Beth Lewis on her writing process, literary favourites, and fascination with cults

Having just released her fourth novel, Children of the Sun, Beth Lewis’s storytelling is complex and finely crafted, combining twisting plotlines, intelligent dialogue and ambiguous characters, all skillfully brought together in an epic climax.

A self-professed wilderness junky, Beth was raised in Cornwall’s wild coastal countryside and has always been happiest outdoors. Having travelled extensively to the wildest places on the planet — encountering black bears, killer whales and great white sharks — her debut novel, The Wolf Road, was an Amazon Book of the Year and was shortlisted for the inaugural Glass Bell Award. Her third book, The Origins of Iris, was shortlisted for the Polari Prize in 2022.

For fans of Stranger Things, Station Eleven and The Girls, Children of the Sun transports the reader to a 1980s cult, deep in the North American wilderness where the seductive and charismatic Sol has gathered over 300 followers – all hoping for a second chance.

The cult believes that their final ceremony, “The Opening of the Golden Door”, will open up a portal to another world, thereby allowing each member to leave their own flawed lives behind and start over… but before that can happen, investigative reporter James and former cult member Eve are intent on bringing down the cult from within before it’s too late.

A literary thriller with a speculative twist, Children of the Sun explores both the power and danger of hope and is inspired by the true stories of the Star Trek-obsessed Heaven’s Gate Cult, who believed their souls would inhabit a UFO trailing behind the comet Hale-Bopp when they committed suicide in 1997 as well as the Jonestown Cult that saw 300 Americans commit mass suicide in the jungles of Guyana in 1978.

Read on for our interview with Beth…

Did you always want to be a writer/author?

Always. When I was a child, I’d write stories and make them into little books. I’d be reading all the time, taking notebooks out into the forest or down to the beach, I just wanted to tell stories and I still do.

What inspired you to start writing?

I started writing seriously, and by that, I mean with publication as the goal, in my early twenties, after I finished university and travelling and settled into my first job in publishing. I had just moved to London with my partner and we were living in a shared house with some really interesting characters. I had the spark for an idea which turned into a novel. That novel sat forever in a drawer but then another came, and another, and then one of those turned into my debut, The Wolf Road.

Where did the idea for this book come from?

I’ve always been fascinated with cults. In the same way we’re fascinated with true crime podcasts and serial killer documentaries, cults hold that same intrigue for me. I read about the Heaven’s Gate cult when I was younger and have always found their beliefs, their commitment, and their ultimate end, utterly compelling and tragic. They were a little bit different from other cults and the story grew from there.

Tell us about your writing process.

It seems to change with each book! I’m what’s known as a punster, as in I don’t pre-plan or plot out my novels but instead just go with the flow. I tend to have a few ideas stored away in the back of my head while I’m finishing a current project and when I come to start, it’s a few weeks of notes in my Notes app (I know, I’m not one of the notebook carriers anymore!), exploration of the story and characters without any pressure, then when I feel the first scene or chapter is formed, I’ll go to Word and start. Then I’ll write through to the end, editing as I go, until the first draft is done.

What comes first, the plot or the characters?

For me, it’s the characters and their voices. I write first-person narratives, I’ve tried third but it doesn’t work for me so the voice is the most important part for me to get right. The plot comes from the characters, their choices, their reactions, and how they interact with others, so without that formed, strong character to start, I wouldn’t know what they’d do in a given situation.

What did you learn when writing this book?

I learned a lot about cults! There really were and still are, some terrifying and crazy groups out there. A particular favourite was the Russian doomsday cult who lived in a cave for six months. Mostly, I learned about the psychology of those who join cults and those who lead them and they are both so fascinating.

Do you have any quirky habits when writing?

This is embarrassing but I tend to make silly faces and copy my character’s expressions to try to articulate them better. I often get strange looks in the café where I write.

The first book you remember reading is…

First adult book, The Kraken Wakes by John Wyndham, when I was about 10. First children’s book? Possibly one of the Narnia books but I can’t remember!

Your favourite Irish author is…

Emma Donaghue. Or Liz Nugent. Or Celia Ahern. Or Anne Enright. Too many to pick!

The book you gift everyone is…

A gift voucher, so they can choose. Nothing worse than a friend disliking your favourite book.

Three books everyone should read:

The Overstory by Richard Powers, Secret History by Donna Tartt and Red Rising by Pierce Brown.

You overcome writer’s block by…

Writing. There is no other way.

Do you listen to music when you write?

I never used to but now yes, instrumental music only though, through noise-cancelling headphones.

The best money you ever spent as a writer was on…

A MacBook. A light, portable laptop with a huge battery life. It just made writing so much easier.

The three books you’d bring with you to a desert island are…

The Stand by Stephen King, Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters and the next Donna Tartt. I just hope I’m stranded after it comes out.

A quote you love is…

“That which is imagined can never be lost” – Clive Barker

The book you always return to is…

I don’t often reread books, I don’t have that much free time at the moment, but I will always come back to Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell, it’s just so good.

Seeing your book in shops is/will be…

A thrill, always. It’s the goal most traditionally published writers have and it takes years to write and publish a book so seeing it there on a shelf in your favourite bookshop is wonderful.

One book you wish you had written is…

Cloud Atlas, because it’s a masterpiece. It defies genre, it plays with expectations, it’s a sweeping generational narrative that packs a huge emotional punch.

How do you use social media as an author?

Badly, I’m sure. I use it mostly to share book news and keep in touch with readers and friends.

Should books be judged by their covers? How did you pick yours?

Absolutely. Cover designers are incredibly talented, a huge amount of work goes into the process of translating the words into something both beautiful and marketable. I haven’t really been able to pick the covers for my books but it’s an open conversation between me and my editor, I say what I like, they say what they like or need and we meet somewhere in the middle.

Do you find it hard not to procrastinate when writing?

I used to but since having a child, my writing time is so short I don’t have time to procrastinate.

The best advice you’ve ever gotten is:

Don’t be boring.

Your work space is…

An armchair or a café. My back isn’t happy but I associate desks with work and suddenly the creativity drains out of me.

Your favourite literary character of all time is…

Poirot. His little moustache. His precise ways. Love him.

Children of the Sun by Beth Lewis is published by Hodder Ireland, out now.