Get ready to learn more about the book Lighthouse Keeper in this discussion with sapphic author Eliza Lentzski.
Join us for an exclusive peek behind the scenes as we quiz Eliza Lentzski about Lighthouse Keeper, writing, reading, and more.
This book is part of the Mistaken Identity category in the 2024 IHS Reading Challenge.
Why did you write Lighthouse Keeper?
I tend to go back and forth between standalone novels and my on-going series, Don’t Call Me Hero. After I finished Book 6 in the Don’t Call Me Hero series, this story jumped to the top of my “books to be written next” queue.
I have a PhD in American history and I’d wanted to write a historical romance novel for some time. I had a few ideas for historical fiction (and will probably write more), but this story spoke to me the loudest.
Who is your favorite character in the book?
The central protagonist, Lizzy Darby, is my favorite character. We have some things in common, largely the desire to do something–to be something–beyond the restrictive confines of our respective hometowns. The place I grew up was very isolated and small, with few people venturing beyond their comfort zones. Both Lizzy and I escaped our small towns first through books (Reading Rainbow and all that) and then finally by actually leaving.
What inspired the idea for Lighthouse Keeper?
My wife and I were in Provincetown, Mass two Decembers ago. It was a warm-and-sunny-for-December day, so we went for a walk on the jetty–a very long rock breakwall that during low tide allows access to a strip of sand where the lighthouse, Wood End, is located. I was really charmed by the setting with townspeople raking the ocean floor for buried mollusks, and struck by what a lonely existence it must have been to be the isolated lighthouse keeper. The story kept buzzing in my head until it grew big enough and loud enough and demanded that I write it down.
What was the biggest challenge writing this book?
Honestly, the biggest challenge was writing in 3rd person POV. I hadn’t done that in nearly 10 years, so it took some time to recall those writing muscles.
How much research did you need to do for Lighthouse Keeper?
I did an exhaustive amount of research for this novel. Most books I write require a lot of research, but this had the added element of making sure everything was historically accurate. Not only did I research how lighthouses work, but I also dug deep into Provincetown’s history, Azorean/Portuguese history and culture, and textile mills in Lowell, Mass.
Even with my doctorate in American history, every few sentences I wrote, it felt like I was looking something up. What food would have been available in a New England winter in 1874? Was canned food invented yet? What was underwear like? What did the train depot in Boston look like? How about the uniforms for train conductors? I could probably write an accompanying book that footnotes all of the research that went into this novel.
What is your favorite line from your book?
“You shine more brightly than any lantern I’ve seen.”
What is your writing process like?
I am definitely a pantser. I admire writers who can sit down at their laptop, crack their knuckles, and just start writing, beginning with Chapter One. I’m guessing these people exist, but I am not one of them.
I think of my novels and my writing process like a quilt. I have scenes in my head that I write and then I piece them together at a later time, like the squares on a quilt. This probably is the result of never having solid time to sit and be creative. I sneak in a few minutes here and there to write a scene in my phone or on my tablet or in any number of journals that are strewn about the house. My life is very orderly, so it’s a little amazing that my writing process is so chaotic.
How do you celebrate when you finish your book?
When I hit that “upload” button on Amazon, my wife usually makes me my favorite cocktail: a brandy Old Fashioned. It might be the official cocktail of Wisconsin, which is where we met and lived for over a decade.
Do you have any odd writing quirks?
I don’t know if it’s odd, but I handwrite everything first in my journal and then I type it into a Word doc on my laptop. I have a hard time just writing in a blank Word doc. The pacing is much better when I physically write things out first.
Do you have a pet who helps/hinders your typing?
Charley, my 14-year-old tabby cat, is my constant writing companion. My wife jokes that she’s my “desk” because she likes to lounge on my legs and is unbothered if I have either my journal, tablet, or laptop on top of her. I’m typically only allowed to write from my living room couch with her on my lap because she starts knocking things off of my desk if she’s ignored for too long.
When you’re writing an emotional or difficult scene, how do you set the mood?
I’m a big fan of playlists. I generally create a playlist on Spotify for each of my novels as I’m working on them. If there’s a song that I find particularly perfect, I’ll play it on repeat while I write out a scene.
I also try to make myself feel those emotions. I was writing a scene recently where the character was particularly pouty (my forthcoming rivals-to-lovers basketball novel). My wife saw my facial features and called me out on it: “Why do you look so pouty?” and I told her my character was pouty, so I was just trying to get into the mood.
Have you ever cried when writing an emotional scene?
I think I’ve only cried once while writing an emotional scene. Towards the end of Grave Mistake, Book 5 in the Don’t Call Me Hero series, Cassidy calls her parents on Thanksgiving day. She has a conversation with her dad where she thanks him for teaching her how to drive stick-shift when she was younger. Ultimately, it was this knowledge that helped saved her and her friend Pensacola’s lives when they were Marines in Afghanistan. There was just something about that scene that got to me, and tears started to streak down my cheeks as I wrote it. Even now I get a little choked up thinking about it!
Have you ever fallen in love with one of your characters?
I’m of the opinion that you have to fall in love with your characters just a little bit. I mostly write first person POV novels. I myself need to fall in love with the Love Interest because I’m telling the story through one person’s eyes. If I don’t fall in love, how can I expect my readers to? I definitely fell in love with Hunter (Winter Jacket), and Julia (DCMH), and Anissa (Woman in 3B), and Raleigh (Fragmented), and Charlotte (Bittersweet Homecoming) while writing them. I even fell in love with Ellie Brown (Checking Her Out), and that’s only a short story.
What type of books do you enjoy reading the most?
I like reading contemporary sapphic romances, which is the genre in which I mostly write. But I like to read stories that are written from a POV or in a style that I myself cannot accomplish. Basically, I like to read from authors who do things better or different than what I do. For example, Lucy Bexley is far funnier than I could ever be. Milena McKay is a wordsmith who selects the perfect words and syntax. Haley Cass writes yearning like no other. J.E. Leak’s action plots are snappy and dynamic. Emily Water’s POV and pacing is perfect. The list goes on and on.
What books did you grow up reading?
Gosh, I read *so much* growing up. My parents’ punishment if I fought with my little sister was to keep me from reading, honestly.
The earliest chapter books I remember reading were Judy Blume. Then it was a steady diet of the Babysitters Club books and Nancy Drew. After that, I devoured R.L. Stein’s YA horror novels. I graduated to more adult books pretty early on, reading 19th century authors like Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters, and then I took a strange turn into Robin Cook books in the late 1990s. The last “phase” I went through was Sue Grafton’s alphabet detective books.
All of that reading made me into a pretty eclectic writer, I think. My novels are all sapphic romances, but some are also thrillers, mysteries, and/or adventure stories. I’m never satisfied to write only one kind of story or trope. I’m most at home in blended categories.
