Why Lisa Lutz Is Inspired By Travel

Author Lisa Lutz is a New York Times bestselling author known for her nine novels, including the forthcoming thriller The Passenger. What few may know, however, is that Lisa draws on her travels for inspiration. We caught up with the author to see exactly what about travel inspires her.

Amtrak: Travel is a theme in your books. Why do you think it transcends the different characters and how does it help readers relate to the characters?
Lisa: Reading a book is kind of like traveling. Traveling and reading are deeply connected. While your head is in a book, you’re experiencing a new world. I’ve said this before but it seems unfair that we live decades as only one person. Traveling is how we try on a new life for a little while when our own becomes perhaps a bit mundane. Readers live vicariously through the characters and act, in essence, as quiet passengers in the story.

Do you find yourself inspired when you travel?
Absolutely. I will say that when I travel I often fantasize about living in a new place. Traveling also lends itself to creating new stories, because it’s like a blank slate, an empty canvas on which to begin another painting. You’re not bogged down with memory, so you can create a new universe.

Where is your favorite place to write?
I used to be good and write at a desk. But now I sit on my couch, next to a big picture window that looks out over a twisty creek in my backyard.
It’s very bad for my posture, but it’s peaceful.

If you could go anywhere in the country by train, where would you go and with who?
This question is kind of impossible. There are so many places I’d like to go and so many different people to go with. When I was a kid, my family and I often took the train from Los Angeles to San Diego and then we’d go to the zoo.

So, I’m going to say I’d like to make that trip again. And if we’re talking my fantasy travel companion, I’d go with Mel Brooks.

Want a chance to find a little inspiration of your own? We’ve partnered with Lisa Lutz to give you a chance to win two roundtrip Amtrak tickets, a getaway bag, and a signed copy of The Passenger. Enter to win here!