Author Show Guest Spot!

Don McCauley, host of The Author Show: Well, tell us a little bit about yourself, please.

Janice Nissen: Yeah, so I am a first-time author who had a pretty long career in the biopharmaceutical industry. Retired, became a grandparent, and invested a lot of time in golf, which prompted me to write a children’s book about a lost golf ball.

Don McCauley: Tell us about your book.

Janice Nissen: Yeah, first of all, this is a book that will actually teach children about the game in a very fun and whimsical way.

Lizbeth is a brand-new golf ball that’s purchased by junior golfer Jojo, and the two set out to play on the course. And along the way, they meet Delilah Driver, Fairway Freddy, Rachel Rake, just to name a few of the characters, and they teach her about the game of golf.

All is going well until Lizbeth accidentally falls into a pond and is crushed because she lost her contact with Jojo.

But despite this turn of events, Lizbeth is helped by new friends in the pond: Teddy, a lost golf ball who loves living in the pond, and his sidekick Genji Gator, and they teach her how to hold onto hope.

And ultimately, with their support, she returns to Jojo and her golf course friends. She’s a bit wiser, much happier.

And there are some great themes in the book around the power of friendship, adventure, optimism, curiosity, and these are really good, important lessons for kids.

Don McCauley: Now, who did you write your book for specifically? Who’s your target audience here?

Janice Nissen: Yeah. Lizbeth is aimed for children three to eight. It’s an early reader book.

It’s really designed to be shared by parents and grandparents who love the game of golf. The book was really written to spark children’s interest in the sport.

It’s a game they can play their entire lives, and one in which they benefit from the self-development associated with it. You’re always working to get better at it, and you forge many deep friendships with others and within your own family.

Don McCauley: So could you say there’s any type of central message or perhaps underlying theme that you would say runs throughout your book?

Janice Nissen: Yes. It’s really about how to overcome adversity through having hope, perseverance, and importantly, the support of friendships.

Don McCauley: So, if you had to choose, what would you say is the single most important idea you’re sharing in your book?  It’s really going to add value to the reader’s life.

Janice Nissen: Yeah. What I’m excited about is that by introducing children to the game of golf through this book, they’re gonna not only develop interest, but they’re gonna go on, importantly, to have the right attitude about a game that’s not just about winning, but it’s about improvement over time and the benefits of learning through new experiences.

Don McCauley: So, if you were asked to compare your book with any book out there we might already be familiar with, which book would it be and why?

Janice Nissen: You know, I compare Lizbeth the Little Lost Golf Ball to The Magic School Bus. Now, although Lizbeth is a single book and The Magic School Bus is a series, they both share a storytelling approach that serves as a great platform for teaching children.

The Magic School Bus teaches children about science, while Lizbeth the Little Lost Golf Ball teaches children about the game of golf, the course, the rules, and really the spirit of the game.

They both teach through a fun and whimsical approach. They create a safe environment for making mistakes and navigating adversity, and they’re both focused on the same age range of three to eight years old.

Don McCauley: Cn you tell us about some of the characters in the book?

Janice Nissen: There are many characters. Each of the golf clubs used in the game is an animated character: Delilah Driver, Fairway Freddy, Putter Pete, Claude Cup.

Each of them teaches her, as I said earlier, about the game.

There are some that are mischievous, such as Claude Cup. He teases Lizbeth about which direction to go when she’s on the green. Go left, go right.

Teddy’s another lost golf ball who loves being lost, which explains his disguise with mud and algae in the pond. And he really helps Lizbeth keep her hope alive when she is lost.

And then finally, there’s Bully Ball. He’s a bully at first, but ultimately, he helps Lizbeth in her time of need.

Don McCauley: Was there anything from your own life you put into these characters?

Janice Nissen: Like many people, I really like to learn new things and take on new challenges, and that was really the hallmark of a working career and the reason I went back to school for additional degrees, well past middle age, and why I really like to travel internationally.

There are some attributes of Lizbeth that many people can relate to. She’s curious. She persists, and she likes to learn from others, and that’s all drawn from my own life and probably from others out there, in their own backgrounds.

Don McCauley: So, was there a character or scene, perhaps, that you could say is your favorite?

Janice Nissen: Yes. My favorite scene is when Lizbeth has now been rescued from the pond, and she asks Billy Ball, the antagonist in the story, if he would help her rise to the top of the lost ball pile so that she could be seen and rescued by junior golfer Jojo.

Billy Ball, who started out taunting Lizbeth, now lends a really valuable helping hand with an important lesson for children: sometimes a person’s exterior can be intimidating, but there really is often a big heart that wants to help.

Don McCauley: What prompted you to write this book?

Janice Nissen: Well, I am a golfer myself, and I play at a course that’s pretty challenging, which means I have lost many golf balls and hazards, and it made me wonder whether golf balls have a story to be told about, like where they’ve been, what they experienced.

I also had just become a grandmother and was reading many children’s books, and it really stuck with me that this could be a good idea for a children’s book.

Don McCauley: What are the key lessons for children in this book?

Janice Nissen: Well, as I mentioned earlier, there are many about the power of friendships and managing through adversity, but it’s also about practice, and it’s about patience and persevering.

