Indie Author Spotlight

Each month we work indie author from our community to shine the spotlight on them and their work. We want to celebrate their achievements, give you insights into their process and expose our readers to some wildly talented folks you may not have heard of before. This month we're featuring Lisa Acerbo, Author of The Death and Coffee. Sit back, put the kettle on and get to know Lisa!

Hi Lisa, thanks for agreeing to an interview with us, and welcome to the cozy corner of Caffeine & Legends! Usually, I’d ask your favorite caffeinated drink, but with your book title, I think it’s obvious!  How do you like your coffee?

I am biologically hardwired for coffee. From the moment I wake, I think about it, but my two rescue dogs demand attention first. After I let Mia and Lego outside and give them copious treats, I stumble to the coffee maker. Even the smell wafting from the Keurig wakes me up and helps ignite my creativity. I write in the early morning before work, and strong coffee is my muse. This interview is fueled by 6 AM morning darkness and a mug of steamy goodness. My normal brew is with milk, but you can put any variation in front of me, sugared or flavored, Dunkin or Starbucks, and I’ll inhale it. 

Would you mind telling us a bit about yourself and your novel, Death and Coffee? 

A former high school English teacher, I taught for twenty-plus years before I moved into higher education administration. I started working on my MFA in 2018, and it took me six years to finish (only six 😂). It took the same amount of time to write Death and Coffee, which I completed as my thesis project. I like to describe the book as a sapphic witchy, reaper romantasy and a high-octane thrill ride through the centuries. It does have some serious moments, too. I lost my mother-in-law while writing the book and that had me considering the question of what, if anything, comes after life. 

How do romance and dark themes intersect in your work?

Someone recently asked me why my writing is so dark and where it comes from. It stopped me cold. I had no insight at the time, and I am sure I sounded rather silly when I stumbled through my answer. That brief interaction made me think deeply about the question for days. In life, we tend to get dinged up. Sometimes the dents are small, other times it takes a lot to buff out the scratches (if that is even possible). Those dents and scratches make us who we are. This might sound cliché, but I wouldn’t change my past, and it was tough at times. I was the weird kid and bullied at school. My father had a mental illness. I rebelled with some not-so-smart decisions and a lot of alcohol in college. That’s where the darkness comes from, but on the other end, my family and friends bring the goodness and light and show me how restorative love of all types is.  

What inspired you to write Death and Coffee? 

So many things. I read The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab and loved the way the author structured the story and how far it traveled in history. I’m also a huge fan of quirky characters and unusual historical happenings. I wondered what it would be like to be present at some of the best and worst events that shaped the world. Prudence, my main character, experiences the Great Lisbon earthquake of 1755 in Portugal and is in France for the Belle Époque. There are also small moments when she learns important lessons about what is valuable when you have infinity at your fingertips. Ultimately, it gave me a way to think about living, dying, and loving, and I hope the books start some conversations about those ideas.

What’s next for you? 

I’m beyond thrilled to announce that NineStar Press is releasing The Netherworld Witch this year. While it’s not part of Prudence’s series, they crossover. Pru appears in Mina’s story. I’m in the first round of edits now and excited for its release. Here is the blurb.

Mina Rubenstein has a secret. She doesn’t just sketch elves, her drawings transport her into the kingdom of Auralon. Once there, the princely Callon informs her that the king is gone, she is the Netherworld Witch, can create anything imaginable from the ethereal darkness, and is prophesied to rescue the missing monarch. Unable to refuse Callon’s plea to save his father, she must master her powers or put the entire kingdom at risk as they face ever-increasing dangers.

The only thing worse than her possible death at the hands of elves is junior year at St. Benedict’s Catholic School. Bullied and targeted, Mina’s best friend Ayden becomes her sanctuary when not in Auralon. In desperation, Ayden buys a weapon and considers revenge when the torment worsens. Trapped between two worlds, Mina searches for peace in both. One reality is filled with family, Ayden, and school. The other full of wild magic and Callon. As Mina’s existence at St. Benedict’s descends into pandemonium, she wonders if visiting Auralon is freedom or if her artistic imagination is a way to avoid the pain of high school.

Thanks for chatting with us, Lisa! Anything you’d like to say to our readers to close off?

I’d love to hear from you, and I’m doing a variety of in-person events around Connecticut and New York, including BookCon in April. I hope to meet you at one soon. 

Lisa Acerbo is the Director of General Education at a small university in Connecticut. She holds an EdD and MFA from Western Connecticut State University. Her short stories and poetry appear in Scarlet, Poor Yorick Literary Journal, Ripples in Space, Universe in a Bottle by Flying Ketchup Press, and Whatever Happened to Hansel and Gretel? by Fathom Publishing (a finalist in the 2024 Best Books Awards in the category of Fiction: Anthology), among others. Her award-winning sapphic romantasy novel, Death and Coffee, was published in 2025 by NineStar Press. She followed up with The Stream, a new adult science fiction romance set in a near-future overrun by technology. Her next novel to be published by NineStar Press, The Netherworld Witch, a sapphic YA fantasy, arrives in 2026.