The Story Behind the Stories: Meet Liv McLean

If you’ve ever read a story that made you laugh out loud, feel a little braver, or remember something true about being a kid—you’ve already met a little piece of Liv McLean.
 

Liv is a storyteller in the most honest sense: someone who writes not just to entertain, but to connect, comfort, and celebrate the quiet magic of everyday life. Her books, especially for children, feel like a warm hug—because they come from a life lived deeply, simply, and wholeheartedly.
 

But behind every page is a life story as rich and rooted as the tales she tells.
 

🪵 A Life Off the Beaten Path
 

Long before her name appeared on book covers, Liv lived a life that most only dream of—seven years in the Canadian bush.

With nothing but determination, curiosity, and a deep love of nature, Liv enjoyed completely living off the grid.  She turned a huge garden by hand, had chickens and muscovy ducks, grew her own food, chopped her own firewood, and learned how to live not just with the land, but from it.
 

There were no grocery stores down the road, no lights without the sun, no distractions of modern convenience. Just forest, sky, soil, and soul.
And stories—always stories.
 

📚 A Lifelong Love Affair with Books
 

Even in the most remote corners of nature, Liv always carried books with her. Reading was her sanctuary and her spark—her way of traveling through time, exploring the world, and feeding her imagination.

As a child, she would devour stories under the blankets with a flashlight. As an adult, she still reads with that same sense of wonder—only now, she writes with it too.
 

To Liv, books are more than entertainment. They’re companions. Teachers. Little lanterns in a sometimes dark world. She writes with the hope that her stories will be that same kind of light for someone else.
 

✏️ The Call to Write
 

Writing came as naturally to Liv as growing tomatoes in the spring. Whether it was scribbling in journals, crafting tales for her grandchildren, or dreaming up curious animal friends in faraway places—her pen was never far from her hand.
 

But it wasn’t until later in life, with a family of children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren cheering her on, that Liv decided to publish the stories that had lived inside her for so long.
 

And what stories they are—filled with mischievous kids, unlikely friendships, muddy adventures, and moments of surprising tenderness.
 

🐾 Nature, Family, and Finding Joy in the Small Things
 

Even today, you’ll find Liv happiest when she’s barefoot in the garden, walking in the woods, on the beach, or sailing with her husband under wide open skies. She paints. She plays. She spoils her grandkids. She delights in the way birds gather at the feeder and how fresh bread smells straight from the oven.

That joy—grounded and glowing—is what she brings to every story she writes.
 

She knows that the best stories don’t need dragons or drama (though she loves those, too). Sometimes the best stories are about spilled jam, a runaway goat, or a little boy who broke a window. Stories that feel like home.
 

💛 Why Readers Fall in Love with Liv
 

To read a Liv McLean book is to feel seen. To be reminded of the wildness and sweetness of childhood. To remember that small things matter. That love is in the details. That you can laugh and cry on the same page—and be better for it.

Liv writes because she must.

She writes because the stories won’t leave her alone.
And she shares them, humbly and bravely, with the hope that they find a forever home in your heart.

So pull up a chair. Pour a cup of tea. Open one of Liv’s books and read to your littles.

You’re in for something real. Something warm. Something you’ll want to read again and again to your favorite children.

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