What Does the Term “Beach Read” Even Mean? Author Nicola Harrison Weighs In

Book Talk

Jul 14

Book jacket biographies don’t tell us nearly enough about the authors we love. That’s why Zibby Mag launched the Author Snapshot, giving readers an inside look at the lives and work of our favorite writers.

This week we are featuring Nicola Harrison, author of the novels Montauk, The Show Girl, and Hotel Laguna, which just released this summer!

Your newest novel, Hotel Laguna, is about a woman who lands in Laguna Beach after having spent the war years helping to construct bombers for the U.S. military. What inspired this story and the character of Hazel?

My husband’s grandmother, Grandma Ruth, worked as a “Rosie the Riveter” during WWII, and I learned so much about her experience working in an airplane factory from my mother-in-law. I also was lucky enough to interview three women in person, Phyllis (102), Rusty (95) and Helen (90), about their time helping in the war effort on the home front. What I found to be most fascinating and influential in developing Hazel’s character was that many of these women loved the work and thrived in positions that had been typically reserved for men. In Hazel’s case, once she’s had a taste of being able to work in a “man’s” job—and the confidence and earning power that came with it—she’s not willing to go back to a traditional women’s role.

How do you determine the settings for your books? Do you fall in love with a place and then choose to set the book there? Or does a character or story line “find” the place at some point during your writing process?

For me it always seems to start with a place and, after some research and digging, the story unfolds from there. The first time I started thinking about this novel was early 2020 in the height of Covid. We were still living on the East Coast on lockdown. Everything felt so uncertain and I thought, Where do I want my imagination to wander for the next year and a half or two years while I write this novel? I kept come back to the idea of Laguna Beach, a bohemian artist’s town. It was the first place I lived alone without roommates after college, where I had my first real job and taste of independence. Both my parents are artists and have exhibited their work in galleries and festivals in Laguna Beach, so I have some behind-the-scenes insight into the art world that I was excited to write about.

Hotel Laguna has been called one of the best beach reads for this summer. Do you consider your book a beach read? Why or why not?

Yes, absolutely. I consider it to be a historical beach read, so in addition to taking place in an artsy beach town with characters influenced by real artists from the California Impressionist art movement, you also learn something about a post-war society and how women fit into that world.

What makes a book a beach read? Do you find that this is a term authors willingly embrace?

It’s such a broad term that means different things to different people. Most authors whose books come out in the summer embrace this term because this time of year is a busy “reading season” with lots of great books hitting the shelves. To me a beach read usually means that the book takes place in a summer setting, but not always. Aside from that, I think a beach read should be exciting, transport you to another time or place, and keep you turning the pages. But I expect that from any good book.

What are the pros and cons to having a book labeled as a beach read?

I suppose some people consider a beach read to be light and fluffy or easy to pick up and put down again. But benefits of having a book labeled as a beach read are that they often put you in the mood for summer with a gorgeous cover. People often have more time in the summer to sit down and read. Kids are out of school so there’s less stress about schedules and homework. I love a long flight to get me into a good book. Summer is a time when things slow down a little, and you might actually be able to sit on a beach chair, or a pool lounger, or your couch and finish a book. (Unless you’re an author with a book coming out—then there’s no down time!)