Readers Are Finding Lily…

August 22, 2014 - North Attleboro, MA - Debut novelist Lisa Ellis taps into the psychology of a mother's most devastating nightmare, and propels readers on an emotional journey that questions one woman's beliefs about life, death, love and marriage.

Finding Lily (Soul Mate Publishing; Amazon $11.99 -paperback; Amazon $2.99 -Kindle) is the story of Claire Edwards, a young married woman who suffers the unexpected loss of her newborn baby Lily. The emotional impact of this tragedy takes a heavy toll on Claire and on her marriage. Unable to cope with her husband Jim's colder style of grieving, Claire escapes to a secluded lighthouse she had fallen in love with as a child. Her hope is that this isolated haven will offer a reprieve from her memories and pain. But once situated in the lighthouse, Claire finds her belief systems challenged in unexpected ways.

Ellis's style is reminiscent of Virginia Woolfe's To the Lighthouse, but with its own unique twist, zooming in on the small and deceptively simple details that suddenly grow in importance within the framework of Claire's fragile emotional state. Ellis also masterfully draws the jagged boundaries of intimacy and support that many couples face.

The book is loosely based on the beautiful setting of Ellis' favorite Brant Point Lighthouse in Nantucket. "When I was younger, I treasured it as a peaceful place," she says. "I often used to daydream about running away to live there and wondered what would cause someone to actually act on that dream." This question really became the catalyst for Finding Lily.

The isolation of the island in the off-season also provided Ellis the perfect backdrop to explore so many serious issues within the broader context of nature and island legends, both of which are important underlying themes. But Ellis points out that perhaps the most important character in Finding Lily is really the lighthouse itself. "There is also something so literary and also so hopeful about a lighthouse, and I was intrigued by its role in guiding sailors to safety. I wondered it if could do the same thing on a symbolic level for a person who is lost emotionally," Ellis says.

"Finding Lily isn't meant to pause on the loss, but rather to cast a bright spotlight on what came before - and what came after - Lily's one shining day on earth," Ellis explains.

About Lisa Ellis
Lisa Ellis is a senior writer for a psychiatric and substance abuse hospital in the Boston area and specializes in writing about health, education and fashion topics for a variety of websites. Since completing Finding Lily, Ellis has started to work on two more books, The Rasa-Lila and The Meaning of Marigolds. Although Finding Lily is her first published novel, Ellis has authored several short stories that have appeared in a number of small literary journals and magazines. Additional information is available at on her Website and she shares daily interactions with her readers, other authors and friends on social media on Facebook and Twitter: A detailed video about Finding Lily is available on YouTube

Finding Lily is available for purchase on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Soul Mate Publishing.