Lena Gibson

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Tell us a little bit about yourself, your hobbies and interests.

I'm a happily married Canadian elementary school teacher. I'm an avid reader who writes daily, drinks a ton of tea, and enjoys long walks with my husband. I also have a black belt in karate, watch and rewatch my favorite movies and TV shows (including The Shawshank Redemption, everything Star Wars, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer).

When and why did you start writing books?

I started writing in the summer of 1998 when I ran out of new material from all of my favorite fantasy authors. It took me twenty years to write my first book, a 235K word, trope-filled portal fantasy that will never see the light of day. After I finished that one, I have written eleven more, usually finishing a draft every six months.

What made you decide to tackle writing as a career?

I've always been a storyteller, so writing seemed the next logical step. While it isn't my career, it's how I spend most of my non-working time.

Which one of your books or characters is your favourite?

My favorite books keep changing and I usually say my newest one. I think that is because it is the one on my mind the most, but also because my writing has improved over time. So, my favorite right now is Aftermath: Into the Unknown, a post-apocalyptic romance. My favorite character is probably Elizabeth from The Wish. She is most like me so while her story is made up, her character and some of her struggles resonate with me the most. My husband likes it best of all my published books so far. The odd reader/reviewer has mentioned they didn't like Elizabeth. They probably wouldn't like me either.

Which one of your books was the hardest to write and stretched you the most as a writer?

The Wish was also the hardest to write because it is the most different from my other stories. The main character is selectively mute and only speaks to her cat at the beginning of the book, so one of the challenges was to make sure she communicated with others without speaking. It is also the only book I've written in first-person and from a single point of view. I often prefer to write chapters from alternating points of view, or in the case of my Train Hoppers series, I have an ensemble cast with four or five points of view.

Who is your favourite author and book?

Choosing a single author as my favorite is impossible. I've been an avid reader for too long and have varied tastes. My favorite fantasy writers are V.E. Schwab and Guy Gavriel Kay. My long-time favorite fantasy book is Tigana by GGK and my long-time favorite science fiction is Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. My favorite romance authors are Penny Reid, Ali Hazelwood, Ashly Poston, and Emily Henry. My favorite historical fiction author is Susanna Kearsley. My favorite books to read aloud to my class are The One and Only Ivan, Holes, and Flora and Ulysses (I teach Fifth Grade). My favorite YA books are Eliza and Her Monsters and The Hunger Games. My favorite childhood books were Where the Red Fern Grows, the Little House series, and Anne of Green Gables. My latest favorite Indie books are the AJ Docker series by Gary Gerlachler, the Tyler Zahn series by Cam Torrens, and Finding Naomi by Diane Hawley Nagatomo.

What book are you reading right now?

I'm about to start The Champagne Letters by Kate McIntosh and I'm finishing Just For the Summer by Abby Jimenez. My current Indie read is Miranda Fights by Gail Ward Olmsted.

Where do you get your inspiration for your books?

My inspiration comes from bits of my life, collected family stories, other books I read, shows I watch, and snippets of the news. For example, my Train Hoppers series was inspired by my grandfather's train-hopping during the Great Depression, a children's book about scavenging for recycled items in a picture book called Ada's Violin, and reading about the Doomsday seed vaults.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

Reading, practicing karate, watching MotoGP races on repeat (motorcycle racing), and writing...since teaching is my day job. My main hobbies used to be crocheting, and cross-stitching, but now that I write, they are on the back-burner for now. When I retire, they may come back.

Do you have any new books in the works?

I always have new books in various stages. My newest, Aftermath: Into the Unknown, is being published in less than two weeks. I've just completed the final line edits for my publisher for the final installment of my Train Hoppers series, Rebels and Saints: Catching Freedom, which will be published in April 2025. I'm expecting to work on the line edits for my August 2025 release, the first book in a new sports romance series called Racing Towards Destiny (The series is Love on Track). I'm also working through suggested edits for The Right Time: Back to the '80s, a time travel women's fiction that is a spin-off from The Wish. It will be published in January 2026. I'm currently writing the end of the draft of Love on Track #2 and in the planning stage of Love and Survival #3, which will be published in July 2026.