The Sun Was Electric Light

**2024 VPLA Unpublished Manuscript Award**

Disillusioned with her life in New York, Ruth returns to a lake town in Guatemala where she had been happy a decade earlier.

There, in Panajachel, she meets two very different women: the calm and practical Emilie, and the turbulent and intoxicating Carmen. Deciding to stay and build a life at the lake, Ruth finds work first as a nanny to a wealthy local family, then as an English teacher at a village school. Meanwhile she becomes increasingly infatuated by her friendship with Carmen, pushing away the stability of her connection with Emilie. As Carmen’s fragile relationship with the world splinters, the difference between being a visitor and truly belonging becomes clear, and Ruth is forced to act.

Author: Rachel Morton

Paperback  Published 1 April 2025  224 pages