The Story Keeper (39 page)

About the Author

L
isa Wingate is a former journalist, a speaker, and the author of twenty-one novels, including the national bestseller
Tending Roses
, now in its nineteenth printing. She is a seven-time ACFW Carol Award nominee, a Christy Award nominee, and a two-time Carol Award winner. Her novel
Blue Moon Bay
was a
Booklist
Top Ten of 2012 pick, and
The Prayer Box
was a 2013
Booklist
Top Ten pick. Recently the group Americans for More Civility, a kindness watchdog organization, selected Lisa along with Bill Ford, Camille Cosby, and six others as recipients of the National Civies Award, which celebrates public figures who work to promote greater kindness and civility in American life. When not dreaming up stories, Lisa spends time on the road as a motivational speaker. Via Internet, she shares with readers as far away as India, where
Tending Roses
has been used to promote women’s literacy, and as close to home as Tulsa, Oklahoma, where the county library system has used
Tending Roses
to help volunteers teach adults to read.

Lisa lives on a ranch in Texas, where she spoils the livestock, raises boys, and spends time consulting with Huckleberry, her faithful literary dog. She was inspired to become a writer by a first-grade teacher who said she expected to see Lisa’s name in a magazine one day. Lisa also entertained childhood dreams of
being an Olympic gymnast and winning the National Finals Rodeo but was stalled by the inability to do a backflip on the balance beam and parents who wouldn’t finance a rodeo career. She was lucky enough to marry into a big family of cowboys and Southern storytellers who would inspire any lover of tall tales and interesting yet profound characters. She is a full-time writer and pens inspirational fiction for both the general and Christian markets. Of all the things she loves about her job, she loves connecting with people, both real and imaginary, the most. More information about Lisa’s novels can be found at
www.lisawingate.com
or on the Lisa Wingate Reader’s Circle Facebook page.