Today, I have author Laury A. Egan in the interview chair. We’re discussing her latest release The Firefly, a f/f contemporary romance.
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1. Hi, Laury. First off, readers have an idea of the writer you, but what about the everyday you? Can you share about your personal life?
Laury: Hi, Maggie—thank you for the interview and the questions! Personal life? I’m widowed as of the last 8 years, and between Covid and a walking disability, I haven’t pursued a new relationship, plus many things I loved doing—travel, attending the Met Opera, photography, tennis—are no longer possible. This leaves me with my writing, my greatest joy, which I pursue seven days a week. (And, yes, I do love films and reading!)
2. I’ve been perusing your Goodreads page and see you are drawn to writing young adult. Can you tell me why you chose this genre?
Laury: All of my “young adult” novels are suitable for older audiences, especially The Firefly, which is not intended as a YA book. Although it begins with Robin at age 14, the story continues until age 40 and is an in-depth portrait. I began the book during Robin’s teenage years because they are so critical in the formation of a self, with experiences compressed, new and fresh, and determinative of who the person will become.
3. Your latest novel is The Firefly. Can you tell me what inspired you to create this novel, and why you chose to place it in 1964?
Laury: I’m not sure what came first: the “what-if” plot: if parents are fighting and both leave their daughter at a lakeside vacation home, each thinking the other has remained at the house, what would happen? Or did I envision a girl in white dancing around a lantern on the end of a dock? (Perhaps the opening scene in Outlander played a sub-conscious role?) As for the time period of mid-60s, because this is my era, my memories are sharp and clear. It is also very useful to avoid today’s constant connectedness with cell phones and the availability of computer research and communication.
4. Let’s talk about the main character Robin Bennet. What do you love most about her and what makes you want to shake her?
Laury: One of the main themes of the novel is how Robin’s creativity and drive are so dominant throughout, from doing architectural drawings sitting on the couch at the lakeside house, to establishing a career in Manhattan as a successful architect. Her dedication to honoring her talent first, and finding primary relationships second, are significant aspects of her character. Yet if she had found Stella (her Firefly) as a young woman, would this emphasis have been reversed?
As for what makes me want “to shake her?” She is a product of her times when lesbianism was something to hide, although this is a period when dramatic changes occurred (Stonewall, etc.). Robin—being a product of this prejudiced period—is a little slow to lose her anxiety and to accept who she is.
5. The same for Stella. What do you love most about her and what makes you want to shake her?
Laury: In many ways, Stella is similar to Robin. Once she has lost Robin, Stella focuses on her career as a ballet dancer, which is her life’s passion. Even so, Stella seems less conflicted than Robin. As for what is upsetting about Stella? Not much. Perhaps she is a more idealized, positive character—or as portrayed by Robin, the narrator.
6. Without giving away any spoilers, what was your favourite scene to write and why?
Laury: Hands down: the night scene by the lake when Stella is dancing around the lantern and the two girls meet. The romantic, ethereal quality inherent in these hours has a timeless beauty and very strong visual appeal.
7. If a reader asked you why they should read The Firefly, what would you tell them?
Laury: The novel is a romance, but it’s also a portrait of a complicated young woman who is dealing with feeling separate from others, her parents’ divorce, her desire to become an innovative architect, and to find her lost love. So while the through-line is the search for Stella, the reader follows Robin’s life and its many twists and turns. Although the love is between two women, this is a universal story.
8. What can we expect from you in the future? Care to share about your current WIP?
Laury: My new publisher, Andrew May at Spectrum Books, UK, has been absolutely, stunningly wonderful. After The Firefly, he plans to publish a suspense, The Psychologist’s Shadow,” about a therapist who acquires a stalker. The book will appear as the first title in Spectrum’s new imprint, Enigma Books, with a November 18 pub date—this is a general audience read. On December 16, two partially linked novellas, The Black Leopard’s Kiss & The Writer Remembers, is due. Though LGTBQ characters are present, this is a general market literary work, shot through with magical realism much in the tradition of Woolf’s Orlando. It is my most creative outing. Next April, a second title for Enigma Books, Jack & I, will be published. About a boy with dissociative identity disorder, told from the “host” and “alter’s” perspectives. So much fun to write. Wow…a lot to deal with!
