Library/Media Specialist Lisa Luciano Publishes The Chosen Ones

Plot Twist…..Heartbreak……Rejection…..Loss……Redemption…..Gumption……Intrigue…..Elation.

These are themes LMK’s Library/Media Specialist Lisa Luciano knows all too well. Ms. Luciano published a fictional work drawing from her vast knowledge of the figure skating world last year called The Chosen Ones. But it is her non-fiction work, the work of her own life that is an equally compelling read.

The Chosen Ones (suitable for ages 13 and up) is a murder mystery set in the world of male figure skating. The main character is a disgraced reporter by the name of Brody Yates. His former boss, a man named Sam Jacobs, asks him to investigate a potential deadly on a well-known male figure skater during the upcoming Olympics. Yates’ former boss asks Brody to help find the perpetrator by masquerading as a trainer for the Olympic figure skating team.

Ms. Luciano has drawn on her own personal experience of writing editorials for The New York Times sports section during the infamous Tonya Harding/ Nancy Kerrigan era. Ms. Luciano’s focus in her editorial writing was on the corruption in the sport and the fallacy of the “amateur” figure skating athlete.

As interest in the sport of figure skating began to wane after the 1994 Olympics, she began to refocus her energies on her own “next act”. As a child she was a voracious reader, and a high school teacher encouraged her to not only read great works of literature but to begin developing her own stories.

“I thought if it feels this good to read a book, I wondered what it would feel like to write a book,” said Ms. Luciano.

Ms. Luciano’s path to publication is as dramatic as the story itself. She began writing The Chosen Ones in 1995 and sent a few chapters to dozens of literary agents. Only one, Jay S. Garon, responded. Mr. Garon had similarly discovered another unknown author by the name of John Grisham and much like he had done with Mr. Grisham’s earliest works, he began championing Ms. Luciano’s book. He sent a copy to a famous 1990’s male figure skater who is thought to be the inspiration for the character in Ms. Luciano’s fictional book. This individual was so taken with the story that he wanted to know more about Lisa Luciano “The Author” because as he put it “only someone involved in this sport could know this much about the sport.”

A few weeks before the launch of The Chosen Ones in the summer of 1995, Mr. Garon died of a stroke at the age of 71. Another literary agent in Mr. Garon’s company was assigned to Ms. Luciano but didn’t have the same passion for the book and it was put on a shelf. It wasn’t until decades later that Ms. Luciano decided to try self-publishing through Independent Publishers. She began the same route as before and through a stroke of fate, a literary agent named Deborah Herman found the book and began working with Ms. Luciano to market the work.

Since publishing in 2017, Ms. Luciano has showcased her work at BookCon and BookExpo at the Javits Center in New York City and has won the Notable Indie 2018 award from Shelf Unbound.

She also held a public book signing this past summer at the Harrison Public Library where many LMK students were on hand to lend support. It has been reviewed by Kirkus Reviews and School Library Journal and has received a 5-star review from Reader’s Favorite website. Ms. Luciano will be featured in a contemporary authors book series and was also spotlighted on YABooksCentral.com.

As part of her marketing efforts, Ms. Luciano has created a website and a blog to discuss her works:

https://www.lisaswritingworld.... (My Writing Website)

https://whatitisblog.com/ (My Professional Blog)

She is also the author of a blog for the LMK Middle School Library:

https://lmkmediamaster.org/ (LMK Library Blog)

Ms. Luciano holds an undergraduate degree in Journalism and Media from Fordham University and a Masters and teaching certification in Secondary English Education from Iona College. For 14 years, Ms. Luciano was in charge of the TV studio at an all-Girls Catholic high school. When that school closed, she moved to the Harrison Central School District where she ran the LMK TV studio.

“When LMK had the TV studio, I wrote, produced, and directed a news magazine show that aired on cable TV which won an award for excellence in educational programming. We hosted interviews with guests such as Jeanine Pirro and Elie Wiesel. Also several 8th graders approached me and asked if they could do a political talk show. We taped it during lunch periods and it was eventually aired on cable outlets throughout the tri-state area.”

When the LMK TV studio ceased operation, Ms. Luciano began teaching Digital Literacy at LMK which has become Digital Design. She has since moved into the role of LMK Library/Media Specialist and has worked to re-categorize the 15,000 books in the middle school library using a system called Genrefication. She is looking to work with students to incorporate art shows and musical performances as well as many other programs into the library to make it a destination for the students at LMK.

In another plot twist, Ms. Luciano is the epitome of “Don’t Judge A Book By Its Cover.” She is also a 4th Degree Black Belt Master in Tae Kwon Do and has a Black Belt in Hapkido – a self-defense art. She has been doing Tae Kwon Do for thirteen years and teaching the martial arts for ten.

“I am deeply involved in martial arts because it trains not only the body to be strong, but the mind and spirit as well,” she said.

“For my entire life, I’ve found myself in professions that were traditionally thought to be exclusively for men – journalism, television production, and even martial arts. I hope that by sharing my experiences I can send the message to all my students, and especially young women, that if you pursue your passion, nothing can stop you from achieving your dreams.”