Hiya Heroine

I’m Lisa-Marie Cabrelli. I’m a novelist, essayist, PhD, and woman who has never been good at staying in one lane.

I live between Scotland, Italy, The Bahamas, and South Carolina/Brooklyn with my table-dancing husband. He keeps me adventuring. I keep him out of jail.

On Call for Heroines, I write about the messy middle. Essays about my own plot twists. Dispatches from travels that changed something in me. Observations about what it means to be a woman building a life that actually fits her, because midlife isn’t a crisis, it’s a second coming-of-age. (My favourite trope.)

I’ve built businesses and sold one for seven figures, published seven novels, earned a Master’s in Crime Writing and a PhD, and rewritten my story more times than I can count. Not because I’m some reinvention expert. Because I’m kind of addicted to choices, changes, and what happens next.

What You’ll Find Here

Essays and memoir from wherever I happen to be. Fiction diary entries about the novel I’m currently writing and the short stories finding their way into the world. Journal prompts when something wants to be excavated. All of it written from my wee hoose in a walled Scottish garden, where I apparently belong.

The Heroine’s Salon

I founded the Salon, monthly intellectual conversations where accomplished women submit stories, I curate the best pieces, and we think together in real time. Graduate school discourse without the academic politics. I’ve passed it on to someone extraordinary, and I’ll introduce her to you very soon.

Heroine’s Adventure

Seven years of work distilled into Questbooks and a course that use story structure to guide real transformation. No algorithms. Just you, a pen, and your own thinking. Available in the digital library for paid subscribers.

My Fiction

Seven novels and counting. Short stories as they come. Currently working on a historical fiction trilogy about The Darien Disaster.

The Build (for the budding entrepreneurs)

I retired from building my own business, but I still love architecting other people’s. If your business idea is stuck in your head. If you’ve hired coaches, taken courses, but still don’t know what to do Monday morning — I can help. One intensive engagement, one complete business architecture, one custom AI advisor trained on your strategy. Then you’re free to execute. No ongoing coaching, no monthly retainers. Just clarity and a system that works. Enquiries by email only.

Who This Is For

This is for you if:

• You’re done performing the “good woman” everyone expected

• You want intellectual discourse, not just cheerleading

• You’re designing yourself, not reinventing or “fixing” yourself

• You’re craving community around ideas, not obligations

• You want to practice being fully human in an increasingly artificial world

• You’re navigating your 40s, 50s, 60s, or beyond with intention

This is NOT for you if:

• You’re looking for quick fixes or 5-step formulas

• You want perfect, polished inspiration (I’m messy and honest)

• You’re not ready to do the actual work

What You’ll Find Here

Real stories from someone living her version of an Extraordinary Life (which might not be yours; my sister thinks my life is a nightmare).

If you want soothing affirmations, this probably isn’t your place. But if you’re ready for some real talk about what it actually takes to rewrite your story?

Welcome. You’re in good company.

This isn’t just content you consume. It’s a community you join. We think together. We challenge each other. We practice being present with our own minds and each other’s wisdom.

We’re cat people and have fostered kittens and cats worldwide. Here’s a collage of some of our babies...