Lisa Tirreno

On the Cusp is a regular series I do on this blog, comprising an interview with another writer who’s about to become a debut novelist. I send them the standard list of ten questions and ask them to please pick five, and to also answer the bonus question.

This week we have the Colorado-based Lilli Sutton, who I know via an online group for debut authors. Her adult novel Running Out Of Air will be out in November. You can pre-order it here.

Why this genre? Why this age group? Why these characters?

I’m also most comfortable writing for an adult audience—I’ve never tried YA or MG, but I’m not sure I could pull it off! That being said, I knew I wanted to write characters who were in their twenties, like I am. It’s such a turbulent decade—everyone is in completely different life stages in this age range. Some people are married with kids and own a home, some are in school, some are working part- or full-time jobs, and some are off traveling the world—and of course, some are doing a combination of the above, or something else entirely.

I wanted to explore the feelings of envy and resentment that stem from what we perceive to be the “correct” way to navigate your twenties, and I wanted to set it in a high-stakes, wilderness setting. I have long been fascinated by mountaineering, so it was a natural conclusion to set my story in the high peaks of the Himalayas. And even though the setting is extreme, the novel is grounded in the very real feelings the main characters are struggling with—questioning career choices and relationships, feeling like they’re not doing “enough.”

As for the characters, I’m drawn to family stories and sibling stories in particular. The two sisters came to me at the very beginning of thinking about this story—two women with the same passion, separated by a betrayal. From there, Sophie and Evelyn came to life, and I had so much fun putting their world on the page.   

What’s surprised you the most during this whole pre-publication process? What have you enjoyed the most?

I’ve been most surprised by how much I didn’tknow about book publishing. Three years ago, I was blissfully unaware of Netgalley and Edelweiss. I had no idea how sub-rights worked, didn’t know that advanced reader copies existed, and that preorders matter. I didn’t even fully understand what a literary agent was.

I like to remind myself now, when I sometimes feel overwhelmed by all the little things that matter in publishing, that the average reader is unaware of these elements, too. The average reader walks into a bookstore or a library or opens their kindle and chooses a book that sounds good to them. At the end of the day, publishing books is about connecting readers to stories they love, and hopefully to authors whose books they will continue to read. I try to remember why I started this process—because I had a story to tell. That’s all. If that story, in the form of a novel, reaches one person who loves it, I will have succeeded.

The most enjoyable part for me has been forming connections with other debut authors and feeling like part of the community. So much of the writing process can be isolating—ultimately, it’s just you and your keyboard (or typewriter, or notebook) and it can be overwhelming to navigate the publishing world alone. I’ve made some great friends via my agency siblings, the PubTips subreddit, and the 2024 Debut slack group, which has been an unexpected benefit of this whirlwind experience. I’m thankful for everyone who takes the time to answer questions, share their experiences, and generally help out a newbie in the publishing world. I hope to pay it forward in the future.

Was it a long road to get here? Do you have drawers full of previous manuscripts?

I call it a medium road, mostly because my debut novel is the first book that I attempted the publishing process with, but not the first book I wrote. Before Running Out of Air, I finished two novels, but was daunted by the editing process and ultimately shelved both books. I did send the second to a beta reader, but I just couldn’t see a path forward from the feedback—a book problem, not a beta reader problem!

On my third try, I spent a lot of time making sure that I had both compelling characters AND plenty of plot—something that was missing from the other two books. I fully committed to the editing process—I joined a writing group before the first draft was finished, I used lots of beta readers, and I spent a lot of time learning about how to self-edit. I appreciate those two earlier manuscripts (and the countless unfinished attempts before them)—they taught me a valuable lesson, which is that the first draft is nothing but a sketch, and the real writing comes at the editing stage.

How nervous are you, on a scale of 1-10 (I’m currently sitting at 3) and how are you dealing with that?

I’m at a 3 some days, a 5 on other days (and, okay, a 10 on random days when everything feels stressful!). Pub day still feels a bit abstract and far away, even though I’m 5 months out as I write this. To distract myself, I make lots of Canva graphics (I’m awful at Canva, so learning to make halfway decent graphics has been a good use of time) and working on book 2.

I also read a lot, and focus on other hobbies like cooking and hiking to give my brain important breaks. Overall, I try to remind myself that so much of publishing is out of my control, and just try to focus on the little impacts that I can make!

Any plans yet, for publication day?

As of now, none yet, but I’m in the early stages of connecting with bookstores to plan a launch event around pub day. My biggest wish is to spend time with family and friends, particularly my writing friends who have supported me on this journey. I will share launch day plans as they form on social media and my website, so stayed tuned!

Bonus question: Is there anything else you wanted a chance to talk about?

I’m working on book 2, which I’ll be sending to my editor in the fall. I can’t share too much yet, but it’s another adult contemporary novel, set in Alaska, with more sibling drama and wilderness adventures.