Surrounded by twinkling lights, whimsical décor and what she called “Brooklyn magic,” author and former fashion designer Lisa Dolan launched her debut novel — “The Brooklyn Witch — The Battle for Brooklyn” on Nov. 15 at the Oceanside Library’s theater.
The event drew residents, students and longtime library patrons for a reading, Q&A session and book signing — a full-circle moment for Dolan, who has taught several classes at the library over the years.
“When the Oceanside Library found out I was self-publishing my debut novel, immediately they insisted on hosting the book launch,” Dolan said. “It is a continuous circle of giving and receiving in that library.”
Dolan, who grew up in Brooklyn and moved to Oceanside after closing her boutique Lee Lee’s Valise in 2017, said the book is deeply rooted in her own experiences. The novel follows a Brooklyn girl who “just happens to be a witch,” drawing on neighborhood sensibilities, family ties and the magic of the borough.
“You write what you know, and I know about Brooklyn,” Dolan said. “She uses everything she has learned from living in the neighborhood when she has to go to the mattresses with the Queen. I see it like ‘Harry Potter’ meets ‘The Sopranos,’ where neighborhood grit meets timeless magic.”
Dolan spent three years researching and writing the novel, a process that included rediscovering some of the fairies she dreamt of as a child.
“I have a crazy imagination, I always did as a child,” Dolan said, “I looked up some of the fairies that I dreamt about, and they really did exist. I researched for years.”
Self-publishing the book required Dolan to draw on the same do-it-yourself spirit that once fueled her boutique’s success. She compared the experience to launching her Brooklyn store in 2007, where she designed every piece of clothing herself.
“I was in the house all summer, editing, doing all the artwork and setting up each platform,” she said. “There is no graphic designer. You are the graphic designer.”
Dolan said she wrote the novel with a cinematic eye, hoping readers feel like they’re watching the story unfold on screen. She envisions “The Brooklyn Witch” as the first installment in a six-book series, each exploring themes of family, identity and community.
“Brooklyn is food, and family is food,” Dolan said. “Everything goes back to family. And while there are surprises, there are parts that people will get touched by what is closest to them.”
Her relationship with the Oceanside Library began several years ago when she attended a lecture and soon found herself leading classes there. She has taught a fashion course, a Reiki workshop and a four-week “Dress to Impress” series this past summer.
“People that met me in the classes, when they heard I wrote a book, they were already interested,” Dolan said. “I told them that the takeaway is that I want people to feel like they hung out with me for a day.”
Dolan also completed a three-week self-publishing course at the library, which she credits for sharpening her mindset as an independent author.
“I believe that every lecture you go to, every class you take, if you walk away with one thing that you didn’t previously know, then you learned something,” she said. “I’m amazed at what you can do if you put your mind to it.”
Her husband, Jim Dolan, who handled the accounting for Lee Lee’s Valise, said the shift from retail to writing has expanded their world.
“When we had the store, the people had to come to us,” he said. “Now that Lisa’s written a book, we can go to them.”
As attendees lined up for signed copies, Dolan said she hopes readers feel the same magic that filled the library theater.
“There are a lot of parallels to my life in this book,” Dolan said. “And I want people to see everything, to feel like they’re right there in Brooklyn with me.”
