New historical fiction book set at an 1870s Door County lighthouse is author's first novel

BAILEYS HARBOR - Ann Heyse is a published author, but her new work takes her writing career in a whole new direction.

The poet, children's book author and owner of Baileys Harbor-based small publishing house Sand Beach Press just released her first full-length novel, "The Light is Ours," a historical fiction work set in the world of shipping and lighthouses in Door County in 1871 to '72. The 316-page softcover book (longer than her two children's books and poetry collection combined) is now available from Sand Beach Press as well as several local retailers.

"The Light is Ours" is based at Roundstone Harbor Light, a fictional lighthouse in a fictional community on the Lake Michigan side of the Peninsula. The life of the light keeper and his family over the two years the book covers are central to the story, but a ship captain with a troubled past, a freed pre-Civil War slave, a widow recovering from tragedy and an unethical businessman also play important roles as their lives intertwine.

The children's books Heyse has penned − "Good Morning, Door County," published in 2016, and 2020's companion book "Good Night, Door County" − proved popular, with Heyse saying more than 1,000 copies of them have been sold in local shops. She also is a member of a couple of local poetry clubs and in 2020 published a collection of her poems, "Drink In Sweet Rain."

However, Heyse admitted that penning a novel was completely different from her previous writing experiences.

"The genre that came most easily to me was poetry, so that was a big switch to thinking I could write fiction," Heyse said in an interview with the Advocate. "With poetry, you're trying to be sparse; with fiction, you're filling in details."

Different, but good, she noted.

"It was an enjoyable process for me," she said. "It seemed to be a way I could tell a story about a place I love."

Location, people matter

Heyse said she started assembling certain parts of the story, such as events and anecdotes, in her head about six years ago, then began working on the book in earnest a year and a half ago. However, her inspiration has roots dating back many years.

"I think (it was) coming to the county as a child every summer, going to Cana Island (Lighthouse), and the history that surrounds us," Heyse said. "It was so easy to imagine going back 150 years and imagine the people that lived here."

That inspirational setting paved the way for the imaginary characters that lived in it, followed by their stories that formed the plot of the book.

"The setting came first," Heyse said. "Then learning about the history, the lighthouses, the ships going up and down the coast. Then the characters came next. Their stories just kind of came to me, that this is a story I must tell about these people."

Fictional, but historically accurate

Heyse conducted much research to be as historically accurate as possible, learning about the lives of a light keeper's family, the life of a ship captain and all the aspects of those occupations, including how shippers managed the loads of timber and stone they frequently carried and how they managed their finances. Because one of her characters is a nurse, she also researched the medical items and treatments that were available at that time.

She also researched what the life of a Black man in Door County might have been like then, based on a small community of escaped slaves that settled on Washington Island in the early 1850s (and were gone within a few years). She used the Thomas Davis historical novel about them, "In the Unsettled Homeland of Dreams," as the basis for her research.

Along with also researching with the Door County Historical Society and local librarians, Heyse said she got some help from what she called the "beta readers" of drafts of the book. She said one pointed out that a scene in which Heyse had a character jump into the Chicago River in 1872 was unlikely because anyone there at that time knew the river was visibly polluted by sewage and industrial waste.

However, Heyse said it was important to create a fictional lighthouse (which she described as perhaps a cross between Door County's Cana Island and Pottawatomie lights) and community to respect the real-life keepers who lived and worked in the Peninsula's 11 lights. Outside of that and her characters, she believes the rest of the historical information in the book is as accurate as possible.

“I couldn't write about an existing lighthouse because we know the names of their keepers,” she said. "I couldn't pretend their lives didn't happen."

While some historical fiction is more heavy on plot, others more heavy on the place and time, others perhaps driven by characters, Heyse thinks all three elements play fairly equal roles in her book.

"I hope I struck a balance," Heyse said. "There is quite a lot of plot, more than I thought there would have been going in. It was going to be the story of a lighthouse family for a year or two, but these characters' lives all intertwined."

Most importantly, she said, she hopes readers of "The Light is Ours" gain an idea of what life was like on the Peninsula about 150 years ago.

"I hope it's an entertaining way to introduce history to Door County residents and visitors," Heyse said. "Hopefully enlightening people to some of the great history of the county. Hopefully people who love Door County will love the history of Door County."

FYI

"The Light is Ours," a new work of historical fiction by Baileys Harbor-based writer Ann Heyse, is available at Novel Bay Booksellers in Sturgeon Bay, The Red Geranium Gallery and Gifts in Baileys Harbor and Kick Ash Door County cafe and market in Ellison Bay. It is expected to be on hand at other booksellers and retailers soon. It also can be purchased directly from Sand Beach Press, Heyse's publishing company, at sandbeachpress.com.

Contact Christopher Clough at 920-562-8900 or cclough@doorcountyadvocate.com.

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This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: An 1870s Door County lighthouse is the setting for author's first novel