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	<title>Christine Alemshah, Children&#039;s Author</title>
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		<title>Creator Interview: Lisa Johnston Hancock stunning Author-Illustrator Debut picture book, Santiago and Great Bear</title>
		<link>https://christinealemshah.com/creator-interview-lisa-johnston-hancock-stunning-author-illustrator-debut-picture-book-santiago-and-great-bear/</link>
					<comments>https://christinealemshah.com/creator-interview-lisa-johnston-hancock-stunning-author-illustrator-debut-picture-book-santiago-and-great-bear/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Christine Alemshah]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 29 Jun 2026 15:46:20 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Author Interviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Creator Interview Series]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Grow Your Writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kidlit Writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[children's book author interview]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[children's book writing tips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[children's books]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kidlit creator interview]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[picture book writing advice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[picture books]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Storytelling journey]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing journey to publication]]></category>
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					<description><![CDATA[Welcome to the #GrowYourWriting 2026 Creator Interviews blog series. I’m thrilled to feature talented kidlit creators this year and spotlight their beautiful work and inspiring journeys.&#160; I&#8217;m so excited to introduce our June featured creator, Lisa Johnston Hancock. Her gorgeous picture book debut as an Author-Illustrator, Santiago and Great Bear, releases this week on June 30, 2026. Lisa Johnston Hancock is a children’s book author, illustrator and educator with more than 15 years of experience teaching both children and adults. Lisa holds a Masters in Fine Art, Painting from The Savannah College of Art and Design and a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Photography from The University of Alabama, grounding her creative work in strong technical training across multiple visual art disciplines. Her work thoughtfully integrates STEAM-focused learning, blending science and art to create meaningful, hands-on learning opportunities. Lisa’s stories are inspired by personal experiences and center on social-emotional learning themes, offering relatable and thought-provoking content for young readers. A published illustrator, Santiago and Great Bear: A Friendship Written in the Stars marks her first picture book as both illustrator and author, reflecting her passion for sharing artistic principles and fascinating science concepts with children. When Lisa is not writing or illustrating, you can find her traveling with her family, hiking, stargazing, reading or playing bass guitar. Originally from Mobile, Alabama, Lisa now calls the Los Angeles area home, where she lives with her family.  Find Lisa online at: https://lisajohnstonhancock.com Instagram: lisajohnstonhancock Let&#8217;s get started, shall we? 1 &#8211; What inspired you to pursue a career in children&#8217;s literature, and when did you start creating? My background is in fine art and art education. I was a teacher for many years, painted and exhibited in commercial galleries. After I had my first child, I started reading a lot of picture books and began studying the beautiful art &#38; illustrators making the books. At the time, I was living in Mobile, AL and joined a small critique group that consisted of 2 illustrators and 3 writers. I learned a little about writing from the writers in the group and took several classes online, over the span of 2 years. That was over 6 years ago. 2 &#8211; Can you tell us more about your journey from ideas to publication? My background in fine art and illustration is grounded in strong technical training. Writing does not come as easily to me. I am a member of 2 different critique groups and they have been so helpful to fostering my growth as both a writer and illustrator. I’m also a nature enthusiast. My stories are based off of my personal experiences. I usually get ideas if I’m hiking with my family, or on a nature walk by myself. The idea for Santiago and Great Bear was inspired by our move from Alabama to California. The covid shut down happened 6 weeks after we moved. It was a lonely time, but also a time to bond with family and explore California parks without huge crowds. Once the restrictions were lifted, we had to form a new community and did that through various organizations, such as Cub Scouts. I saw the Ursa Major, or the Great Bear for the first time hiking at Joshua Tree National Park, with our pack. I wondered what other animals, or constellations surrounded The Great Bear, and why we couldn’t always see them. I also get ideas from spending time with my kids. They love animals and have lots of questions that we will go home and research. Then I wonder if there is a picture book about whatever we are talking about. For example, we were listening to a bird singing and my daughter mentioned that it sounded a lot like a car alarm. This sparked the idea for my picture book dummy, I Know That Sound.  3 &#8211; What part of the process, from the first draft to submissions, do you find the most challenging, and how do you overcome that? The most challenging part for me is coming up with a good idea. I overcome that by attending my critique groups. We build each other up and share ideas on how to improve upon our stories. Sometimes I will share a manuscript that I think is an ok idea. After meeting with my critique group, I usually feel inspired to keep going and develop the idea to make the writing stronger. 4 &#8211; Who are your favorite children’s authors and illustrators that have inspired your work? This is a hard questions because there are so many! To narrow it down, I’m inspired by author Molly Beth Griffin, illustrator Maribel LeChuga, author-illustrator Deborah Marcero, author Kate Messner, illustrator Silas Neal, illustrator Cindy Derby, illustrator Julie Morstad, The Fan Brothers and author-illustrator Brendan Wenzel. 5 &#8211; What advice would you like to give aspiring kidlit creators looking to grow their writing? I’ve taken several writing workshops. My favorite workshop was for author-illustrators in person at the Highlights Foundation in Pennsylvania. It was led by Anna Raff, James Ransome. Jerry Pinkney and Lucy Ruth Cummins gave presentations as well. I learned so much and made several connections with other creatives. I definitely recommend workshops in person to hone your craft. Also, join a critique group to help hold you accountable.  6 &#8211; What&#8217;s next for you as a creator? On June 30, my book Santiago and Great Bear releases so I’m currently working on promo materials and common core standard sheets that I can present to schools. I’m also working on 2 dummies that are in the works. 7 &#8211; Are there any particular resources you’ve used or nurtured often that helped you grow as a creator? As I mentioned previously, the Highlight’s Foundation is a great resource and they have online classes as well. SCBWI has allowed me to make wonderful connections and friendships through our local chapter.  8 &#8211; LISA&#8217;S FAVORITES: Favorite flower: The California Poppy Favorite season: Fall Favorite cozy drink white creating: Caramel Vanilla Coffee Favorite creative tool: iPad/Procreate Favorite hobby outside of writing or illustrating: Playing bass and singing with my band, The Belmond Shorebirds 9 &#8211; How do you stay motivated during creative dry spells? I plan outings with my author-illustrator friends. We usually grab coffee or visit indie bookstores or art galleries.  10 &#8211; What’s one piece of advice that you would give a younger version of yourself who just started on the journey to grow their writing? Don’t pair yourself with an author/illustrator and then submit it to agents and/or publishers.&#160; Professionals in the industry do not want to see a fully finished dummy. A dummy is a mock up book of your manuscript with illustrations. The illustrations are usually black and white sketches, with 2-3 color samples. However, kid lit industry professionals want to know that they will be able to add to your vision. If you share a complete dummy, with both an author and illustrator, they don’t see where they come in. They want to be able to find the illustrator for you, and art direct the illustrations. When I was first starting out, my friend and I made a book together. She wrote the story and I illustrated it. We decided that we would go to LA for the National SCBWI conference. This was a couple years before my family moved to Los Angeles. We learned so much from that conference, including the fact that publishers do not want to see a fully developed dummy.&#160; ]]></description>
		
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