Media Kit
Lois Lavrisa In The News:
The Skidaway Scene (August 2, 2017)
The Shelburne News (November 24, 2015)
Savannah Now Morning News (August 15, 2016)
Savannah Now Morning News (June 8, 2016)
Savannah Now Morning News (December 8, 2012)
Savannah Now Morning News (October 12, 2012)
Contact Information:
Sunlake Press
Savannah, GA
1-607-444-5647
publisher@sunlakepress.com
Media Queries/Event/Booking Info:
Sunlake Press
Savannah, GA
1-607-444-5647
publisher@sunlakepress.com
BIO One:
On my journey to becoming a writer, I have had many jobs, some paid, some not. The unpaid jobs began cleverly disguised as my being “a little helper.” I did household chores, which evolved, to lawn care specialist (grass cutter and weed puller.) Unpaid work was part and parcel of pulling my weight in my family. However, I did get a cool pair of Calvin Klein jeans and a pair of powder blue cat-eye prescription glasses- so there was that.
My paid jobs were just as diverse. Once upon a time I was a health club supervisor, a waitress, a babysitter, a fast food server, a retail worker, an insurance claims adjuster, an exercise instructor, an adjunct college professor, a cable TV regional trainer, an NBA professional cheerleader, freelance journalist, a model, and backstage security. Those are just the ones I can spout off the top of my head, and not necessarily in chronological order.
In addition to all of those disparate jobs, I have been a full-time dreamer. Always have and always will be. I live in my head. Yes, I have real-life friends. And yes, I have a tangible life complete with a husband, four children and pets. But now, through writing, I get to share the stories I imagine in my head with readers like you. I cannot thank you enough for that. I consider you part of my family. But I draw the line at scrubbing your bathroom or mowing your lawn. However, I could be talked into joining you for a glass of ice tea or a beer.
BIO Two:
Lois Lavrisa's first book LIQUID LIES, an Amazon best-seller was recognized as a finalist in the 2013 Eric Hoffer Award. Her Georgia Coast Cozy Mystery series is set in beautiful historic Savannah, Georgia. DYING FOR DINNER ROLLS (Book 1), and MURDEROUS MUFFINS (Book 2) were both Amazon Kindle Top 100 bestsellers, nominees for Georgia Author of the Year and also received Readers' Favorite awards. HOMICIDE BY HAMLET (Book 3), was also a nominee for Georgia Author of the Year and a Readers’ Favorite award winner. The fourth book in the series, KILLING WITH KINGS, a Readers’ Favorite winner.
Lois grew up on the rough and tumble South-side of Chicago. She earned a Master and Bachelor of Science in Journalism and Communication with minor in Public Relations. After college she wrote training programs for a Fortune 500 Company and taught many years as an adjunct professor. Vowing never to give out term paper assignments as she loathed doing them when she was in college. Her 15 minutes of "fame" came when she was Professional cheerleader for the NBA Chicago Bulls. On minute 16 she fell in love. She's been married to her aerospace husband Tom since 1991 and they have four (nearly grown-up) children, two sons and two daughters. While juggling her packed schedule, she often daydreams about escaping to the beach with a glass (or two or three) of Riesling, a great book, fantastic friends, and loads of laughter.
Product Specs:
TITLE: Liquid Lies
AUTHOR: Lois Lavrisa
PUBLISHER: Sunlake Press
DATE OF PUBLICATION: September 9, 2012
RETAIL PRICE: $3.99 Ebook, $14.95 Paperback, $19.95 Audiobook
ISBN-13: 978-1468154269
PAGES: 272
Sales copy:
One Dead Body. Two Girls with a Secret. Body Count Rising. "Full of breath-taking twists and turns! Liquid Lies had me whipping through the pages, never quite sure whose number was up next. A great whodunit mystery laced with suspense."
Teenage best friends CiCi and Francesca made a decision that haunted them for the rest of their lives. What started as a celebration of Francesca's eighteenth birthday became a tragedy with repercussions neither could ever have imagined. Four years later, after keeping the incident buried, a blackmailer enters their lives, threatening to expose their secret. In the idyllic resort town of Round Lake, Jet Skiers, swimmers and boaters center their lives on their upscale waterfront homes in their picturesque, peaceful Wisconsin town.
