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Welcome to my Web Site!
My name is Lisa Wade McCormick and I'm an award-winning journalist and children's book author. I have more than 20-years experience as a newspaper reporter and investigative television producer. I've also written sixteen children's books for Scholastic, Capstone Press and Rosen Publishing. I'm marketing my chapter book, "Typo The News Hound," too. I now freelance full time and my recent stories have appeared in The Kansas City Star, Volleyball magazine, Bark magazine, Dogs For Kids magazine, Appleseeds magazine, and the consumer news Web site, ConsumerAffairs.com.

Check out my latest release, a biography on Christopher Paolini
This highly entertaining and enlightening biography features the story of Christopher Paolini, whom Guinness World Records has recognized as the "Youngest Author of a Best-selling Book Series." Paolini wrote his debut novel, Eragon, about a boy and his adventures with a telepathic dragon when he was just fifteen. The author has taken the publishing world by storm with his four-book Inheritance Cycle. Fans of science fiction and fantasy will enjoy learning the fascinating backstory of the books, including the author's creative methods and sources of literary inspiration. Click here to buy the book. Via Rosen Publishing.

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Insider’s Guide to the Summer Olympics Volleyball

2012 June 1
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by Lisa Wade McCormick

Volleyball magazine

Team USA volleyball players are heavily favored to rule the beach and women’s indoor courts during this summer’s 2012 Olympics in London. But the U.S. men’s team, the reigning champions of the 2008 Games in Beijing, could lose its position as head of volleyball’s royal family.

Volleyball announcers for NBC Sports recently shared with Volleyball magazine some of their predictions about the upcoming Summer Games.

Queen Elizabeth II officially will open the “Games of the XXX Olympiad” on July 27 and welcome more than 10,000 competitors from around world to this majestic sporting event this summer.

Beach volleyball promises to be the “crown jewel” of the 17-day competition, which physically and mentally challenges athletes in 26 different sports.

This year’s “sand-sational” showdown takes center stage from July 28-Aug. 9 at London’s historic Horse Guards Parade. A total of 24 men’s and women’s teams will battle for gold in the shadows of Buckingham Palace.

“I think beach volleyball is going to be the place to be for the London Olympics,” said NBC announcer Kevin Wong, who will call the matches with sportscaster Chris Marlowe. “I can picture it already. Buckingham Palace is there in the background. You can see the London Eye. Prince Harry will be with the royal family in the VIP area watching the games. And maybe even the Queen.”

 

Women’s Beach Volleyball

 

But all eyes will be on America’s queens of the beach courts – Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh. They’ve dominated the sand and the top of the Olympic podium in the last two Summer Olympics.

Can this dynamic duo permanently etch their mark in the sand—and the Olympic record books—with an unprecedented third gold medal finish?

“Misty May and Kerri Walsh have got to be your No. 1 choice to win gold,” said Wong, who made his professional beach volleyball debut in 1995. “If someone is going win gold it’s got to be Misty and Kerri.”

Brazilians Larissa Franca and Juliana Felisberta Da Silva are the likely silver medal winners, Wong said. This No. 1 ranked team on the FIVB Swatch World Tour defeated May-Treanor and Walsh in 2011 to capture its first beach volleyball world title.

“They’ve proven they can hang under the bright lights,” Wong said.

China’s 2008 Olympic bronze medal winners—Xue Chen and Zhang Xi—prove another pair to watch.

“They’re a solid team,” Wong said.

Volleyball fans shouldn’t discount Italy’s Greta Cicolari and Marta Menegatti from the medal hunt, either. “Italy is a young team that has done great things,” Wong said. “They’re one of my sleeper teams.”

Another sleeper team, he said, is the Netherlands’ Marleen Van Iersel and Sanne Keizer. “They can do great things.”

Hana Klapalova and Lenka Hajeckova of the Czech Republic are also on Wong’s Olympic radar.

“They’re a team that seems to play without pressure,” he said. “They seem so mellow and down to earth. I think they can play in the Olympics and not be phased.”

Americans Jen Kessy and April Ross—the No. 2 U.S. team—are also poised for a huge Olympic win.

“I like to call them the big game hunters,” Wong said. “They have their eyes on the big prize…they’re a team that could win gold.”

Is it possible the United States could have two teams vying for gold? It all depends on how the teams are seeded, Wong said.

“I don’t know what the seeds are going to be. That’s something we need to watch.”

If it’s an All-American final duel on the sand, Wong gives the tip to May-Treanor and Walsh.

“You’ve got to go with Kerri and Misty because of their experience,” he said.

Continue reading the entire story at Volleyballmag.com.

Click here to read my other stories for Volleyball magazine.

Behind The Scenes With Harry Potter

2012 May 1
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by Lisa Wade McCormick
Appleseeds magazine (May/June 2012)
No magical spell or Nimbus 2000 flying broom handy? Don’t worry. You can visit the enchanted world of Harry Potter
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, based on the books by J. K. Rowling, opened at Universal’s Island of Adventure in Orlando, Florida, in June 2010. The theme park brings the magic of the Harry Potter books and movies to life. Now, Muggles — nonmagical folks like you and me — can roam the hallways of Hogwarts Castle, grab a frothy Butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks restaurant, and narrowly escape the chilly clutches of the dark and dangerous Dementors.
The “wizards” at Universal Studios spent five years designing this 20-acre attraction. It took three years to build this re-creation of the young wizard’s world — from the towering Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to the cobblestone streets of Hogsmeade Village. The “magic potion” that created this wondrous world is a mixture of modern-day technology and a supernatural attention to the details from Rowling’s books.
In the window of Zonko’s joke shop, for example, a game of wizard’s chess comes to life. Moaning Myrtle haunts the public restroom. And a red book magically puts itself back on the shelf in Professor Dumbledore’s office.
The shops in Hogsmeade are small by design because that’s how they’re described in the books. The cramped stores sell such enchanted goods as chocolate frogs (Honeydukes), golden snitches (Dervish and Banges), and, of course, magical wands (Ollivanders). Street vendors also sell pumpkin juice and Butterbeer from wooden carts.
The park’s recipe for Butterbeer is a closely guarded secret. Even J. K. Rowling doesn’t know what’s in the butterscotch-flavored elixir, which is “charmed” to give you a foamy mustache until the last drop. The theme park sold its one-millionth glass of Butterbeer in December 2010 — six months after The Wizarding World of Harry Potter opened.
The park’s most spellbinding attraction is Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.This state-of-the-art ride combines robotic technology with cutting-edge filmmaking techniques. You spend at least an hour “exploring” the dimly lit Hogwarts Castle and see talking pictures of famous wizards, Professor Dumbledore’s office, the Gryffindor common room, the sorting hat, and hundreds of floating candles in the Room of Requirement. Harry, Ron, and Hermione greet you in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom and ask you to join them on a little adventure. This is when the real magic begins:
During a four-minute “forbidden journey,” you feel like you’re soaring over Hogwarts with Harry and his friends. A robotic arm spins, tilts, and twirls you past live-action scenes of a fire-breathing dragon, evil Dementors, and the Whomping Willow. You also zoom through a Quidditch match and even come face-to-face with the giant spider, Aragog.
As one ten-year-old Muggle from Kansas said, “It was awesome.”
(Check out the teacher’s guide for this story: www.cobblestonepub.com/pdfs/APP/APP1205.pdf)

‘Peanut’ pitching for Negro Leagues Baseball Museum

2010 September 11
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by Lisa Wade McCormick