Guest Post by Rachel Koller Croft
Rachel Koller Croft is the USA TODAY bestselling author of We Love the Nightlife and Stone Cold Fox. She is also the WGA award-nominated screenwriter of Torn Hearts. She’s currently developing her novels for film and television. Her most recent novel, We Love the Nightlife, is a vampire-thriller that appears to be a bit of a departure from her debut, but readers will find it is another can’t-miss thrill ride from this incredible writer. She shares how the idea came about and how she worked in some of her favorite elements to take a popular trope and make it a story that’s all her own.
I was just as surprised as some readers when I decided to write a vampire novel called We Love the Nightlife. At first blush, I can admit that it sounds “off-brand” considering my debut Stone Cold Fox, even though I’ve loved creepy things since I was a small child. Chalk it up to having a birthday right around Halloween. My dad even dressed up as the Wolfman one year and scared the hell out of a bunch of nine-year-olds. Yes, it was the best!
So when I was thinking about how to make my second book really stand out in the thriller genre, I started wracking my brain about how to incorporate some horror elements this time. First and foremost, when I’m ideating, I think about the things I personally like as a consumer of books, television and movies. That’s how the whole idea for We Love the Nightlife started anyway…
Not too long ago, I watched a documentary about Studio 54 – because I love disco and music and dancing and wanted to write something in that vein – but my big and unexpected takeaway was how sweet the friendship was between the two guys who started it, Ian Schrager and Steve Rubell. So that got me thinking: what would it look like if two women opened a nightclub together?
Now thematically, I started to consider conflict in friendship, building scenes around that and how it could drive a full-length novel. But friendship stories can often be seen as “low stakes” compared to relationship conflicts, even though I don’t always find that to be the reality. Sometimes, a friendship breakup can be more devastating than a romantic one.
So to take it even further, I turned on my “screenwriter brain” and pushed myself to take this initial idea and turn it into something super “high concept.” For example, I wrote a horror screenplay called Torn Hearts that was essentially pitched as a reverse Misery set in the world of country music. I also wrote the original songs. It stood out in the marketplace, Blumhouse produced it and Katey Sagal played the villain!
Back to my book: I had nightclubs. I had the disco era and killer soundtrack to match. And I had a female friendship going awry over a stressful period of time as they open a business together. What else was missing? The choice was obvious – haha – at least to me: Vampires.
Vamps are my absolute favorite of all the supernatural entities because even though they are bloodthirsty killers, they are also rich and hot and love to have fun. At least the vampires that I’ve fallen in love with over the years – like Lestat from Interview with the Vampire and Eric Northman from True Blood/the Southern Vampire Mysteries. Now that’s on-brand for a Rachel Koller Croft book.
As a final cherry on top, I set the story in London because my husband and I spend a lot of time there (he’s half-English) and it’s just my favorite city in the whole world. Plus, it ended up really serving the story from a historical perspective, particularly where Nicola was concerned – the older of the two vampire besties I created. Much older. So I even got to include another favorite motif of mine on the total opposite end of the spectrum – a wayward Victorian child – with a few scenes set in 1800s London.
In We Love the Nightlife, you’ll meet Amber and Nicola, two sides of the same album. Amber’s from America: idealistic, a party girl and always seeks out a good time. And she just couldn’t resist brooding and beautiful British Nicola, with her biting sense of humor and aura of mystique, plus an offer to join her in the vampiric lifestyle, promising eternal youth and decadence. What ensues over their nearly 50 years together, flashing back and forth from the past to the present, is a glittering and gritty friendship story for the ages. The good. The bad. And the bloody.
Just about every place mentioned in the novel is somewhere in London that I’ve spent some time, including coveted members-only clubs like Annabel’s in Mayfair and Blacks in Soho. You just never know who you’re going to meet! One of the times I was in London, I ran into a trio of fabulous women out for lunch and we all got to talking as the champagne was flowing. Next thing you know, I was on the list at a club that’s been around for 260 years! No, these ladies were not vampires – but they are just as entertaining! I even name-drop them in the book, like I do with all of my English girlfriends. One of my favorite things to do is hide little Easter eggs for my friends and family in my books. They all get a kick out of it.
As for the title, I owe it to my parents. My mom loved the disco era so much and famously, my dad hated the whole thing…except for one song. I’ll let you figure that one out.
So whether you love vampires, hate vampires or fall somewhere in between, We Love the Nightlife, at its heart, is an ode to best girlfriends, a love letter to the dancefloor, and truly a party in a novel. Trust me, like any great night out, you won’t want it to end.
Fangs out, have fun!
We Love the Nightlife by Rachel Koller Croft
Entangled in a destructive friendship, two vampires spiral toward disaster in this dark and captivating tale set in London’s glittering disco scene. Nicola, a centuries-old vampire, and the free-spirited Amber once bonded over their love of nightlife, but a betrayal now drives Amber to seek escape. As Nicola tries to rekindle their connection by proposing they open a nightclub, Amber secretly plots her perilous exit, knowing failure could mean the end for both of them.
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