Lisa Roe: Don’t Let Anyone Tell You That You Can’t Keep Going
In this interview, author Lisa Roe discusses how a fascination with birth-order theory helped inspire her new novel, Big & Lily.
Lisa Roe graduated from the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and spent many years as an advertising creative director and copywriter in New York City before she accepted the tougher job of stay-at-home mom and turned to writing fiction—mostly to entertain her kids, but then to tell her own stories. A classic first born, reluctant empty-nester and Dr. Doolittle wannabe, Lisa lives in New Jersey with her husband, David, and three incorrigible dogs. Follow her on Facebook and Instagram.
In this interview, Lisa discusses how a fascination with birth-order theory helped inspire her new novel, Big & Lily, her advice for other writers, and more.
Name: Lisa Roe
Literary agent: Jessica Berg, Rosecliff Literary
Book title: Big & Lily
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Release date: August 11, 2026
Genre/category: General fiction/women’s fiction
Previous titles: Welcome to the Neighborhood
Elevator pitch: After two very different, but very codependent sisters accidently sign up for a grueling Alaskan wilderness trip, they discover the best way to find themselves (and each other) is by getting lost in the wild.
What prompted you to write this book?
The setting for this book, the Alaskan wilderness, is modeled on a very similar trip I took a few years ago where, like Big and Lily, I was out of my depths and in over my head!
I chose sisters to take this journey because of my fascination with birth order theory. I’m a classic firstborn: in-charge, organized, goal-oriented, and reliable, with a skosh of perfectionism and a dash of anxiety. Are these traits nature or nurture? Was I born to mother hen my siblings or was the task assigned to me? And was there ever any hope of reinventing myself, if I so chose, or were these first-born order attributes part of my DNA? Following Big on this journey was a way for me to explore these questions.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
The concept came to me soon after my own Alaskan trip. I wrote about 50 pages but put it in a drawer to work on other projects. When I came back to it, I spent about a year writing. I wish I could say I can churn out a draft, but when I write, I stew and simmer. Fortunately, I had the luxury of time with this one because there was no contract or deadline for the book. The idea of two sisters going to Alaska and getting in over their heads but finding themselves in the process was always the idea for Big & Lily—although with every revision, I ratcheted up the tension and the trouble the sisters found themselves in got worse and worse!
When I finished the book, I was in between agents and that’s when I met Jessica Berg of Rosecliff Literary (dream agent) who not only used her developmental editor chops to help tighten up the story but also sold it to Harper Perennial (dream publisher) in four weeks!
Conception to bookstore shelf? Wow, I’m just now doing the math…seven years!
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
While I’ve been through this process with my debut, the difference between writing and publishing still surprises me. Wearing my writer hat, I am often working on a project alone, at home in pajama bottoms, hair in a messy bun, making up stories and talking almost exclusively to my characters. As a published author, I must break that fourth wall. I’m out in the world and sometimes that’s a shock to an introvert’s system.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m crazy grateful that readers are excited about Big & Lily. Everyone I’ve met, everyone who’s helped me, everyone who’s interviewed me, has been so incredibly supportive and kind. That’s said, talking about myself takes me out of my comfort zone. And having to choose an appropriate, put-together, authorly outfit—one other than sweats or leggings— that’s a real challenge!
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
In a way, I was surprised how quickly I found Bridget’s and Lily’s voices and how seamlessly their relationship came together for me. I suppose as a first born and an eldest daughter, I wrote Big the way I’d respond to Lily if she were my sister who was going through such a difficult time but also exasperating as all get out!
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
As they watch these sisters find themselves and each other, I hope my readers learn that you don’t have to wear the labels you were given (or you assigned to yourself) forever. You can rip them off the back of your collar if they scratch at you. The narratives we live with can be rewritten.
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
Fall down nine times, get up 10.
I’ve had almost 300 agent rejections in my querying lifetime. I’ve had books die on sub. I’ve written seven novels but sold only two (so far.) This business is a lot. It’s wonderful and fulfilling and subjective and crowded and sometimes brutal. But don’t let any of that stop you. Write the next story, send the next query, keep revising. Build up your biceps and push that boulder up the hill, and don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t keep going. Be the person who when they talk about you, and they will, they’ll say, “Nevertheless, [they] persisted.”
