After thirteen years at an all-girls school in Memphis and a house full of sisters, Lisa Patton headed for co-ed life at the University of Alabama where she majored in Fun (and Communications) and double-minored in English and Theatre. Shortly after graduation she returned home to Memphis where she prioritized her passion for acting and music, landing a job as manager of the Historic Orpheum Theatre. Four years later she transitioned into rado promotions at WMC–FM 100, the landmark Memphis Adult Contemporary station. It was there she received  Billboard Magazine’s Promotion Director of the Year Award. 

            The birth of her two sons made it difficult to emcee nightly charity auctions and movie premieres so Lisa shifted to the NBC affiliate, WMC-TV Channel 5,  as their Promotion Director. Writing both radio and TV promo spots, character voice bits, and news promos made up a large part of both broadcasting positions. 

               A three-year stint as an innkeeper in Vermont added diversity to her deeply-southern roots and it was there Lisa got the inspiration for her bestselling debut novel, WHISTLIN’ DIXIE IN A NOR’EASTER. While she loved the Vermonters and considered snow skiing at her fingertips a dream come true, three sub-zero winters proved enough already. So she pointed her compass south again and sped back to Tennessee to thaw. Two years later she returned to the music industry and was hired by Michael McDonald, The Doobie Brother's front man and multi Grammy Award winning songwriter, as his right-hand person. She worked on multiple albums and video projects including the Grammy nominated, certified Platinum, MOTOWN. 

             A breast cancer thriver--as Robin Roberts would say--Lisa is now the bestselling author of four novels. WHISTLIN’ DIXIE IN A NOR’EASTER and YANKEE DOODLE DIXIE have been featured on the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) Bestseller List and in 2010 Lisa was selected by Target as an Emerging Author. SOUTHERN AS A SECOND LANGUAGE is the third and final book in what  Library Journal  calls, “The beloved Dixie series.” Lisa’s fourth novel, RUSH, was a summer 2018 Okra Pick from SIBA, as well as a SIBA bestseller. When asked about her biggest influences, Lisa credits three funny redheads: Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett and Fannie Flagg.

            Lisa is the proud mother of two sons, eight bonus children and eleven grandchildren. She and her husband live in the rolling hills of Nashville, Tennessee with their four-legged furry son named Handsome.