In addition to being a YA author, Lisa Nowak is a retired amateur stock car racer, an accomplished cat whisperer, and a professional smartass. She writes coming-of-age books about kids in hard luck situations who learn to appreciate their own value after finding mentors who love them for who they are. She enjoys dark chocolate and stout beer and constantly works toward employing wu wei in her life, all the while realizing that the struggle itself is an oxymoron.
Lisa has no spare time, but if she did she’d use it to tend to her expansive perennial garden, watch medical dramas, take long walks after dark, and teach her cats to play poker. For those of you who might be wondering, she is not, and has never been, a diaper-wearing astronaut. She lives in Milwaukie, Oregon, with her husband, several feline companions, and two giant sequoias.
Whip-smart and laser-focused, Piper’s never had a shred of doubt about her talent for medicine. She won’t let anything stop her from becoming a doctor. Not the bullies who’ve written her off as a nerdy know-it-all, not the death of her beloved father, and certainly not the secession that transformed her Pacific Northwest home into the nation of Cascadia.
But when her family disappears and she’s branded a criminal, Piper’s future is flatlined in a heartbeat. Driven into hiding, she learns that wealthy American climate refugees have been buying their way across Cascadia’s closed border. Even more sinister, someone is deporting the nation’s poor to make room for them.
If Piper is ever to see her family again, she’ll have to rally every scrap of her battered grit to decipher who’s behind the disappearances. But those responsible will stop at nothing to protect their secrets, and Piper’s only hope may be the very boy whose family displaced her own.
The McCall Initiative is a story told in serial form. If you’re a fan of edge-of-your-seat dystopian thrillers with a twist of romance, you’ll love Lisa Nowak’s glimpse at a future that’s all too plausible.
Though Piper’s finally on her way to rescue her family from FreedomCorp, she faces uncertainty about the future of her relationship with Logan, whose father is responsible for their deportation.
Piper and her friends have defeated Sarto, but as they prepare to infiltrate FreedomCorp, she realizes that regaining her family may mean leaving her friendship with the president behind. .
When veteran reporter Beth Bartlet receives an email from a source claiming “the scoop of the century,” she regards it with the skepticism it deserves. What she doesn’t expect is for that claim to lead to a story, or for the story to trigger the potential downfall of America’s most controversial president.
As the rebellion grows and its missions take a more desperate turn, Sarto’s bloodthirsty response demonstrates he’ll stop at nothing to quell the uprising. But with friction threatening to tear apart the core team, and President Cooper increasingly paralyzed by memories of torture and betrayal, Sarto’s counterstrikes might prove to be only the beginning of the rebels’ challenges.
With the fight against Sarto intensifying, Logan and Piper face the daunting task of convincing President Cooper to trust potential allies. Assistance comes from an unlikely source, but when the team receives shocking news, Piper is forced to make a choice that may cost the rebels every bit of the progress they’ve fought so long and hard for.
Piper and her friends have finally gotten to the bottom of the disappearances, but in the process they’ve uncovered a conspiracy far deeper than they ever imagined. Now it’s up to them to save the president’s life—and the future of Cascadia. But when things don’t go quite as planned, they’re faced with challenges that test them to the limits and push them into making a terrifying decision.
In 2063, the Pacific Northwest has seceded and closed its borders to keep out U.S. climate refugees. Piper is sure her brother’s stories about poor people vanishing are rumors—until she comes home to an empty house. Losing her future, her family, and her freedom, she must get to the bottom of the disappearances. But the only one who can help might be the boy whose family displaced her own.
After escaping the abuse of her alcoholic mom, Jess wants to enjoy being a normal teen. But when her past resurfaces, Jess’s reaction threatens her new life and the friendships she’s come to cherish.
The only kindness Alex ever knew was through Cole, his mentor. Now Cole's dead and Alex's grief is worse than the abuse from his meth-addict father. When Cole appears as a ghost, Alex clings to the link--until he learns Cole might've given up his chance to cross over. The only hope for either is if Alex can find the courage to get out. But after the last attempt, he's terrified of trying again.
When Jess gets a job working on a race car, the friendships and potential boyfriend that come with it threaten to reveal the secret she’s keeping about her alcoholic mom and land her in foster care.
When Cody’s father won’t grant permission for him to build a race car, Cody’s response threatens to destroy his relationship with the uncle who’s become his closest friend.
After suffering emotional abuse all his life, Cody gets busted for vandalism and sent to live with his laid-back, stock car racing uncle, who teaches him how to control his temper and accept himself.