Executive Overview
For author Lisa Roe, the path to publishing her second novel, Big & Lily—slated for release by Harper Perennial on August 11, 2026—was a seven-year odyssey marked by persistence, personal introspection, and a healthy dose of the wild Alaskan wilderness. A former advertising creative director and copywriter turned fiction writer, Roe has built her literary career on examining the complex, often messy dynamics of human relationships.
In Big & Lily, Roe introduces readers to two codependent, vastly different sisters who accidentally sign up for a grueling Alaskan wilderness expedition. What follows is a transformative journey where getting profoundly lost in nature becomes the only way for the siblings to truly find themselves—and each other.
In this comprehensive interview and profile, Roe pulls back the curtain on the seven-year evolution of Big & Lily, the psychological underpinnings of birth-order theory that inspired the narrative, the realities of navigating the modern publishing industry, and the hard-won wisdom she offers to aspiring writers who face the daunting trials of querying and revision.
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Detailed Chronology: The Seven-Year Evolution of Big & Lily
The genesis of Big & Lily began years before the book secured its home with Harper Perennial. Like her characters, Roe found herself physically and emotionally out of her depth during a real-life trip to the Alaskan wilderness. Struck by the raw, humbling power of the landscape and the sharp contrast it created with her everyday life, the seed of a novel was planted.
Phase 1: Inception and the Drawer Draft
Shortly after returning from Alaska, Roe captured the initial inspiration by drafting roughly 50 pages of the manuscript. However, as is common in the fluid writing life, other creative projects took precedence. The fledgling manuscript was tucked away into a drawer, awaiting the right moment to mature.
Phase 2: The Deep Dive and Revision
When Roe finally returned to the project, she dedicated a solid year to drafting the complete manuscript. Working without a book contract or an imposed publishing deadline allowed her the luxury to "stew and simmer"—a phase she considers essential to her creative process.
As the narrative developed, the core premise—two sisters venturing to Alaska, getting in over their heads, and undergoing personal transformation—remained constant. However, Roe systematically ratcheted up the dramatic tension with each subsequent revision. The challenges, obstacles, and perils facing the sisters grew increasingly severe, sharpening the psychological stakes of the journey.
Phase 3: Finding the Dream Team
Upon completing the manuscript, Roe found herself between literary agents. This transitional period led her to Jessica Berg of Rosecliff Literary, whom Roe describes as her "dream agent." Berg applied her sharp developmental editing expertise to help tighten the story’s pacing and emotional arc.
Once polished, the manuscript moved swiftly through the industry pipelines. Within a mere four weeks, Berg sold the book to Harper Perennial, securing what Roe views as her dream publisher. When calculating the timeline from its initial conception to its upcoming appearance on bookstore shelves in August 2026, Roe notes with a touch of wonder: "Conception to bookstore shelf? Wow, I’m just now doing the math… seven years!"
Supporting Context & Metrics: Birth-Order Theory and the Writer’s Journey
To truly understand Big & Lily, one must examine the psychological framework that anchors its primary protagonist. Roe’s fascination with birth-order theory directly informed the creation of Big, an eldest sister modeled closely on Roe’s own lived experience as a firstborn.
The Psychology of the Firstborn
As a self-described classic firstborn, Roe experiences the world through a specific lens: organized, goal-oriented, reliable, in-charge, and burdened with a delicate mix of perfectionism and anxiety. This psychological profile raises timeless questions that Roe explores through fiction:
- Are these behavioral traits a product of nature or nurture?
- Was she inherently born to "mother hen" her younger siblings, or was the role assigned to her by family dynamics?
- Can an individual fundamentally reinvent themselves later in life, or are birth-order attributes permanently etched into one’s DNA?
By tracing Big’s grueling physical and emotional journey in the Alaskan wild, Roe found a narrative vehicle to test these boundaries, forcing her protagonist to confront whether her assigned family label serves her or hinders her survival.
Quantifying the Literary Hustle
Roe’s path to publishing success is also defined by staggering statistics that highlight the resilience required in modern general and women’s fiction:
- Total Novels Written: 7
- Novels Successfully Sold: 2 (including her debut, Welcome to the Neighborhood, and her upcoming Big & Lily).
- Agent Rejections: Nearly 300 querying rejections over her career.
- Dead Projects: Multiple manuscripts that "died on submission."
These metrics underscore a vital truth of the literary marketplace: commercial success is rarely an overnight phenomenon, but rather the cumulative result of stubborn persistence.
Official Statements & Insights from Lisa Roe
In her reflections on the writing and publishing processes, Roe offers candid insights into the emotional duality of being an author—balancing the isolated, quiet sanctuary of creation with the public demands of marketing a book.
The Contrast Between Writing and Publishing
Reflecting on the surprises of the publishing industry, Roe contrasts the solitary nature of drafting with the public-facing reality of a published author:
"While I’ve been through this process with my debut, the difference between writing and publishing still surprises me. Wearing my writer hat, I am often working on a project alone, at home in pajama bottoms, hair in a messy bun, making up stories and talking almost exclusively to my characters. As a published author, I must break that fourth wall. I’m out in the world and sometimes that’s a shock to an introvert’s system."
Despite the inherent discomfort for an introvert stepping into the public eye, Roe expresses profound gratitude for the warm reception from readers, interviewers, and industry peers. She humorously notes that while interacting with supporters is a joy, the daily wardrobe adjustment—swapping comfortable sweatpants and leggings for put-together, author-appropriate attire—remains a genuine challenge.
Discovering Character Voices
When asked about unexpected developments during the writing process, Roe expressed pleasant surprise at how effortlessly the characters of Bridget ("Big") and Lily materialized on the page. Drawing upon her own perspective as an eldest daughter, she naturally tapped into the complex emotional cocktail of loving a sibling through a crisis while simultaneously finding their behavior exasperating.
Core Message to Readers
Ultimately, Roe hopes that readers walking away from Big & Lily absorb a liberating message about personal identity and self-perception:
"As they watch these sisters find themselves and each other, I hope my readers learn that you don’t have to wear the labels you were given (or you assigned to yourself) forever. You can rip them off the back of your collar if they scratch at you. The narratives we live with can be rewritten."
Future Outlook: Advice for Aspiring Writers and What Lies Ahead
With Big & Lily scheduled for release on August 11, 2026, through Harper Perennial, Roe looks forward to sharing her latest work with a broader audience of general fiction and women’s fiction readers. However, her most enduring contribution to the literary community may be her unyielding advice to fellow writers navigating the often brutal landscape of publishing.
The Mantra of Persistence
Drawing directly from her own experience of weathering hundreds of rejections and shelved manuscripts, Roe delivers a rallying cry to writers who feel overwhelmed by the industry:
"Fall down nine times, get up 10. This business is a lot. It’s wonderful and fulfilling and subjective and crowded and sometimes brutal. But don’t let any of that stop you. Write the next story, send the next query, keep revising. Build up your biceps and push that boulder up the hill, and don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t keep going. Be the person who when they talk about you, and they will, they’ll say, ‘Nevertheless, [they] persisted.’"
As the countdown to August 2026 continues, Lisa Roe stands as a testament to that exact mantra—proving that whether navigating the treacherous trails of the Alaskan wilderness or the competitive corridors of New York publishing, the key to survival is refusing to stop moving forward.
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