9. I enjoy doing random questions, so humour me:
- What’s your favourite movie?
Lawrence of Arabia. I was fascinated by the portrayal by Peter O’Toole, the great script, and the astonishingly beautiful cinematography. David Lean, the director, was a genius. - What book is currently in your e-reader?
I don’t own an e-reader. My former career was as a book designer, so I’m a dedicated book person. I’m about to start Lorrie Moore’s new novel, I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home—I have an advanced copy because I review for the New York Journal of Books. Besides this, I’ve been submerged in the brilliant Mari Hannah’s mysteries. She is a very smart puzzle-creator. Love the Kate Daniels series. - Who’s your favourite musical group?
I used to listen to music all the time, but now I require silence when working. That said, for over 30 years I subscribed to the Met Opera and actually worked as a freelance photographer there, at the Opera Company of Philadelphia, and in other venues at Lincoln Center. Favorite operas: Don Carlo, Eugene Onegin, and several Handel and Vivaldi operas. While she was alive, I saw almost all of Tatiana Troyanos’ performances and also photographed her at the Met, Carnegie Hall, Philadelphia. - What song puts a smile on your face?
Not a smile perhaps, but a powerful reaction: “O don fatale” from Don Carlo, as sung by Tatiana Troyanos. In addition to opera, I’ve always loved Rodgers & Hammerstein’s musicals—songs like “Bali Hai” from South Pacific and “Hello, Young Lovers” from The King & I. Wistful?
10. Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Laury: I consider myself a “bridge” writer in terms of genre (psychological suspense, literary, young adult, romance, and comedy), and in terms of audience, spanning both general and LGTBQ readers, though I don’t write specifically for any group. My background as a fine arts photographer has, perhaps, strengthened my visual observation. Writing poetry was my initial passion (began at age 7) and this may have influenced my love of words.
Thank you! A pleasure!
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Title: The Firefly
Series: N/A
Author: Laury A. Egan
Genres: F/F Romance and portrait of a teenager, age 14, through adulthood, age 40.
Tropes: teenage lovers separated
Themes: Solitariness of a creative girl/woman, sexual orientation confusion in the 60s, pressure to conform to social expectations
Cover Artist: Design by Laury A. Egan with assistance by Andrew May and Vicki DeVico
Release Date: August 12, 2023
Heat Rating: 3 flames
Length: 74 000 words/ 304 pages
Publisher: Spectrum Books
1964: A dark summer night on a still black lake. A lantern is lit at the end of a dock. A blond girl in white appears and begins to dance, her body illuminated like the fireflies surrounding her. A second girl emerges from a house and is beckoned forward. The two meet, swim, and then kiss. Thus begins an ethereal romance and a young woman’s journey into adulthood.
Blurb: Robin Bennet, age fourteen, has been accidentally abandoned at a lakeside rental house in the Pocono Mountains. Her parents were arguing, and each believed the other had remained with Robin. Alone, Robin discovers that someone has been sleeping in the house and is now stealing vodka and snacks. A fifteen-year-old boy, Kieran, the intruder, appears and invites himself to dinner. Robin is charmed by him, especially when she learns he is the brother of the beautiful girl who magically appeared on the dock the night before. After Kieran leaves, the “Firefly” returns, lights the lantern, and circles around it until Robin joins her. The two swim and make love on the beach. When Robin awakens, the Firefly—Stella—has disappeared, and Robin’s mother arrives, announcing they will return to New Jersey immediately because she is divorcing Robin’s father. Frantic, Robin tries to find Stella, a search that continues while Robin builds a career as an architect in Manhattan, fails in marriage, and struggles with her sexual identity.
Note: It is a standalone book and does not end on a cliffhanger.
Buy Links – Available in Kindle Unlimited
[Robin’s parents have left her alone in a rented lake house, each thinking the other would remain. The year is 1964, Robin is 14, and has just drunk some wine.] “Robin shuddered awake. She shook her head, which felt on the verge of aching, and lifted her gaze toward the lake. To her amazement, the lantern was lit on the dock. Standing by it was the Firefly, dressed in white, her blond hair bright against the darkness of the water and the forested hill beyond.
