When I was in fourth grade, I had a lot of upheaval in my life. Both of my parents remarried, and we all got new houses. That was also the year my older brother got very sick. – Lisa Graff
I was the typical little sister who wanted to be just like her older brother. When I was growing up, my brother wrote phenomenal stories, so I wanted to write them, too. – Lisa Graff
The Longstockings are eight children’s and young adult writers. We all came out of the New School MFA program, and we meet regularly to critique each other’s work. – Lisa Graff
My love of baking might have originated with my grandmother. She had a lemon tree growing in her backyard, and one of my favorite memories is of picking lemons together and then baking lemon bars. – Lisa Graff
Kids know when you’re pulling a fast one, storywise, and I think that even when they’re being entertained, children want to hear the truth, just like adults do. – Lisa Graff
I’ve been a children’s book editor, a nanny, a camp counselor, a barista, a research lab assistant, and a movie theater ticket-taker. – Lisa Graff
I’d like to have a perfect sense of direction. I could get lost with a GPS strapped to my arm. – Lisa Graff
I have always had a ridiculous fear that I will walk into the bathroom one morning and find a python in my toilet. – Lisa Graff
Kids are always told that they can be anything that they want. But what if you want to be a ballerina, and you’re terrible at ballet? Or what if you’re gifted at ballet, but you don’t like doing it? – Lisa Graff
One of the things I like to do during an ‘overhaul’ revision is bust out my highlighters and colored pens. Tools like these make me feel like a real writer. – Lisa Graff
Being a writer can be a very lonely profession, but having a network of people who can sympathize with everything you’re going through – from contract issues to the terror of changing your novel from past- to present-tense – is an invaluable asset. – Lisa Graff
