lessons and girl scout meetings. I live in New Jersey, and during the cold winters I wore a ski jacket and wool hat and turned on the car heater at twenty-minute intervals, blasting it just long enough to thaw my fingertips. In the summertime, I parked in the shade and sweated a lot. I don’t write outlines but I keep pads of paper all over my house and in my car and constantly jot down ideas as they pop into my head. Even when jogging or showering, I’m never far from my notebooks. I have some pretty soggy notes to prove it!
Are there any authors that you admire?
Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner and Jeannette Walls who both write compelling stories of resilience.
What’s next for you?
This project has been so overwhelming and intense that I’m tempted to join an ashram in India and do nothing but eat, chant and meditate. Seriously, though, I do think I’d like to take a break before pursuing my next project. That said, I have ideas marinating for a book set in Colorado about two unlikely characters falling in love. In the meantime, I’ll be going on book tour in New Jersey, New York and California. Please visit my website for details.
Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for us?
Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
You can connect with Lisa on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and at her website and blog.
