Book Birthday Blog with Lisa Richman

Welcome to SCBWI-MI's Book Birthday Blog! 

Where we celebrate new books by Michigan's children's book authors and illustrators

Congratulations to Lisa Richman on the release of her new book, Tavi Tails!

Congratulations on the release of your debut book, Tavi Tails! What inspired this heartwarming story?

I first shared Tavi’s short stories on his Facebook page. It was incredibly gratifying to see how he helps people smile, and think, and look at life from a unique perspective. This book is a chance to do that on a broader scale, and if ever there was a time the world could use more laughs and warm fuzzies, this is it. It has been especially rewarding to receive letters from teachers using this book to help students during this tough time in quarantine.

What inspired you to write this story from Tavi’s point of view? Were there any advantages or challenges to writing from Tavi’s perspective as a dog?

Tavi came home to us when he was seven weeks old. The day after we met him, we said, “What exactly do we have here?” He was so young, but already expressive and opinionated, both of which made it unusually easy to communicate with him.  I started writing for him within that first week.

The advantages to writing from Tavi’s perspective are huge. Looking at the world through the eyes of a dog allows us to understand our own point-of-view better. It is a bit like encountering another culture – it helps you realize things about your own culture you never noticed before. One of my favorite letters came from a teacher who works with autistic students. She wrote about how Tavi’s book helps her students learn about looking at life from different perspectives – a difficult skill. I think, in many ways, he does that for all his readers.

The biggest challenge to writing in Tavi’s voice is to not let my own voice and perspectives creep in. Often when I am proofreading or revising, I bump into a jarring spot and know I am no longer listening to the dog! 

Mental health and suicide can be both important and difficult topics to write about. What was your experience writing about them? Was there anything that helped you the most through the process?

While full of humor, the novel begins with me coming home from school one day, devastated because one of our students had committed suicide. Sadly, this was real, and not fiction, and the scene at the beginning of the book is basically what happened. Tavi could not understand, but he knew how upset I was, and I know he could feel the incredible loss and hole in my heart. That was the day we decided to share all he learned, in hopes that humans would always choose to stay.

At first, I avoided this catalyst for making Tavi’s stories a book. I simply started the tale with Tavi and his littermates. Then I realized that was wrong, and that if there is the tiniest hope that even one person chooses to stay because of the life lessons Tavi shares, I had to start with the honest beginning. It was a scary decision – what if I did it wrong? I am a teacher and a writer, not a mental health expert. No matter how scary, though, I owed the story that truth. I cannot put into words how grateful I am when I hear from readers about the positive difference Tavi has made in their lives, and that is what has helped me the most. 

I do think it is important for parents and educators to give students the opportunity to talk about this scene, as brief as it is. It is also why I list the book as young adult. I have heard from parents of younger kids who read the book and loved it, and all those parents offered support and discussion. 

Which writers and books are your biggest inspirations?

This list could go on and on, so I will pick two who greatly entertained, but also taught me valuable lessons, in writing and in life.

I love Robin Hobb - all her books are favorites, especially the Farseer tales. The worlds she creates are so real, I believe they actually exist somewhere. The strength, depth, and complexity of her characters help them capture my heart, or my loathing, as the case may be. Nighteyes, the wolf, will forever be my fictional soulmate.

Astrid Lindgren and Pippi Longstocking – Pippi was the first one to teach me it is cool to be yourself, even if you are a bit weird and unconventional, and Astrid Lindgren’s creativity is lasting proof that imagination cannot be fenced in.

Has your experience teaching impacted how or why you write, or who you write for?

While many teachers use their understanding of kids to write books that might appeal to them, as the only German teacher in our high school, I was in the unique position that I taught the same kids for four years. They walked into our classroom as awkward thirteen or fourteen year olds, looking to one another to figure out who they were, and left as young adults, increasingly confident in the person they were inside themselves. They are why I write. The laughs and lessons we shared will forever be part of who I am.

What’s something you hope your readers take away from Tavi Tails?

The last page of the book addresses this exact question, but there you see Tavi’s answers. For me, I hope for two things. The first one is that readers feel the strength of smiles and laughter, especially when shared. The second one is the knowledge that you cannot successfully be anyone other than yourself, and that is a good thing, because you are precious.

What’s next for you? Do you have any new ideas in the works? Where can readers lean more about you and your work?

I just finished a young adult fantasy book titled Tolemac – Through the Towers. It is the story of a teenage girl who discovers her dog is also a dragon. Underneath that, it is a story about wanting to belong, and learning that the price of belonging may not be worth it. 

While I look for that book’s home, I am beginning work on the second book in the series. Tolemac – The Two Trees, and I will always write for Tavi. 

Readers can stay in touch with both Tavi and me, and we love to hear from them!

Lisa: Facebook  Instagram  Website

Tavi: Facebook  Instagram

A little bit about the book:

Tavi Tails – The Diary of a Dog is a story told by an expressive and opinionated English Golden Retriever. While full of humor, the story begins on the saddest note. Tavi’s mom came home from school full of sorrow, because a student there committed suicide. He whined, confused and sad too. He loved all his minutes and seconds, and he could not understand why someone would choose to Leave Forever. He knew then that his job was to share everything he learned, hoping that no matter how sad they might be, humans will pick to stay. 

Along with his duck chasing Lab, his protective Collie, and their humans, Tavi delights in life’s adventures and faces its challenges - from Bad Guy Leash and the power of Butt Plop Wide Paw, to the courage it takes to be a Flying Duckdog, to the scary responsibility of teaching his Puppy. He learns that dogs can be Here, But Not Here, that humans can get lost, and that if he has his Pack, he has all he really needs.

While translating from puppy to English is not an exact science, this book reflects Tavi’s experiences in his own voice. Tavi Tails will touch hearts and funny bones, and will offer readers the chance to learn about, and laugh at, our world from a unique perspective.

A little bit about the author:

Lisa Richman lives in Northern Michigan with her husband Michael and their three dogs, Tavi, Molly, and Shosti Shostakovich. Lisa has a Master’s Degree in World Languages and taught high school German and English for 25 years. She loved her time working with teenagers, learning, laughing, and growing alongside them. Grateful for everything those kids taught her, and grateful for the chance to make a positive difference in the world, she is now turning to writing, in hopes she might continue learning and contributing. She considers it one of her life’s greatest honors that Tavi chose her to write his stories.