A Brief Bio

Becoming a children’s author has been Vicky Lorencen’s lifelong dream. En route to achieving that, Vicky’s been a college writing instructor, a freelance journalist, and for more than 16 years, she’s worked in healthcare communications, writing about everything from allergies to Zika virus. Her first work of nonfiction made its debut in January 2025–THE BIG BOOK OF BARF: A Spewnami of Sick Science, Hurled History and Body Oddities–from Bright Matter/Random House Children’s Books. Vicky’s work for young readers has also appeared in Highlights for Children, Ladybug and Girls’ Life. She and her husband make their home in Michigan where Vicky runs a summer day camp for dust bunnies.

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And now, an intrusive, I mean, exclusive interview!

Interviewing authors and picking the creative brains of illustrators is a lot of fun for me. But just in case you’d like to know a bit about me, I’ve opted to interview myself. Mind you, it’s tough to get an exclusive interview with me, but I decided to bribe myself with licorice (and it worked!)

So, Vicky, let’s get right down to it. What makes you tick?

My intoxicating passion is writing, especially for children. I love to write for kids, not because I’m trying to recapture my childhood, but because I’ve never quite left it.

Somehow I believe that about you. Would you like more licorice?

You never have to ask.

Assuming you’ve secured gainful employment at some point in your life, what’s your professional background?

Aside from the usual summer jobs–working in a restaurant and a department store, and that brief stint as a caterer to a Norwegian lumberjack camp–I’ve worked as a magazine editor, freelance newspaper reporter, feature writer and copy writer, and college-level writing instructor. Since 2009, I’ve worked in healthcare communications and media relations for Henry Ford Health in Michigan.

Writing for kids and writing for a health system, that’s a stretch, isn’t it?

I wouldn’t have predicted an overlap, but oftentimes my job has involved writing about a complex subject like a new medical procedure or technology, like robot-assisted surgery. Thanks to my experience as a children’s writer, I know how to use simple language to make the explanation engaging and understandable for patients (and perhaps a little less scary).

Holding down a day job, do you ever have time to go to conferences or take classes?

Well, actually, I’ve had the privilege of participating in writing workshops through the Highlights Foundation and Vermont College of Fine Arts and enjoyed writing courses through the Institute of Children’s Literature and the UCLA Writing Extension Program. I love to keep learning and spending time with other children’s writers.

Speaking of children’s writers, you’re a member of SCBWI, right?

Of course. I’ve been an active member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators since 2002. Joining SCBWI was a real turning point for me. Our Michigan chapter is outstanding.

What’s your genre of choice?

Not that novels come easily to me, but I like the elbow room novel writing provides, allowing for more world-building, dialogue and exploration. My sense of humor (and maybe the age of my inner child!) seem to lend themselves to middle grade fiction.

However! [insert plot twist here] Once I discovered a way to bring my silly side to unusual non-fiction topics, I’ve found such joy writing in a new genre. The research can be one intriguing rabbit trail after another. My first nonfiction book, THE BIG BOOK OF BARF, hurled into the world in January 2025.

Do you have a literary agent?

Oh, my, yes. I am represented by my dream agent Erin Murphy with Aevitas Creative Management.

I’m almost out of licorice, so I’ll try to wrap this up soon. What are you working on right now?

My new passion–creative non-fiction–is keeping me busy writing new proposals. It’s SO much work, and SOO much fun!

When the time is “write,” I’ll return to revising on my third middle grade novel, CAST OFF. (My completed middle grade novels are SHRINK and SHORT.) I have a picture book percolating in my noggin’ too.

Do you believe in Big Foot?

Did “Sir Twinkle Toes” ask you to ask me that? Sheesh. He is so needy. Ask him if he believes in me.

Have you ever sat on a cactus?

Really? Okay, yes. Talk about a painful memory.

Is it true you talk to squirrels?

Um.

Is it?

Yes. But only in person. Never on the phone.

Thanks for the interview, Vicky. It wasn’t nearly as exasperating as I feared it would be.

Thanks, I think. Can I have that last piece of licorice now?