Robin rubbed her eyes. She must be having drunken hallucinations, but when she looked again, the beautiful vision remained. Excitement shot through her, and she lurched to her feet, descended the stairs with the bottle of wine, and walked down the grassy hill to the path, afraid to blink and lose sight of the enchanting image that lay before her. As she stepped onto the dock, the Firefly circled the lantern and offered her hands in invitation, her long fingers sweeping through the air with elegant fluidity. It appeared the girl was smiling, but perhaps this was what Robin hoped.
She made her way carefully. Some of the boards were uneven, and she didn’t trust her steadiness after drinking so much. Her ears also seemed filled with a pulsing sound, or was that the loud beating of her heart? Nearing the girl, Robin knew the figure was Stella because of the strong resemblance to Kieran—the same yellow hair, slender build, neat features, and gracefulness. But Stella was more magnetic, more enchanting. Instantly, the dinner with Kieran was forgotten. This moment was all present, all now.
Dazed, Robin stopped and stared at this beautiful apparition, one she struggled to believe was real. Almost afraid of breaking the silence with words, she whispered, “Hello.”
“Hello,” the girl replied.
“Stella?”
“Yes. Robin?”
“Yes.”
The water lapped against the dock pilings, and a bird called from a distant tree. Above, the dark sky shrouded them in an illuminated enclosure.
They smiled at each other.
Robin inched closer, reveling in the sensuous figure before her. Stella had blue eyes. Perhaps a paler shade than Kieran’s or maybe the lantern’s glittering reflections were creating the appearance of translucence. Her skin was unblemished, smooth, and creamy. The fragrance of Jean Naté floated in the air.
“I hoped you’d return,” Robin said.
“I’m glad. I waited until Kieran left.” Her expression was amused, flirtatious.
Robin sighed. “I don’t think the dinner went well. I mean, the meal was fine, but Kieran is hard to understand.”
Stella laughed. “He’s perfected the fine art of being secretive.”
“And you? Are you the same?”
“Yes, I suppose so. You’ll have to find out.”
This sounded like a teasing challenge. “I will,” she answered in kind. “Would you like some wine?”
Stella accepted the bottle, drank, and wiped her mouth. Her lips were perfectly cut, pink, and alluring.
“Thank you.” She handed the wine back to Robin, who took a swallow. “Good. Now, it’s a warm night, Robin. We should swim, don’t you think?”
Without waiting for a response, Stella began undressing. Underneath her blouse, against her tanned skin, a lacy white bra was revealed. Robin noticed that Stella’s breasts appeared to be larger than hers, but Stella was two years older.
When Stella leaned down to unbuckle her sandals, Robin unbuttoned her own shirt, overcome with shyness. Although she showered with girls after gym class, Robin had never exposed herself like this. She fixed her eyes on Stella, who had dropped her pants and stepped clear. The girl was slightly taller than Robin, with legs and arms that were lean and strong. Clad only in cotton underpants and a bra, Stella gave her a captivating smile, turned, and dove neatly off the dock. For what seemed like a minute, she stayed underwater until she resurfaced about fifteen feet away. Stella brushed back her short hair and watched as Robin took off her slacks and sandals and executed a clean entrance into the black water. Rising near Stella, the two swam closer to each other and kept upright by paddling their arms.
Robin felt a wave of dizziness pass over her. Because of the wine or because of the nearness to this radiant being? She waited for the girl to speak, to act. Instead, Stella laughed, the sound reminding Robin of wind chimes blowing in a light breeze.”
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Laury A. Egan is the author of eleven novels: The Firefly; Once, Upon an Island; Doublecrossed; The Swimmer; Fabulous! An Opera Buffa; The Outcast Oracle; Turnabout; Wave in D Minor; The Ungodly Hour; A Bittersweet Tale; The Outcast Oracle; and Jenny Kidd as well as a collection, Fog and Other Stories. Four limited-edition poetry volumes have been published: Snow, Shadows, a Stranger; Beneath the Lion’s Paw; The Sea & Beyond; and Presence & Absence. Eighty-five of her stories and poems have appeared in literary journals.
She lives on the northern coast of New Jersey.
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Maggie Blackbird 