Writer · Lake Tahoe

Lisa
Kirkman

Fiction at the edge of what families
don't say out loud.

Current Work

Black Cat Walks in the Moonlight

When the Barrett family's black cat vanishes into the mountains surrounding Lake Tahoe, her absence becomes a reckoning. What begins as a search for a lost pet unfolds into a confrontation with grief, love, and the thin border between the physical and the unseen.

Upmarket Literary Fiction  ·  96,000 words
Family drama  ·  Lyrical realism
Black Cat Walks in the Moonlight — cover
01

About

The writer

I'm a Lake Tahoe–based writer working at the intersection of literary fiction, family drama, and the quiet weight of unspoken grief. My work explores what happens inside families when the thing they love most — or fear most — goes missing.

Before fiction, I spent years in media, marketing, radio, and podcasting — work that taught me how stories hold audiences, and what makes a voice worth listening to. I seek representation from agents who value literary rigor, careful editorial conversation, and thoughtful positioning.

ACES Anthology Tahoe Writers Workshop Pacific Northwest Writers Association Zephyr Cove, NV
Lisa Kirkman
02

Short Work

Stories & Essays

Alongside the novel, I write short fiction exploring family systems, grief, and the strange logic of the ordinary. My short work has appeared in the ACES Anthology and continues to find its way into the world.

Short Story · Published
Infinity Necklace

Published in the 2024 ACES Anthology. A story about the power of objects we give each other and the weight they carry long after the giving.

Short Story
A Gift for My Friend

A story of generosity, obligation, and how generosity can become both a weapon and a shield. Currently in submission.

Short Story
Terminological Inexactitude

On the careful, considered art of not quite lying — and the power words can take on. Currently in submission.

Short Story
A Christmas Guest

The social rituals can sometimes help us suspend scrutiny to find the connections we need. Currently in submission.

Excerpt · Published
Black Cat: Rebecca's Ordeal

Published in the 2023 ACES Anthology. An early window into a key event that positioned the Barrett family for failure once the cat disappears.

Get in touch

Contact

I'm currently seeking representation for Black Cat Walks in the Moonlight and am always glad to hear from editors, readers, and fellow writers. Additional novels are in development.

"The animal's quiet consciousness is a mirror and catalyst, revealing the subterranean griefs and distorted truths shaping the Barrett family's inner lives."
From the query letter — Black Cat Walks in the Moonlight