Lisa Cerasoli left her hometown of Iron Mountain in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan upon graduating from its one and only school – Iron Mountain High. Michigan State University was her first stop. She tested into Lyman Briggs School of Science, majoring in pre-med. That dream quickly deflated when she realized she’s a complete hypochondriac, and the last thing she needed was to feed her neurosis by being around “sick people” all day.

Feeling lost, she fled to Arizona for spring break…and didn’t get back on the plane to return home. Instead, she applied to Arizona State University. Four years and a few beers later, Lisa got a very practical theater degree and transported herself by way of a Honda Accord (that would be stolen twice by year’s end) to the City of Angels.

L.A. was pretty good to the girl. She booked her first series, Acapulco Bay, within nine months. After that she spent two-plus years as a series regular on General Hospital, playing the quirky role of “V.” She then booked a string of guest star roles, including Oh, Grow Up, Diagnosis Murder, Pensacola Wings of Gold, two recurring roles on The Pretender as “Zoe” and Boomtown.

In the fall of 2002, Lisa and her manager, Sandra Siegal, met with Ken Atchity of Atchity Entertainment, International regarding her screenplay, On the Brink of Bliss and Insanity. Ken thought it sounded like a novel, so she went home and blew out three chapters. That’s when she fell (for certain and truly) in love with writing.

A few weeks later, Lisa’s father was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer. She packed a bag, headed back to Iron Mountain and cared for her dad until his death in July 2003, while completing the novel. Two months later, she married a high school friend, Peter Weaver, who has an amazing son, Brock, 14. Together, they have the lively Jazzlyn Jo, 3, and Lisa has been writing like a damn fool ever since. Grandma also lives with them. She’s 87 and has progressive dementia.

Lisa admits, “Mostly, she’s a progressive riot (when she’s not an utter safety hazard).”