Meet Lisa Williams Kline | Author

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lisa Williams Kline and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lisa, what inspires you?
Inspiration is everywhere. It’s in the beauty and rebirth of nature – say, when you see sprigs regrowing after a forest fire, a flood or a storm. It’s in all forms of art, from writing to painting to music — say, when I hear stories about people creating art in spite of illness or incarceration or despotic regimes. When I hear stories about how people have overcome the most harrowing and difficult of circumstances to win an athletic event, or to turn around from a horrible experience and help others. There are truly miracles everywhere. Some of the stories that inspire me the most are those about everyday people persevering and bringing joy and sustenance to the world one poem, one story, one song, one quilt, or one meal at a time.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
After nearly twenty years of writing for young readers, I decided to try writing for adults. My daughters were grown and out of the house, I didn’t feel I was close enough to young voices to feel “authentic” anymore, and my book ideas were all adult stories. At one time I thought that most of a person’s most difficult decisions were made as a young person, in choosing a partner and their life work, but nothing could be farther from the truth. As we mature, our challenges become ever more complicated. As a middle-aged woman, I began to feel that life’s most interesting stories are those about women sandwiched between their parents and their children, with deep obligations to both. I wanted to write about those times in a person’s life. Making the move wasn’t easy. I’ve queried at least 80 agents and several dozen small presses, and received a lot of “no’s,” but didn’t give up. Now I’ve published two adult novels, Ladies’ Day (CamCat Books, Next Generation Indies Award First Place for Regional Fiction, Bronze IPPY for Audiobook) and Between the Sky and the Sea (Dragonblade, Next Generation Indies Award Finalist for Romance). My next book, The Bristlecone Writers’ Group, will be released in 2026 by Harpeth Road Publishers. One of the most important lessons I’ve learned is that I’m very proud of my books — they are like my children — but even prouder of the deep friendships I’ve made in the writing community while writing them. And my family is absolutely my rock.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Well let’s assume my friend is a writer. We’d visit Main Street Books in Davidson, Park Road Books in Park Road Shopping Center, and Trope Bookstore in Plaza Midwood.
If our new downtown library was open yet, we could also go there.
We could check out a reading or writing workshop at Charlotte Lit.
We’d go to a play at Davidson Community Players, or head to the city for the Booth, Theater Charlotte, Charlotte Conservatory Theater, or the Knight Theater.
Music? The Evening Muse.
I also love museums. Museum favorites are the Levine Museum of the New South, the Mint, the Bechtler, Imaginon, and the Belk Visual Arts Center in Davidson.
We’d also take walks along the greenway in Davidson, or check out the Davidson Farmer’s Market on Saturday morning.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I could not have published my books, much less even finished them, without the unflagging encouragement and accountability offered by my fellow writers Betsy Thorpe, Emily Pearce, Ann Campanella, Michelle Moore, and Liz Hatley. All of these women have read and commented on reams of my work, cheered me on during my paralyzing stage fright at book launches and readings, listened patiently to my myriad childish insecurities and stuck by me while I rewrote it again. And I have done the same for them. The writing community is a village, and I love being part of it.

www.betsythorpe.com, www.anncampanella.com, @emilyspearce

Website: https://www.lisawiliamskline.com

Instagram: @lisawilliamskline

Facebook: LisaKline566

Image Credits
Some photos were taken by my daughter, Kelsey Mard.
Some were taken by my husband, Jeff Kline.