You know how people say, “The house could have been burning down and I still wouldn’t have noticed…” Well, I didn’t say it, my friends, I lived it.
Last month, on Saturday, June 2, I spent the afternoon working on my new middle-grade novel and I was in the zone. Deep, deep, deep. Yes, I heard sirens and the whirring blades of the helicopters, but did they register? No. No, they did not.
The fifteen years I spent living in NYC had dulled my senses to those sounds. The fifteen years I spent writing and blocking out distractions, dulled them even further. So, it literally took a call from the police, followed by a megaphone announcement outside my house to let me know that my hood was on fire and I had to evacuate immediately. 
While my neighbors stuffed their SUVs with photo albums, passports, non-perishables, clothes, and tax documents, I grabbed my laptop, my dog, eye glitter and the two bathing suits I bought earlier that week because we all know how hard it is to find good suits. And that was it. I was out.
As I drove down the hill, oddly calm despite the bruise-colored smoke cloud building behind me, I realized that everything I owned might burn. And the weird part was, I was fine with it. Like, sociopath fine. I even got a tad self-righteous about it because I, Lisi Harrison, obsessive online shopper, had transcended materialism.
Cut to my recent trip to El Capitan. No, not the one in Yosemite. That place requires gear and an appetite for roughing it. This El Cap is an hour north of LA. Just off Pacific Coast Highway. It has cabins, indoor plumbing, a gourmet market, and s’mores kits. If ever there was a time to transcend materialism it would have been then. But no. For my two night stay, I brought: $200 worth of snacks,
three fold-up chairs, solar-powered lights, bug spray, hairspray, cooking spray, surfboards, beach towels, books, chargers, board games, essential oils, cold medicine (just in case), Ugg boots, sneakers, flip-flops, winter clothes, summer clothes, and a bunch of other clothes I never wore.
Does this mean that in a crisis I know what matters and what doesn’t, but day to day I’m a glutton who has fallen for the trappings of consumerism? I’d really like to unpack this a little more but an Ikea truck just pulled into my driveway. My new outdoor furniture is here.
Happy Fourth of July!! Happy belated Canada Day!!! God bless firefighters. Be good to each other. Pack light, but smart (then tell me how you did it).
xoxo Lisi
15 Comments
I hate to admit this but I got to your party a little late. The clique movie was randomly playing on tv (first lunch scene) and at the first sight of massie block I was captivated. I was ten I am now twenty :). The first story I ever wrote was for the clique and I’ve been writing ever since. That was seven years ago and I’ve finally revisited where I started and decided to do the clique justice and continue the story with my now better writing skills. I’m paying homage to the book that made me discover what i now love to do. The title stumped me because yours were always cute and pop culture inspired so with great pleasure I give you my homage in the form of an excerpt from the book I 100% believe would’ve came after a tale of two pretties. English Holiday. I really hope you get a chance to read this 7 page excerpt and love it as much as I loved all your books. Thank you so much for these girls. (Also I know you stopped writing because you felt materialism has died down. Which is why I think it’s the perfect time to bring them back!!).
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-7mQFaYyOHS68Ajhm5mGXG-yqSF6RCptk6F4BNkW9yU
Hey Lisi, I’ve been reading and getting to know your books/novels since last year . But I didn’t know you had a blog until today . I was looking to see more of your books and saw you had a blog I was like yay . I was so excited because I admire you so much when I grow up I want to be like you . And I also want to meet you soon. I hope you answer this comment so I can hear from the person I admire.
Sincerely ,
Your admirer
OMG I’m glad you’re okay! Did your house burn down?
So glad that you’re ok!!!
I love your writing. I would LOVE to see a comeback of the Pretty Committee in their 20s. Dreams come true
I always wanted that myself, i read the books when i was younger but i still love them now. They’re very amazing and well worth reading.
I am glad your okay!!! I’ve been reading your clique series for years and love your monster high series too!!! I really wish you hadn’t stopped writing for the clique their stories really inspire me!! I even became my schools newspaper mystery advice writer. This is the first time i have found your blog and i hope things will be okay for you in the future!!! I wish you good luck!!!
Hi Nikki,
Thank you for getting in touch and for your ah-mazing comments. I am starting to wrap my head around a Clique novel about the Pretty Committee in their 20s. So you might not be done with me yet.
Tell me more about this mystery advice writing. It sounds awesome. How does it work?
I’d love a clique book about them later in life I’ve always wondered how things go and if they come back together. My mystery writing came to me when i was always being asked for advice. I wanted to help but i also wanted to be anonymous so no one could say i was taking sides and so i spoke with the head of our newspaper in school and she loved it. Then i thought “Well now i need a name.” That’s how i became “Lucky Me”!
I would also be interested to learn about how the Pretty Committee is doing at that point. If possible I would like to know how the Marvelous Marvil’s fared (Dylan), how Kristen fared in the Soccer Sisters, how Alicia fared as the alpha of the Pretty Committee, how Claire fared, how Massie is doing in England and last but not least how Layne did especially because it seemed that she became an unofficial member of the Pretty Committee.
That’s insane! I’m so glad you’re alright!
I’ve finally gotten back into my writing zone which was great because I finally finish the first draft of my novel!! Well, first real draft. Back in 2012(?) when you were on a Monster High book tour, I gave you a copy of what I thought was the first draft of my novel. Since then I’ve scrapped, rewrote, scrapped again, but this draft actually feels like the real REAL one, ya know? Anyways, I wanted to tell you that because between the Clique series and your old Blah-g, I was able to come to terms with the fact that I really love writing and that what I want to do. So thank you for NOT dying in a fire and thank you for being a constant inspiration in my life!
Ha! It was my pleasure not to die. I’m so proud of you for staying with it and finishing. Once you’ve written and rewritten and rewritten again you can call yourself a real writer. Congratulations, you’re one of us now!!!
xoxo Lisi
EYE GLITTER.
I’m only human, Mrs. The Guz.
xoxo
Good to know you were safe, Lisi!
Thank you, Andrea.