Strong Women Squad x Eve's Chick Lit Reviews

In 2013, Lisa penned her debut novel, The Twelve Dates of Christmas. Four years and four books later, she kicked off her project Strong Women Squad – to celebrate, empower and inspire women. I am indeed lucky to be able to call her my friend and very proud to have her on my blog today! And today - I want to celebrate her. Welcome, Lisa!

Name

Lisa Dickenson

What do you do?

Author, Founder of Strong Women Squad, Manager, Dog Mum.

Why are you here on Eve’s Chick Lit Reviews?

Because I looooooooove Eve! But also because I want to share my new movement, Strong Women Squad, with you all. And I hope you’ll want to join me in celebrating and empowering the girls of the world, and YOU.

Latest life update.

My puppy dog is SO. DAMNED. BIG. And he is only 6 months old. He’s a Bernese Mountain Dog, and weighs 30kg and sits wherever he damned wants. I’m also finishing the edits on Book 5. And I booked a holiday to Disneyland Paris!

Share with us the last ten pictures on your Instagram and tell us more.

Okay, I’ll share 5 from my author page and 5 from my SWS page:

LisaWritesStuff:

On my author page I tend to share pics of my hometown by the sea, things that amuse me, friends and family, and a few reposts. There are also often references to the 90s (hence my joy at finding this tshirt, featured above!).

StrongWomenSquad:

I try to limit the amount of ‘me’ on this page, as I don’t want Strong Women Squad to be another ‘Lisa Dickenson’ author page. That said, I am beginning to think that if I try making it more personal it might attract more followers… hmm… I tend to post about the latest articles on the site, inspiring quotes, and recently I met Megan Jayne Crabbe, aka @bodyposipanda, who is a powerhouse in the body positivity movement. That’s her above, with the beautiful unicorn hair (which totally matches the SWS logo colours!)

Your fave photo of Kodi.

I love this one that was taken by my husband in the late summer. I smile at his smile, and it makes me feel at home as he’s on our local beach.

Next travel destination?

A mini-break to Disneyland Paris just before Christmas! I’ve been many times and I love it – it’s such a happy, relaxed holiday. Next year I’ll go on a bigger holiday but not sure where yet… maybe Japan, maybe Hawaii, maybe Costa Rica… depends where you guys want a book set, really!

Lisa Dickenson : 24 hours schedule

Okay, I’m going to start the clock at 6pm on a Thursday.

Thursday 6pm – finish my day job for the week. I work full time but over four long days with early starts, keeping Fridays as an author day.

Thursday eve – probably stuffing my face and watching TV, drinking a big glass of wine, finishing off any work I didn’t get to in the office. Feeling happy that Thursday eve isn’t a gym day!

Thursday night – sleep, woken up regularly by Kodi making sleep woofs.

Friday 7am – AUTHOR DAY! Which of course starts with procrastination, which is a key part to Authordom.

8am – Fine I’ll get up. Take Kodi-Bear for a walk with Husband Phil, who works from home.

9am – Brekkie. I always want to make something more fun when I’m at home, and my current fave breakfast is potato waffles topped with avocado and grilled tomatoes. DON’T KNOCK IT ‘TIL YOU’VE TRIED IT.

10am – Spend morning getting some posts prepped for Strong Women Squad, including the Friday Dance Parties and that day’s TED Talk.

12-2ish – Lunch. Didn’t I tell you I liked to procrastinate? I’ll also usually find a reason on Fridays to do some long-forgotten task like cleaning out my closet, just because.

Friday afternoon – Author stuff. This might be edits, planning a new book, planning some author stuff on social media or something I’ve been meaning to get to is try the Shonda Rhimes masterclass to try and better my writing.

5pm – Done! Take Kodi for another walk.

6pm – get that damned oven on because it’s my favourite part of the week – FRIDAY PIZZA TIME!!

What she actually came for…

Tell us about your latest project Strong Women Squad and what drew you to starting a page dedicated to feminism?

Strong Women Squad was born first through frustration of the treatment of women – and minorities – around the world, especially in the wake of Trump etc. But then the idea grew when I began to feel inspired by how much camaraderie between women was coming out of it. I felt empowered by these women, I felt able to do something myself, I felt like I wanted everyone to celebrate each other and not let the bastards get us down, and so I created SWS as a forum for people to do just that. As the Squad grows I hope to be able to dedicate more time to creating collaborative, inspiring content and get as many of you wonderful, diverse, awesome women involved as possible.

What does feminism mean to you?

It means getting to a place we really should be in by now, and not giving up even when the world seems to be going backwards. It means equal rights for everyone, no matter your gender, sexual orientation, abilities, size, colour, where you were born or what you’ve been through. It means standing up for each other and building each other up. It means I get to know you.

Name one book or a video on feminism that everyone should be aware of.

I’m not sure if this is quite the answer you were hoping for, but two TV shows that really good me shouting ‘YES, LADIES!’ this year were Big Little Lies and The Handmaid’s Tale. Both poignantly tackled women’s issues and hardships without glossing over them, but also managed to celebrate how strong we can be at the same time.

Things you would say to men who ask “What about us?”

I would say, sure! You can be a feminist too! 😊

In less than 12 words, feminism is….

Necessary, for everyone, nothing to be afraid of, everything to celebrate for.

Name the next person for this interview.

My Editor for four year at Little, Brown, Manpreet Grewal, who has just left to start a brand new high-powered job over at HQ!