Who would expect it to be torn apart by the selfish decisions of the wealthy few? Who would guess that underneath this picture of serenity lay murder, deceit--and more murder? Liquid Lies combines mystery's twists and unexpected turns with a touching coming of age story. As CiCi finds herself in the midst of a hideous chain of events, she must wrestle with lies and their unintended consequences. In the process she confronts her own worst demons, finding herself enveloped in a turbulent vortex of events. Armed only with her own integrity and willingness to take responsibility for her past mistakes, CiCi must make amends for the past to secure her future.
LogLine: "One Dead Body. Two Girls with a Secret."
Short form copy for blurbs:
LIQUID LIES: One dead body. Two girls with a secret. Liquid Lies combines mystery's twists and unexpected turns with a touching coming of age story. As the main character, CiCi, finds herself in the midst of a hideous chain of events, she must wrestle with lies and their unintended consequences.
Product Specs:
TITLE: Dying for Dinner Rolls
AUTHOR: Lois Lavrisa
PUBLISHER: Sunlake Press
DATE OF PUBLICATION: September 9, 2012
RETAIL PRICE: $3.99 eBook, $14.95 Paperback, $11.99 Audiobook
ISBN-13: 978-1492760061
PAGES: 170
Sales copy:
"Lois Lavrisa has done it again. Her humorous ensemble of characters carries readers away in this first volume of her new cozy mystery series. Delightful escape fiction." She's been held at gunpoint, stuck in a burning dumpster, chased out of a grocery store, caught impersonating a police officer and almost run over by a wayward vehicle. How is that for a first day on the job as an amateur sleuth? Along with her friend Annie Mae, Cat investigates the brick-paved, oak-lined streets of Savannah to find their friend's murderer. To say the very least, it is not smooth sailing for these self appointed detectives. Will they catch the killer before the killer gets them? Or will their first case be their last? Find out in the first volume of the Georgia Coast Cozy Mystery Series, Dying for Dinner Rolls which combines mystery, suspense, humor, and southern charm.
Logline: “Dinner Gets Deadly” in Dying for Dinner Rolls.
Short form copy for Blurbs:
Dying for Dinner Rolls: Two amateur sleuths arm themselves with nothing but good intentions as they pursue their friend’s killer.
Product Specs
TITLE: Murderous Muffins
AUTHOR: Lois Lavrisa
PUBLISHER: Sunlake Press
DATE OF PUBLICATION: October 31, 2014
RETAIL PRICE: $3.99 eBook, $14.95 Paperback, $19.95 Audiobook
ISBN-13: 978-1502711625
PAGES: 182
Sales copy:
"Murderous Muffins is a hit! Lois Lavrisa writes smart, fun page turning fiction." Bezu is a beautiful southern belle with genteel manners. But her problems are anything but. Deep in debt, she’s illegally taken in a few lodgers. A sweet stripper and her bodybuilder boyfriend, an Asian man loudly learning English through pop music, and a mysterious stranger with the most amazing blue-green eyes -- and a secret. When one of them mysteriously dies and it looks like her muffins were the murder weapon, Bezu and her fellow amateur sleuth friend, Cat, must discover who the killer is before she ends up in jail…or worse. Will they succeed? Find out in Murderous Muffins, book two in The Georgia Coast Cozy Mystery Series.
Logline: Murderous Muffins, “Beware of Breakfast.”
Short form copy for Blurbs:
Murderous Muffins: When Bezu’s tenant mysteriously dies and it looks like her muffins were the murder weapon, Bezu and her friend Cat, must discover who the killer is before she ends up in jail…or worse. Will they succeed?
Product Specs:
TITLE: Homicide by Hamlet
AUTHOR: Lois Lavrisa
PUBLISHER: Sunlake Press
DATE OF PUBLICATION: February 12, 2016
RETAIL PRICE: $3.99 eBook, $14.95 Paperback, $11.99 Audiobook
ISBN-13: 978-1523938131
PAGES: 176
Sales copy:
Homicide by Hamlet: Annie Mae has one last job to do before she retires from a thirty-year career in academia, one week of summer theater camp. Easy peasy. Until a team leader is murdered, and all hell breaks loose. Everyone is a suspect and everyone has a secret. Will she find out the truth before she becomes the killer’s next victim? Or will death be her swan song? Find out in Book Three, HOMICIDE BY HAMLET, in The Georgia Coast Cozy Mystery Series.
