Rising Stars: Meet Lisa Blake and Nadine Rebrovic

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lisa Blake and Nadine Rebrovic.

Hi Lisa and Nadine, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I’m (Lisa) a freelance magazine writer and editor and I write a lot of copy for ski resorts. So, when COVID hit, business slowed waaay down for me and, like everyone else, we were home hanging out with our dog and spending more family time together. 

My five-year-old son Braxton and I were talking about how important pets are and how they’re a BIG part of so many families. We have a 12-year-old pug named Mojo and he goes everywhere with us — rafting, camping, road trips, he cruises around on the paddleboard — he’s the best. 

And I thought, “we should write a children’s book about loving your dog and sharing life with our pets.” My son came up with the name – How to Love Your Pug — and it just spiraled from there. 

I was on the hunt for an illustrator when I came across Nadine’s custom pet portraits on Instagram. She and I had worked together at a media company in Denver years ago. I reached out and we began working on our first children’s book together. 

Today, we’re wrapping up production on our second book, How to Love Your Rescue Pup, and have begun writing and illustrating the third book in the series, How to Love Your Golden! 

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
It has been fairly smooth. Nadine and I are so passionate about creating art that brings playfulness and joy to kids and we are huge dog lovers, so the projects come easily and flow naturally into the world. The only snags really have been increased printing and shipping costs and slowed down production times. 

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a travel/tourism/food writer by trade. And now a children’s book author. Nadine creates custom pet portraits using photos of clients’ pets and has added children’s book illustrator to her resume this past year! 

We are so proud of how well How to Love Your Pug has been received. The book is on shelves at Tattered Cover, Next Page Books, barnesandnoble.com, and a handful of other Colorado bookstores and toy stores. We host storytimes at bookstores, libraries, and play spaces, at parks and elementary schools — it’s so rewarding to see young readers light up and ask questions and to see how excited they get about their own dogs. 

In the book, we take our young readers along on a journey where we playfully explore dogs and their special nuances and quirks through the lens of a child. I think what sets this series apart from other children’s books is how we get down eye to eye on the same level with the kids in the way we speak/write and how we reach them on a personal level as a pet owner and caretaker. And our fun use of silly humor! Each breed of dog has its own special ways of expressing themselves and their own special sets of needs. It’s fun to play up a pug’s googly eyes and tendency to snore and sleep 16 hours a day. The kids get a kick out of it. And that’s the best part of creating these children’s books. 

Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Some of the things that have brought us — as a society — the MOST joy in the past year have been our pets, our kids… simple back-to-basics things like sitting down with a good book or reading to our children. 

It’s been a big year to remember how special that is. How important it is to have those quiet whole-hearted moments. 

We hope the “How to Love” children’s book series brings that connection to life. 

Contact Info:

• Email: lisablakecreative@gmail.com
• Website: https://www.howtoloveyourpet.com/
• Instagram: @howtoloveyourpug
• Facebook: @howtoloveyourpetchildrensbooks