2018 PRESS

Interview with Denise Lammi in early 2018 on Novus TV

PRINCE GEORGE DAILY NEWS, Jan. 31, 2018

“Lucid World a feel-good read with a strong message” – by Bill Phillips

Author Denise Lammi with her new book Lucid World.

Author Denise Lammi with her new book Lucid World.

It’s one thing to envision a different world. It’s quite another thing to actually bring a different world to life.
That’s exactly what author Denise Lammi has done with her first novel Lucid World, a tale about a 15-year-old girl who is among a group of teens chosen to travel, via avatar, into a remote, and hidden technologically-advanced society housed inside a vast mountain cavern. Their task? Save the world from an emotional disease called khaos, that has infected all of humanity.
The tale is seemingly far removed from Lammi’s real life, who is a chartered professional accountant, lecturer and seminar presenter. She also writes professional development seminars for other accountants. For Lammi, the idea of a totally different world was the inspiration for her novel.
“I started thinking about what I was interested in,” she says about the decision to actually write a novel.
“I’m fascinated about the idea of negative emotions and where they come from. As humans, when we evolved we needed to have a fight or flight response or we would never have survived. But now, it’s so seldom that we have life threatening situations that require the fight or flight emotion, but yet we continue to apply it. When you look at every negative emotion we have, when you drill down, you’ll actually find there’s some illogical or misdirected fear.
“I thought what would it be like if there was a society where there were no negative emotions caused from illogical fear. So I created that world.”
The protagonist in her story is Morgan, a 15-year-old girl living in a small rural town, called Coyote Flats, in southern Alberta. There are some similarities as Lammi grew up in Picture Butte, Alberta. Lammi drew on her experiences growing up in rural Alberta for the book, and Morgan.
“She’s a loosely based version of me,” she said. “Certainly there’s components of Morgan in me. Some of the trouble she got into, that never happened to me. A lot of her insecurities and fears, I can identify with those.”
In the book, Morgan and her new friends in Lucid World live under a dome beneath an ice cap, with cats, culture, and a harmonious way of life uninfected by the khaos of the world above.Shifting from Morgan’s family and school life to the education she receives in Lucid World, the story shows Morgan applying the understandings of khaos to problems in her life, and in the town. Her family and friends have no inkling of her Lucid World contact. But when communication breaks down, Morgan’s secret is exposed.The book is technically a young adult book and it crosses the lines between fantasy and science fiction. However, Lammi wanted to write a book that has broad appeal and has certainly succeeded.
“It’s a fairly unique book in respect to genre,” she said. “I had a hard time pegging the genre. It’s got small town Alberta, coming of age, New Age … it could be sci-fi or fantasy.”
It certainly has adventure a good positive message.
“There are a lot of strong messages here for young adults and teens, but it’s a story that can be enjoyed by anyone,” she said. “When I first started writing, I wanted a book that everyone can read. I’m familiar with the young adult genre. It’s the best platform to deliver a feel-good read with a strong message.”
The book was published in October and officially launched in November.You can find out more about Lammi and the book on her website. You can get a copy of her book on Amazon.
And Lammi isn’t done yet.“I certainly didn’t start out with the intention of writing a sequel,” she said. “But as I got to the end of writing it I realized the story is just beginning.”

See article online

2017 Launch & Press

A few photos from the book launch held on Thursday November 23rd, 2017, at Harrison Galleries located at 901 Homer St, Vancouver, BC. (Click on image for a larger view.)

LETHBRIDGE HERALD, NOV. 2017

Southern Albertan writes teen novel

PRAIRIE POST, DEC. 2017

Link through the photo to read the Prairie Post article online

Written by  Demi Knight

It’s a Lucid World for one southern Albertan writer, with the release of her new science-fiction novel this year.

Denise Lammi, a native to Lethbridge and resident of Picture Butte during her childhood years, explored the influence of illogical fear on human behavior in her compelling new novel Lucid World.
With a strong tie to her roots and an imagination to explore a world unknown, Lammi’s first novel pays homage to the place she grew up in while examining new age thought and science fiction to create an explosive first book in the young adult genre.
“I wrote in the ‘young adult’ genre because I thought it was the best platform to facilitate an entertaining and inspirational story,” says Lammi on her debut novel within the genre.
“I created the fictional world, so I could explore the influence of illogical fear on human behavior. In the story, behavior related to unwarranted or misdirected fear is referred to as ‘khaos’. The opportunity to combine imagination and logic was irresistible.”
In the novel, the young protagonist Morgan, a southern Albertan teen is faced with a sudden out of world experience that allows her to travel via avatar to a technologically advanced society where she comes to live in a harmonious world underneath a dome. Living in these two worlds at once, Morgan begins to realize new ways from both realities to handle and solve not only her own issues, but the problems others are facing as well.
However, the novel isn’t solely fiction, as Lammi intricately played upon her own life experiences growing up in the rural suburbs and the people who surrounded her during her childhood while combining it with a deep exploration into what could be — versus what is — to create this coming of age novel. She was born in Lethbridge and raised in Picture Butte and it gave her some interesting perspectives.
“Growing up in Southern Alberta definitely influenced my writing. Many of the story’s scenes and characters are loosely based on places and personalities I recall from my childhood in Picture Butte,” says Lammi of how her childhood experiences influenced her writing within her novel. “The people who lived in Picture Butte, and the surrounding area, influenced me in many ways. One being the people were a diverse group. There were farmers, employees, business owners and retirees. There were many different ethnicities; some were first or second generation Canadian.”
Although the novel is partially set within a place that closely resembles her own childhood, southern Alberta is not the only place that Lammi has had the opportunity to call home over the years. After years of studying and working in Lethbridge to become a seasoned Chartered Professional Accountant, Lammi moved west to start a new journey in Vancouver of writing numerous business courses used across the entirety of Canada.
“I attended the University of Lethbridge and graduated with a Bachelor of Management Arts. I articled in Lethbridge and received my designation as a Chartered Accountant. I worked in Lethbridge for several years before I moved to the west coast,” says Lammi of her life journey. “A number of things led me to Vancouver. Writing wasn’t actually one of them. However, work and connections in Vancouver did lead me to writing non-fiction (professional development courses).”
However, Lammi’s newest adventure has been that of writing this fiction novel that was released this year, and with tremendously positive reviews, the big-time writer from a small-town in southern Alberta is excited and anxious as the public dive into her Lucid World for the first time.
“I feel thrilled and grateful. I also feel exposed and vulnerable — I trust that these feelings are opportunities for personal growth.”