Get ready to learn more about the book Tenacity in this discussion with sapphic author Elaine Burnes.
Join us for an exclusive peek behind the scenes as we quiz Elaine Burnes about Tenacity, writing, reading, and more.
This book is part of the Nevada category in the 2026 IHS Reading Challenge.
Why did you write Tenacity?
The first book in the series, Endurance, introduced a sect that intrigued me.
It was a throwaway line intended to explain something about a character, but it got me thinking. Who are these people and why do they follow this path? I love the idea that something can upend your world. Your view of the world, people you care about, and yourself. What if things aren’t really how they appear? A very basic question that can be answered in infinite ways!
Who is your favorite character in the book?
I’ve said before how hard it is to pick a favorite. A thread that runs through this series is Lyn’s relationships with people she’s worked with, in the story present and in the past. Leadership is a theme, and I like depicting that in various characters. They aren’t patterned after me but people I’ve worked with. I’ve had more than my share of terrible bosses, so I like to give the good ones a key role. So my ongoing favorites are Omara, Jill, and even Hellen. They aren’t perfect, but how people handle mistakes matters.
How much research did you need to do for Tenacity?
Tenacity is very setting heavy, and I loved doing the research into Nevada, Montana, New York, and, of course, places off Earth. I had chosen Nevada for a character’s home with the first book, and here you get to spend more time there. I’ve been to Nevada and Las Vegas and as an East Coast girl, I found it very foreign, dare I say alien! There’s also something gorgeous about it. The mountains, the desert. But I had to extrapolate what Nevada, and my other settings, might look like in 150 years and after devastating crises. I’ll research house plans and use Google Maps to find places that are meaningful to me and to my story. It could be a place name, like Ruby Valley, or a style, like Omara’s strangely shaped house. I have a history with all these settings (except for the off-Earth ones), so it’s fun to use that. Like an homage.
If you’re planning a sequel, can you share a tiny bit about your plans for it?
There is a Book 3! Expect it in June! Let’s just say it continues where Tenacity leaves off, with Lyn and her crew off on another space adventure. This one with shocking ramifications for life back on Earth!
What is your writing process like?
I’ve evolved to be more of a plantser. Maybe evolved isn’t the right word. I’ve gone from panic—OMG! What do I do now?—to a more organized process. Writing a novel is intense. It’s long. It takes (me) a long time. There’s a lot to keep track of. I hate with the heat of a thousand suns the first draft, but once I have that down, I love revision, rewriting, and filling plot holes. I’ll read a draft, stop and sigh, yee gods, that can’t happen that way. What do I do now? In the past that could leave me in despair, but then I remember, It’s fiction! Make up a solution! I love the problem solving of plots. I love digging deeper into a scene and writing with abandon. I love dialogue. These characters talk to each other in my head all the time and they can say surprising things. I love those moments of discovery.
And one thing I feel important to say now that I didn’t have to in the past is that every goddamn word is written by me. No AI involved in the writing, in the editing, in the research. I’ve turned it off everywhere I find it. If I do a search, I ignore the AI summary and go to a website, read an article, review a science paper.
How do you celebrate when you finish your book?
Define finish. 😉 When I hit send to email the manuscript to my publisher, I am done, but only for now. There’s that pit in the stomach that tells me they’ll hate this one, so when they don’t I feel a sense of euphoric relief. But that’s not the end because my editor will have, you know, edits and comments and things I need to consider. Then I have to review the final typeset, approve the cover. Maybe getting those print copies in the mail is when it is “finished.” Maybe my celebration is the relief that comes with, “I don’t ever have to read this again!”
What do you do to get inside your character’s heads?
I’ve been with these characters a long time now, so it’s pretty easy to get into their heads. I just ask what they are thinking and they tell me. Mostly. Writing fiction might be a little like have multiple personalities. I wouldn’t say all these characters reflect parts of me because I like exploring personalities that are very different from me. But even then, they are viewed through my lens as a cisgender white lesbian American. There are plenty of new characters in Tenacity, and I enjoyed making each of them an individual. To get to know a new character, I interview them and give them life details that for the most part matter to the story. Who cares what their favorite color is—unless it’s important to the story. But I like imagining their strengths and weaknesses and what happened to them to bring them to the current story. Everyone’s path is different.
Have you ever cried when writing an emotional scene?
If I don’t feel an emotion when I’m writing a scene, the reader won’t when they read it, so I’m not doing my job. So whether the scene is tense, joyful, sad, or funny, I try to put myself into it fully and note my own reactions as it flows. When do I smile? Make sure they do too. When do I feel weepy? That’s when they should.
What type of books do you enjoy reading the most?
I like a lot of different books—genres, nonfiction, etc. I love good science writing that explores the mysteries of nature. I love a good “Wow!” It may seem counterintuitive, given what I’ve been writing, but I’m not all that interested in outer space. I love books that center women as strong leaders—if it’s space opera, I want the main character to be a woman. If she loves other women, all the better! I love stories where ordinary women are thrown into extraordinary situations. In my youth, I read a lot of science fiction by and about men. Over time, I abandoned that and read mostly nonfiction—science, biographies, nature. Then, I like to say, I tired of reality and went back to fiction. By then “lesfic” had become a thing and stories about women like me were easy to find. That universe has only expanded (a Big Bang?) and that’s all for the better!
Have you ever thought you’d hate a book, but ended up loving it?
I tend not to start books I think I’ll hate. I’m more likely to love the beginning of a book only to find it lag in the middle and, hopefully, pull it together for a satisfying ending. I’ve noticed this happens with books that are humorous. That’s something that’s hard to pull off over the course of a whole novel. At some point, the story needs to get more serious (I’m thinking of something I recently read, which is maybe why I’m focused on this instead of your actual question!). One of the most satisfying kinds of books are those I wouldn’t have picked up unless someone told me to read it or it was assigned for my book group. I love being surprised.
