Lisa C. Taylor is an award-winning author of long and short fiction, as well as poetry. She is also a teacher and speaker, an editor and mentor, and co-director of the Mesa Verde Writers Conference and Literary Festival. Her debut novel, The Shape of What Remains (Liminal Books, February 2025), has been called “thoughtful, funny at times, with a richly realized and sympathetic main character” that reveals “the transformation of grief and the subtle strength required to redefine yourself and your purpose.” Look for Lisa on her website LisaCTaylor.com, on Facebook and Instagram, and her Amazon author page.
What do you hope readers will take away from The Shape of What Remains?
I hope they’ll agree that grief is not linear. People grieve in their own way and there is no fixed timetable. Even many years later, there are triggers that bring back the loss. It is one reason why it’s important to stick by your friends and family when they are grieving. Teresa’s journey is, in a sense, the journey of anyone who is grieving. Loss is part of life and even though her loss is shocking and wholly unexpected, it resonates for anyone who has had a sudden death in their family or friend circle.
What unique challenges did this work pose for you?
I did a fair amount of research for this book and I learned along the way. For example, her “assignments” with her therapist are based on my research and my own experience from my counseling career many years ago. Because this was my first novel, it posed some unique challenges in keeping track of the passage of time and the characters. I kept a lot of notes nearby when I was writing. I also read about and researched Compassionate Friends, the group that provides support to parents who have lost children.
Who are your main characters and why will readers connect to them? Will those who know you recognize you in any of your characters?
I do not believe my characters are ever based on me. Teresa has her own unique voice and she’s snarky, self-deprecating, and also sharply intelligent. I have never taken a Chaucer class though I certainly studied Shakespeare. She’s a millennial and I think millennial readers will connect with the pressures she’s under with her grief as well as trying to figure out whether her previous career as a professor will ever be viable again. Teresa’s voice came to me and I hope I was true to that voice in telling the story.
How did you go about getting into the mind of your character who is dealing with grief after the tragic loss of her young daughter? Was this an emotional journey for you as well?
The short answer is yes. I hear the voices of my characters and that is my writing process. Because she was so paralyzed in the beginning of the novel, I felt her despondence. I also knew she had the intelligence and resilience to eventually come back to life. All of my writing is an emotional journey for me. I immerse myself in the life of my characters. I also do this when I read a book that transports me.
Tell us how the book came together.
This book was originally a short story called Monuments. It was published in my short story collection, Growing a New Tail (Arlen House, 2016). I knew when I wrote it that Teresa’s story was not complete. I just didn’t have the time to write a novel at that point. When I went back to it, I worked on it sporadically. I had a book of poetry published in 2022 so I was also working on that plus I teach online and co-direct a writers conference. It took me eight years to get a good draft. I had four early readers plus my two writing groups and I edited it for over a year. I sent out 25 queries to both agents and publishers and got two offers. It was edited again with the editor from the press.
When did you know you had taken the manuscript as far as it could go, that it was ready for publishing?
I knew in summer of 2023 that it was mostly done. I’d taken in the comments from my readers and gone over it many times. The ending finally came together for me after many misses. Endings are really important and both my writing groups felt I finally hit the right note. I have two online writing groups that have been meeting for years.
What was the most rewarding aspect of putting this project together?
I always wanted to write and publish a novel since I’m such an avid novel reader. I read about a book a week. Getting a publisher and working with a professional editor was rewarding. The best part was seeing it in print and reading from it. The amazing stories I am getting from readers all over the country makes me realize that this was an important book to write. It has touched a lot of readers, many of whom have suffered the loss of a child or the unexpected loss of someone dear. Not all grief is about the loss of a loved one and I am hearing those stories as well. I look forward to my national book tour because I’m sure I’ll hear even more stories from my readers. I treasure these stories.
Amazon categorizes your novel as Death, Grief & Spirituality and as Inspirational Spiritual Fiction. If you didn’t have the limitations of Amazon categories, how would you characterize the book?
I agree with Death and Grief and I do think it is inspirational, or at least that is what many readers have told me. It does not mention anything religious so I don’t understand the spiritual, though it’s possible that just goes along with inspirational according to Amazon. Death is universal. We all need stories to help us cope with life’s most difficult moments. It is my hope that The Shape of What Remains is such a book and it will continue to inspire and bring comfort to my readers.
What writing projects are you working on now?
I have another completed novel. It is told in two voices (male and female) and it is an entirely different type of story. I am currently in the early stages of looking for a publisher. I have a third novel started and that one is unlike anything I’ve previously written. I like the challenge! Although I write literary fiction, the third novel I started begins with a crime so that is a new kind of writing for me. I still think it will be a character-driven story but I’m early in the process.
Is there anything else you’d like readers to know?
Persistence is probably the most important quality for a writer. I know many excellent writers who give up on publishing because it is so competitive and all of us receive rejections along the way. Just because your work isn’t a good fit for one publisher does not mean you won’t find a publisher who loves it. Keep trying!
KL Wagoner loves creating worlds of fantasy and science fiction. Her current work in progress is The Last Bonekeeper fantasy trilogy and short stories in the same universe. A member of SouthWest Writers since 2006, Kat has worked as the organization’s secretary, newsletter editor, website manager, and author interview coordinator. Kat is also a veteran, a martial art student, and a grandmother. Visit her at klwagoner.com.
