The Glimpse received a 4+ star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.
Following find an interview with author Lis Bensley.
What is the name of the book and when was it published?
The Glimpse, published June 2021.
What’s the book’s first line?
“It seemed so simple, dark against light.”
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
Liza Baker, a rising star of the Abstract Expressionist Art movement of the early 1950s sabotages her career when she has a child, who begins to show her own artistic talent. Told across two timelines, one in the early ’50s and the other in the mid-’60s, Liza’s story unfolds like a bildungsroman in reverse: the unmaking of an artist by misogyny, addiction, bad luck, and an unhappy childhood. Can she keep the same from happening to her daughter? Can she still reclaim her place as one of the visionaries of her generation?
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
I was curious both about what happens to a person who is on the crest of a major movement but then disappears. And, as a single mother trying to write a book, I wanted to explore how hard it is to have a creative life as a mother.
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
To identify with what it’s like being an artist raising a child and as a child with her own talent dealing with an ambitious, talented mother.
What’s the most distinctive thing about the main character?
Liza’s refusal to give up, even as she tries hard to be an attentive mother.
Who-real or fictional-would you say the character reminds you of?
Liza was modeled after Joan Mitchell, a major artist in the Abstract Expressionist movement who never had children but always wishes she had.
When did you first decide to become an author?
I began writing stories when I was in 5th grade for our school’s newspaper and for puppet shows.
Is this the first book you’ve written?
It’s my first novel. I’ve written a children’s book, The Adventures of Milo and Flea, and a cookbook.
What do you do for work when you’re not writing?
I have been a counselor at a high school and now am the academic dean.
How much time do you generally spend on your writing?
It’s hard to find good time during the school year. Mostly I write during a 5-week period in the summers. Which is why I don’t produce more.
What’s the best and the hardest part of being an indie?
The best part is the control you have. For example, I designed the cover photo. What’s hardest is the self-marketing you have to do, but many authors who publish novels with a company have to self-market too.
What’s a great piece of advice that you can share with fellow indie authors?
Don’t be shy about self-publishing. It’s so hard to get published now, especially as so many agents don’t read more than the first chapter. If you believe in your work, publish it. It’s remarkably gratifying having a book.
Would you go traditional if a publisher came calling? Yes. If so, why?
To get into their distribution and marketing network. Plus, many venues do not review self-published books.
Is there something in particular that motivates you (fame? fortune?)
Definitely not fame. It would be nice to make enough money writing that I could quit my day job. But ultimately I write because most of the time I love to.
Which writer, living or dead, do you most admire?
There are so many writers I admire. Joanna Scott is definitely one.
Which book do you wish you could have written?
Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy.