Lizzy Dent: We All Have Critics in Our Ear

Lizzy Dent is the author of The Summer Job, The Setup, and The Sweetest Revenge. She (mis)spent her early 20s working in Scotland in hospitality and after years travelling the world making Music TV for MTV and Channel 4, and creating digital content for Cartoon Network, the BBC and ITV, she turned to writing. She now lives in Austria with her family. Follow her on Instagram.

Lizzy Dent

Photo by Kerstin Weidinger

In this interview, Lizzy discusses what inspired her to write her new romance novel, Just One Taste, why full-time writing isn’t for her, and more!

Name: Lizzy Dent
Literary agent: Hattie Gruenwald
Book title: Just One Taste
Publisher: Putnam
Release date: July 16, 2024
Genre/category: Romance
Previous titles: The Summer Job; The Sweetest Revenge; The Set Up
Elevator pitch: A reluctant restaurant owner and her hot-but-annoying chef travel round Italy to finish her late father’s cookbook together.

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What prompted you to write this book?

Food! Wine! Hot chefs! I wanted to write something set in Italy, and return to writing about food, so this book was a combination of those two big loves. I really feel at home writing about the restaurant business, as I spent some of my formative years in Scotland working in hospitality, and I have such wonderful memories of that time. Also, OK. I was watching a lot of “The Bear,” and it felt like it was giving me permission to go back to the kitchen.

I love writing about woman who are trying to find their calling in life or looking for the confidence to take a scary step in their career, and Olive was a particularly interesting character to me: a restaurant critic who came from a family restaurant background. I loved the idea of the dichotomy between being so good at critiquing but too scared to do the creating herself. That fear holds a lot of creative people back, I think. We all have the critics in our ear.

How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?

It took about 14 months from the very first lines of the idea and when the book will hit shelves. It’s a quick process, when you’re doing a romance book a year. There isn’t a lot of time to interrogate the idea and rework it like you can with a debut, and so you need to be well trained and disciplined in your genre—something I feel like I’m learning the hard way. The ideas I have tend to be off-beat and not quite right, and then my editor has to wrestle them into a coherent book. My original ideas change a lot in the process, but I am learning more with every book. For example, I am so overwhelmed and resistant to outlining, but so happy when I have a good outline to write from. That’s the grind!

Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?

I think I am learning more how to structure a story to best feed the romance narrative I’m trying to build. I’m learning how important it is for your book to have a clear hook, one you can easily explain to someone and have them say, “Oooh that sounds so good.” If you can’t do that quickly and easily, the idea is probably not clear and needs a rethink. I’m learning just how hard the team at the publishers work on your book; from the structural edits to the final proofs and everything in-between.

Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?

Lots. I think one of the hardest lessons I learned last year was that I work better and more efficiently when I’m busy. I was a full-time writer for the first time when I wrote this book, and wow, full-time writing is definitely not for me. My brain seems to come alive when I’m busy and stimulated by lots of different creative ideas, so I took freelance creative work this year, and my writing is already about 100% more productive and fun. I know it sounds counter-intuitive, but there is something about the slow pace of full-time writing which I found a real struggle. Now it will be about managing burnout—there’s always something!

What do you hope readers will get out of your book?

I hope they enjoy the armchair travel around my favorite regions of Italy. I hope they enjoy the magical setting and the delicious food. And I hope they enjoy the slow-burn romance of my two leads, Olive and Leo.

If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?

If you’re like me and you have zero training, then I suggest read as many books on writing as you can, and really learn about craft. Gut instinct and years of drafting might get you your first deal, but it is grit and practice that will keep you alive.

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