Interviews
National Wildlife Refuge
See page 21 of the National Wildlife Refuge Newsletter.Beacon-Villager
From the Beacon-Villager Please consider subscribing! Photo by Matthew Modoono/Staff Photographer 
By Meghan Kelly/Staff Writer
GateHouse News Service
Thu Jul 26, 2007, 12:43 PM EDT
Local author Lisa Nevin says the idea for her novel, "Into This Mind," came to her after a hike at the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge.
As she walked along the trail, she spotted an old, abandoned house with boarded-up windows. Curious, she climbed through an open window to investigate.
Nevin said that as she wandered through the house, she thought, "Who lived here before? What were they like?"
After her hike, the idea for a story stuck with her for days afterward, about a woman named Jena who explores an abandoned house and enters the mind of a murdered woman named May.
Nevin mentioned this idea to her friend Karen, who encouraged her to write the story. Karen read the book chapter by chapter, giving feedback.
"She was my audience," Nevin said. Karen also suggested that Nevin switch from using past tense to present tense in the book, as she found it more "engaging."
Diann Izzie, an artist and Nevin's sister, was inspired to paint a picture about the book after reading it. The picture, a young woman walking along a forest trail, became the design for the front and back covers of the book.
"Into This Mind" is Nevin's first published work, but she has been a prolific writer since the age of 12, when she first started writing short stories. She estimates that she has written about 650 poems.
Originally from Columbus, Ohio, Nevin and her husband moved to Maynard in 1998, attracted by its small-town feel. "It's a nice little community," she said.
Nevin works as a contractor at iRobot in Burlington. An outdoor sports enthusiast, she worked in her love of inline skating and skiing into her novel. Nevin is currently working on a sequel.
Meghan Kelly is available at 978-371-5758 or mkelly@cnc.com.
Pat Brody Cat Shelter