Aubrey Wants to Die is a new thriller vampire comedy from PIP KNIGHT, perfect for fans of Rebecca Kuang and Ali Hazelwood.
Read on for a Q&A with the author.
MEET PIP KNIGHT
How did the idea for Aubrey Wants to Die come about?
Around four years ago, I saw True Blood for the first time and fell completely in love with vampires (and Eric Northman). I was blown away by how funny, philosophical and relevant that show felt – by how it could tackle deeper issues in a fun and unexpected way. I began watching and reading everything I could find about vampires after that, imagining what it might be like to be a vampire in today’s world. Whether it would truly be a great thing to have eternal youth, beauty and life, or whether that would bring with it its own set of issues. And so… Aubrey was born.
How did you explore the emotional weight of Aubrey’s 150 years of immortality?
For me, inhabiting a character’s experience is always a combination of lived personal experience, empathy, research and imagination. I, like many, am well acquainted with the human versions of sadness, heartbreak and existential angst, so I used all those truths and then used books, movies, imagination and empathy to put them on steroids for Aubrey – because no matter how heavy life might feel to us sometimes, it’s worse for her. For Aubrey, life isn’t transient, it’s a cage she can’t escape from. Hence, the heaviness.
Were there any scenes or ideas that were particularly challenging or fun to write, and why?
Well, I don’t want to give any plot spoilers away but Red Flannel was a lot of fun and so was the ending sequence in the house. I had a specific song I listened to when writing that last one (it’s on the playlist I’ve put together for the book, and I’m pretty sure EVERYONE would guess which one it was). I also really enjoyed writing the historical scenes which came as a surprise to me, as it was the first time I’d ever tried to write historical fiction of any kind. The most challenging part was probably figuring out what I could omit. Because when a character has been alive for 150 years, there’s a lot more backstory than someone who is say 30, or 60. And I couldn’t put all of it in there without sacrificing pace.
How did you decide on the rules for this vampire world?
It was a mix. Some of them I just knew immediately, like Aubrey’s ability to see human memories, or the fact that humans have past lives. Some parts of the lore were from other vampire stories, because I needed to ground her story in a vampire world that was at least partially recognisable to the reader. Some rules evolved organically in the second and third drafts because they were needed or just felt like too much fun to omit.
Vampire fiction has a long history in literature. Were there works in the genre that inspired you?
I read and watched so many vampire stories (and random articles in old newspapers, and folklore, and even a book written by rogue priest) that everything has blurred together now. But in terms of books, some of the titles I remember loving were Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires, Dracula, The Vampyre, Thirst, Carmilla, and I know it’s not a book, but it was based on a series of books that I’m sure are equally amazing: True Blood. I also really enjoyed Aubrey’s favourites: Twilight and The Vampire Diaries. She loves these because they represent vampires in a softer way, a way that makes her hate herself a little less. So too did I love delving into her other (non-vampire) favourites: Bonjour Tristesse, Frankenstein, and Hunger.
How did you develop Aubrey’s character and moral compass, particularly her refusal to harm others?
I love writing characters that defy expectation. So, for a vampire who quite literally needs blood to live, to be unwilling to kill or harm others, was more interesting to me than a vampire who had given into her baser instincts. Because then the question becomes: why hasn’t she? Which then allowed me to explore what had led her to become that way.
Why did you choose to set this story in a contemporary world, and what did you want to convey about dating, loneliness and belonging in modern life?
I wanted to convey the truth about the contemporary world: dating is brutal, loneliness feels like it’ll kill you, a sense of belonging is as important as ever but harder than ever to find, female rage gets a bad rap but is (often) warranted, and modern technology makes everything a little bit worse, better (not to mention making stealing blood bags from a blood bank even harder… damned CCTV.)
What drew you to write Aubrey Wants to Die under the Pip Knight pen name, and does it represent a new direction for you?
I wanted a separate line of books that would allow me to delve into different areas of writing, while still keeping my Pip Drysdale line of books as (human) thrillers. I do think my readers would like both lines of books. So while vampires are new, Pip Knight is more of an added direction than a change in direction. That said, I never thought I’d want to write this book and once I started, nothing was going to stop me. So who knows what tomorrow might bring!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Pip Knight is the pen name for Pip Drysdale, the bestselling Australian author of five novels. Her hugely popular dark and sexy psychological thrillers feature a dash of romance and black humour, featuring brilliantly flawed women. With Aubrey Wants to Die, Pip brings all the exciting trademarks of her much-loved novels – just with vampires. She lives in Sydney.
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