Lisa Doan

I received a master's degree in writing for children and young adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts in Montpelier, VT. (Though to this day I still wish it was the Vermont College of Fine Arts of the Florida Keys.) I won't go on about how terrifying the winter weather in Vermont can be, other than to say that on icy days, the slide from the campus to downtown is similar to a race down the slopes to Whoville.
Before my journey to Vermont, I was a professional vagabond and Jack of all trades. I'm a dual citizen of the United States and ?Ireland, (Sorry Ireland - blame my Nana!) have traveled throughout Africa, Asia and Central America, and lived on a Caribbean island for eight years. I once backpacked alone from Morocco to Kenya. (Insider tip on crossing the Sahara Desert - TURN BACK.)

My jobs have included Master Scuba Diving Instructor (nobody drowned), Wall Street headhunter (it did not involve shrunken heads, except figuratively), Owner/?Chef of a Chinese restaurant (having to download recipes from the internet should have been a red flag), Set Medic for a reality T.V. show (The drama! The pathos! The contestants who didn't know who the President was!) and Deputy Prothonotary of a county court (Sadly, lawsuits remain a popular American sport).

All of those jobs had their pluses and minuses, some more minuses than others, but no job is as fun as writing middle grade stories. I seriously don't know why everybody isn't doing it.