Lisa K. Richter is a writer based in southern California.

Her first book, Fly, My Darling, a story of music, personal awakening, and the resilient love between two women, is forthcoming April 2026 from She Writes Press.

She is the author of Searching for the Talisman, an online essay series rooted in memoir and inspired by the classic 1929 Italian cookbook, Il Talismano della Felicità. A contemplation of family, food, the senses, and language, it is forthcoming in print. (More on Lisa can be found there.)

Lisa studied classical piano, earned a BA in mathematics from the University of Virginia and an MFA from Antioch. A poetry alumna of The Community of Writers, her work has been featured in literary journals and anthologies. Following an early career as a computer programmer at IBM, she founded in 2002 Cosmic Thinkers, an innovative coding workshop series for young people which blended storytelling and analytical reasoning.

Lisa grew up on the east coast, lived years in Europe where her daughter and son were born, and now resides with her partner Paul in Laguna Beach, California.

To settle, to quiet, she wanders into her garden. Such wild abundance! Tomatoes, zucchini, Meyer lemons. Succulent, god-sweetened figs. She sits among them in awe and listens to them grow.