Don McCauley: How are you able to animate these inanimate objects to help children learn about the game of golf?

Janice Nissen: As you can imagine, writing a book to educate children about the game of golf could be quite boring. So I wanted to find a fun way to provide instruction by having Lizbeth learn about golf through interactions with the many characters on the course: various golf clubs, a flag, a rake for the sand, and even an alligator. I created biographies for each of these characters and considered what they might look like, their personality characteristics, and much more.

And our illustrator, James Koenig, really did a great job, beautifully animating the characters to create that kind of fun and whimsical way for children to enhance their knowledge about the sport of golf.

Don McCauley: Do you think this book will inspire children to have an interest in golf?

Janice Nissen: The story really sparks interest in golf by making it feel like an adventure rather than a lesson.

Lizbeth is that bright pink golf ball that wakes up in the pro shop. She gets chosen by junior golfer Jojo and then rolls into a new world where everything on the course has a personality, from Putter Pete to Frida Flag to Claude Cup.

As Lizbeth learns what putters, flags, cups, and fairways are, kids are now absorbing the golf basics through her eyes instead of through instruction.

Even her mishap of landing in a pond turns into a chance to meet Teddy and Genji Gator and shows her that lost golf balls can still have fun and find their way back.

And it really mirrors how beginners will hit bad shots, but know that they can keep going.

So, great themes of resilience, curiosity, and teamwork that really connect golf to feelings kids already care about, like friendship and bravery, and make the sport very meaningful and not just technical.

Don McCauley: Now, there are other children’s books on golf, of course. How is this one different or unique?

Janice Nissen: Yeah. Unlike typical golf stories that focus on a human child golfer and learning swings or etiquette, this book follows Lizbeth, the bright, pink, curious golf ball, as she experiences the course from a ball’s perspective and allows her to meet the quirky golf equipment –– characters like Putter Pete and Delilah Driver, Frida Flag, Claude Cup, and even Genji Gator near a pond.

It gives a really fresh viewpoint that turns the familiar course hazards of ponds and sand into whimsical adventures and makes golf relatable and even magical for preschoolers and others.

Don McCauley: Now, Lizbeth is a girl, of course. Do you think this book will also appeal to boys?

Janice Nissen: The book will appeal to boys because it is centered on adventure, action, and skill-building. It’s not just cute moments.

And Lizbeth’s journey includes being selected by a junior golfer, Jojo, taking real shots of the course, and dealing with challenges such as, you know, getting lost and ending up in the water.

And these are experiences that boys can find exciting and relatable, as well as all of the other, you know, characters: Putter, Pete, Genji, Gator, and, you know, it really adds a sense of humor and a sense of play that can really draw in boys who enjoy sports competition and even silly sidekicks.

So it’s a great focus on courage, perseverance after mistakes, and trying again after a bad shot. And that really mirrors a lot of themes that are common in boys’ sports stories.

So it’ll make golf feel like fun and an active game that I think boys can see themselves playing as well as girls.

Don McCauley: Do you plan on writing more books?

Janice Nissen: Well, I think there could be more adventures for Lizbeth, especially when you consider that golf is a huge global sport.

 There are some opportunities for her to travel to golf courses all over the world and, along the way, learn about other cultures.

Don McCauley: Why do you like golf? What does it do for you?

Janice Nissen: There are a lot of things that I enjoy, but first, I love that it gets you outdoors. I like that it’s physical.

I often walk the course, so I get a good workout in walking over seven miles.

And I like the friendships that it’s prompted with both men and women. It’s a hobby I share with my husband.

We can play even as we age, and I love that we’re always working to improve our game.

And so, like many others who are lifelong learners and appreciate it, there’s always an aspect of your game to improve, and I’m really eager to share the game with my grandkids.

Don McCauley: Now, did your environment or upbringing perhaps play any major role in your writing?

Janice Nissen: I grew up with a really idyllic childhood, close family, friends, parents who were loving and supportive of whatever, you know, interest or path that I wanted to pursue. I’d like to think that the parents and friends portrayed in this book are really products of my upbringing.

Don McCauley: What can you tell us about this genre and why you decided to write in this genre?

Janice Nissen: You know, I’m fascinated by children’s books. Knowing that childhood is where so many important personal values are cultivated, I’m really intrigued by the ability to weave an important life lesson into a story that really captures a child’s imagination.

Don McCauley: What’s been your most rewarding experience since publishing your book?

Janice Nissen: One of the most rewarding experiences I had was when I volunteered at a First Tee event.

Now, First Tee is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the benefits of golf for young people. Their intention is to build character and values and help kids make healthy choices.

So at the event, I was able to read my book to over 60 young girls, discuss its lessons with them, and finally see them enjoy playing golf at an indoor facility.

Don McCauley: So, in your opinion, who should buy your book?

Janice Nissen: Well, parents and grandparents who love the game of golf. And by the way, in the US, that’s over 40 million people.

This book provides a fun and educational way to learn about the sport.

And, you know, with so much concern about the amount of time children today are spending online with their devices, I’d like to think we can use this book to get kids off the screens and onto the greens.