A little of our story
Welcome
If you love thought-provoking, heart-felt and surprising stories with plenty of twists and turns and characters that stay with you long after the last page is read, then you’ve come to the right place.
Discover gripping and moving fantasy novels for adults and mature young adults, books with plenty of heart and a little bit of bite. They are the kind of books that rapidly get their hooks into you and don’t let go until the very end.
Read generous samples online at your leisure. Then when you’re ready, purchase a copy (ebook or paperback) at Amazon. From time to time, the books will be available for sale from this website too as a downloadable ebook. If you’ve got more questions, try the Book FAQs.
We consider these books “our” books, not Lisa’s books, even though her name is the one on the cover. Lisa does the writing and the bulk of the editing, and she sets the direction for the project. Naomi is the all-important test reader, the cover designer and the creator of the interiors. She is also the indispensable technical guru, financial guru, the web designer and so much more. Every book that is published, even when they were eventually published by a traditional publisher, requires both of us in equal measure.
Our books, our original product, are produced under the name The Lonely Creative Imprint (TLC), hence the name of the website.
We are also an artist and graphic designer and co-creators of WILLOW LANE NOTEBOOKS. We began with beautiful, quality A5 hardback notebooks with original hand-painted or hand-drawn art and patterns and original graphic designs. We’ve now expanded into softcover notebooks and a whole range of other products (more on that below.)
We are passionate about notebooks, especially beautiful ones. We’re often sending each other some for birthdays and Christmas. We see whole worlds of possibilities in each book and believe they are doorways to unlimited potential. Anything can happen in a notebook: remembering, healing, creating, thinking, awakening, learning, inspiring and so much more. Whole new ventures of life can begin in a notebook.
Willow Lane is the place where our art and design meet.
You’ll find our notebooks in our SHOP and on Amazon. They ship to just about anywhere in the world.
Our goal is to inspire the world one notebook at a time. Come join us in this small revolution.
See our Willow Lane shop for notebooks and more.
Six of our notebooks are also available through Amazon in some countries. (Do a search for Willow Lane notebooks.)
As part of Willow Lane*, you will also find a surprising variety of cards, gifts, stationery and some art prints for sale through this site. Go to our shop page.
Some of the cards are based on our Willow Lane notebook covers. Some are ways to buy some of Lisa’s art and photography, and some have some of Naomi’s unique digital art on them. We offer worldwide shipping.
Our aim is to keep growing the range into a diverse and delightful collection. Take your time looking. We recommend a time when you can go slowly, maybe with your favourite hot drink in hand. We want it to be like a journey through inspiration and ideas, beauty and joy: a treasure trove of art & possibilities.
*Registered as Willow Lane Art & Design.
We now do colouring books in our 5-Minute Colouring Book Series. Like all our products, this is a true collaboration of both of us, the secret of Willow Lane’s success. And while you’re here, why not check out what others have coloured in our Colouring Gallery.
To see a sampling of Lisa’s art, click on the Art Gallery link at the top of the screen. Some of the art will eventually be used for Willow Lane notebooks. Some will go to other purposes or just remain in her private collection.
Her art ranges from bright happy folk art in gouache all the way through to moody watercolours.
She originally took up art as a way to express herself at a time when words just would not come. It remains her foundation for choosing what to paint. All of her art represents something to her, even if it’s as simple as her sheer love of bright autumn colours against a deep grey sky.
Although Lisa took photography seriously a few years ago and was commissioned to do a few photo shoots, it is mostly a hobby now. She uses it as a way to encourage herself to really see the world around her and to be present in the moment. If not for her camera, she says, she would be floating through life dreaming of other things such as what story she might write next, or what the future might hold. She finds so much more joy in the moment when she has a camera with her.
Naomi really encouraged Lisa to do something with her photos. Lisa started to work with Naomi, collecting and taking photos for Naomi’s graphic design clients. Thus began the stock photos collection: photos for websites, blogs etc. Several years ago, we started posting the surplus on a Tumblr site for others to use for free. It took off and was picked up and linked all around the world. We lost count at 60,000 downloads several years ago. We don’t know what it would be now.
We still add to it from time to time, and we haven’t even scratched the surface of Lisa’s collection. And coming in 2023, we are looking into doing some prints and gifts using a selection of the photos.
To see a sampling of free photos and for some exclusives that we haven’t posted on the Tumblr page, click on the Free Photos link at the top of the page. You will find the link to the Tumblr page there.
We now also produce a range of photography prints and cards. Go to our Willow Lane Shop to see our small but growing collection.
Go behind the scenes of our books, art, products, photography, writing and, well, life. It hasn’t always been easy, but the future is bright.
And while you’re there, consider subscribing. You’ll get subscriber-only news and notifications of new posts and occasional freebies.
GO BEHIND THE SCENES WITH US. WE’D LOVE TO MEET YOU THERE.
