Lisa Luttrell
Primary school days spent at Crittenberger Elementary at Fort Knox, Kentucky were the setting for Lisa’s earliest endeavors at writing. Composing poems and short stories on weekends became early favorites. Her elementary school librarian, Miss Sarah Franklin, guided her into reading 500 books from her school library in her 3rd grade year. She kept account of those beloved books on a little ragged notepad which still exists in her possession today. These early writing endeavors would serve as a catalyst to venture into other forms of writing expression at a later age and carry on through the years to come.
As a first-time, published author at age 58, pen to paper has allowed Lisa to create a collection of endearing stories written in a lovely vintage style. These stories have taken her back to her earliest memories of venturing on long walks in the Spring and Fall, admiring the beautiful trees and all of the animals she would encounter and most of all, the beautiful flowers.
Inspirations for her charming stories flourish on her own two-acres of wooded property that are home to a variety of woodland animals, birds and insects. Her Jack Russell Terrier, Scout and her cats, Maximus and Sookie are constant companions and provide many fun ideas and continual big smiles for her.
Lisa along with her husband Tim and her son Logan lives, writes and flower gardens near Kansas City, Missouri.
Suzy
There are times in your life when you remember exact moments. The moment you meet the person who will become your best friend, the moment you had what became your favorite food and the moment you watched what was to become your favorite TV show of all time. An exact moment for me was the day I met Suzy for the first time. We made a 3 hour drive out of state to meet her. She was in a foster situation and I knew the moment I saw her that without a reasonable doubt, she would become our dog. Suzy was a 1-year old dog at the time and had a very sturdy and muscular build. She was a liver and white broken coat Jack Russell Terrier. She was very intelligent, well behaved, trained and energetic and for having all of those attributes, we quickly gave her the name, “Sargeant Suzy”. Suzy was all business. Upon bringing her home, she fit beautifully into our household. We had 3 Jack Russell Terriers prior to Suzy so we were well accustomed to their fun loving behavior. Suzy spent many years with our indoor cat Maximus whom she barely tolerated and ultimately another Jack Russell Terrier that we rescued named Scout. Some of the best years of our lives were spent loving and laughing at the antics of this tenacious, spirited, wonderful little breed of dog.
After many months of failing health at age 13, we lost our precious Suzy. Devastation sweeps upon you like a horrific thunderstorm and wears suffering on your broken heart when you lose one of the loves of your life. We will never forget you little girl and give our heartfelt thanks to you for all of the wonderful, happy, loving, fun filled years that we shared together.
All of our eternal love to you sweet Suzy. I hope that you indeed are still chasing those big, bad squirrels.
Author Q&A
What was your inspiration behind writing The Little Green Armchair and Tales of Echo Forest? How long did it take you to write it?
The Little Green Armchair and Tales of Echo Forest took me less than a week and a half to write. My inspirations behind writing this book were based on my own personal experiences. I indeed took a little green armchair from inside my own home and placed it in our acre side yard for my outdoor cat, Violet, to sleep and sit on in the sun. I rescued a little possum in my driveway one evening and took him to a wildlife rescue center only to discover he was at a juvenile age appropriate to jump from his Mother's back to start his own life and adventures. Lastly, I rescued a little green stink bug that had fallen into my cat's outdoor metal water bowl.
What are your plans for additional Tales of Echo Forest?
My second book will once again introduce my young reading audience to several new little characters that live in or near Echo Forest.
Who do you feel are your ideal audiences for reading this book? (hint: read aloud and discussion by K-1/2 and parents/grandparents. Independent reading with thematic questions and vocabulary challenges for 2/3-5th grade.
The premise of writing this book was to target the key audience group for K-4 age children, parents, grandparents and/or guardians. I also felt it would be beneficial to extensively go in depth with my book and present it to the independent reader combined with vocabulary challenges and thematic questions for classroom itinerary.
Why did you choose to write this story in a far more literary form than many children’s books?
A volume of printed context tells a story. I consider my writing style vintage in the aspect that this fondly was the way children's books were composed in my reading generation of the mid-1960's through the early 1970's. It is within my comfort zone for me to construct. I love to work with detailed imagery and create a canvas for others to imagine what my characters might look like, how their voices may sound and how lovely Echo Forest truly is. I want to create a people/animal connection engaged in adventure, display various emotions, present hardships or conflict that are resolved in a sentimental manner.
What is one thing you’d like young readers to take from this book? Older readers?
I want young readers to feel the love resonating from between the pages amidst the storylines and characters I have created. I want them to feel the closeness and comfort of what friends mean to each and every one of us. I want them to see that growth and development in all types of scenarios can be positive with a helping hand. For my older readers, I want them to be engaged, in-depth with the lessons to be learned and shared, be creative with their thought process in reviewing the material that has been read.
What was your inspiration for all of the fantastic imagery in your book?
My inspirations for writing are within my view from any window in my own home. My beautiful 2-acres on which I live with my husband and son is surrounded by woods, a lake and is home to many little creatures that I see daily; squirrels and chipmunks, raccoons, possum, birds of all types and insects. I have 2 ponds and endless flower beds full of beautiful flowers and numerous ancient trees of all types can be found on my acreage. My Jack Russell Terrier, Scout and my 2 cats, Maximus and Sookie, that continue to amaze me with their funny little habits, their acute intelligence and most special to me, their unconditional affection.
What’s something you’d like to be seen done in a classroom with this book?
A "Teachers Reading Guide" for the classroom would be a very positive concept. Events in the classroom could include: vocabulary word definitions and correct spelling lessons for the younger readers. The progressed readers could also benefit from not only vocabulary word concentration but, definition, parts of speech and how the words were used in a sentence. There’s a free downloadable teaching resource guide on my website that anyone can access.
Is the chair a representation for something else?
The chair symbolizes the catalyst for the creation of living, beautiful things, botanical in nature. A building block of impossibility…becomes a possibility...to a reality.
What’s your writing process like/challenges you faced while writing this?
My writing process entails paper interpretation of animals that i have known or owned and puts them into human-like situations. They come alive on paper as little creatures with human emotions; love, happiness, kindness, intelligence, sorrow and humorous thought processes. I can honestly say that I did not have any challenges in constructing my text for this little book, my ideas seemed to effortlessly appear on paper.
Who’s your favorite character and why?
My favorite entity that I have written about is Neville, The Thirsty Little Stink Bug. This is based solely on the premise that he is a cute, bright green, plump, little stink bug with skinny legs that was quite content living in his little house under a tree bark flap in an old Redbud Tree. This image alone just makes me smile.
What is your favorite line from the book and why?
My favorite line in the book was actually the first line of the first story; "There was a little old chair by the edge of large field that had been stranded there for a very long time, and this is its story". It is a very sentimental sentence, it immediately creates an image. It symbolizes the beginning of what was to come. The little chair would be a catalyst for creating Life, Love and Happiness and so many glorious things found in nature would eventually transpire from within it.