Logline: “Theater Turns Tragic” in Homicide by Hamlet.
Short form copy for Blurbs:
Homicide by Hamlet, Annie Mae has one last job to do before she retires from a thirty-year career in academia, one week of summer theater camp. Easy peasy. Until a team leader is murdered, and all hell breaks loose. Everyone is a suspect and everyone has a secret.
Product Specs:
TITLE: A Georgia Coast Cozy Mystery Box Set: Books 1, 2 and 3
AUTHOR: Lois Lavrisa
PUBLISHER: Sunlake Press
DATE OF PUBLICATION: June 19, 2016
RETAIL PRICE: $6.99 eBook
ASIN: BO1HCOVUJK
PAGES: 493
Sales copy:
The first Three books: Book One Dying for Dinner Rolls, Book Two Murderous Muffins and Book Three Homicide By Hamlet in The Georgia Coast Cozy Mystery Series.
Product Specs:
TITLE: Thomson Twins Tales
AUTHOR: Lois Lavrisa
PUBLISHER: Sunlake Press
DATE OF PUBLICATION: October 24, 2013
RETAIL PRICE: $1.99 eBook
ASIN: BOOG6NRYD6
PAGES: 89
Sales copy:
From Best Selling, Award Winning author Lois Lavrisa - THOMSON TWINS TALES,: Three Young Adult short tales. Companion spin off stories to her bestselling Georgia Coast Cozy Mystery Series.
"She loves me? She loves me not?" Find out in the 7,000 word YA mystery romance short story PICTURE NOT PERFECT.
"Can a vampire and a superhero save a young couple’s relationship?" Find out in the 4,000 word YA romantic short story TURNABOUT TWIST.
"It’s a game of Cat and Mouse in TREAT OR TRICK" a 3,000 word YA short story.
Sample Interview Questions:
1. What literary pilgrimages have you gone on?
2. What is the first book that made you cry?
3. What is the most unethical practice in the publishing industry?
4. Does writing energize or exhaust you?
5. What are common traps for aspiring writers?
6. Does a big ego help or hurt writers?
7. What is your writing Kryptonite?
8. Have you ever gotten reader’s block?
9. Did you ever consider writing under a pseudonym?
10. Do you try more to be original or to deliver to readers what they want?
11. Do you think someone could be a writer if they don’t feel emotions strongly?
12. What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer?
13. Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?
14. If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
15. How did publishing your first book change your process of writing?
16. What was the best money you ever spent as a writer?
17. What authors did you dislike at first but grew into?
18. What did you do with your first advance?
19. What was an early experience where you learned that language had power?
20. What are the most important magazines for writers to subscribe to?
21. What’s your favorite under-appreciated novel?
22. How do you balance making demands on the reader with taking care of the reader?
23. As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal?
24. What do you owe the real people upon whom you base your characters?
25. How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?
26. What does literary success look like to you?
27. What’s the best way to market your books?
28. What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?
29. Do you view writing as a kind of spiritual practice?
30. What’s the most difficult thing about writing characters from the opposite sex?
31. How long were you a part-time writer before you became a full-time one?
32. How many hours a day do you write?
33. What period of your life do you find you write about most often? (child, teenager, young adult)
34. What did you edit out of this book?
35. Have you read anything that made you think differently about fiction?
36. What are the ethics of writing about historical figures?
37. How do you select the names of your characters?
38. If you didn’t write, what would you do for work?
39. Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?
40. Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?
41. What was your hardest scene to write?
42. Do you Google yourself?
43. What one thing would you give up to become a better writer?
44. What are your favorite literary journals?
45. What is your favorite childhood book?
46. What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?
47. Does your family support your career as a writer?
48. If you had to do something differently as a child or teenager to become a better writer as an adult, what would you do?
49. How long on average does it take you to write a book?
50. Do you believe in writer’s block? (DO NOT ask whether they’ve had writer’s block).