A darkly comic novel about food, ghosts and the New York culinary scene, and a heady, sun-soaked story about indulgence, wine and place.
Join us with Daria Lavelle and Rochelle Dowden-Lord to discuss their delicious debuts, Aftertaste and Lush.
AFTERTASTE
When dead-end dishwasher Kostya discovers the ability to summon spirits through the food he cooks, he embarks on a journey to open a New York City restaurant that serves closure – something he’s craved for as long as he can remember.There are just three problems:1. Kostya has some ghosts of his own.2. His advancing menu of spirit cuisine is threatening the stability of the Afterlife itself.3. He’s falling in love with Maura, a party psychic with her own secret connection to the Afterlife – who also happens to be the one person who knows he must be stopped.A bittersweet cocktail of humour and heart, Aftertaste is an imaginative odyssey through food and love, life and death: the things that sustain us, connect us, transport us, and remind us who we are.
LUSH
A mysterious invitation to drink the oldest bottleof wine in the world - what could possibly go wrong?Four people, each at a crucial point in their lives, arrive at a French vineyard estate for an unforgettable experience - but not the kind they expected. Avery gave up her hardwon but exploitative sommelier job to come, while wine prodigy Cosmo is trying to disguise that his life is in freefall. The chemistry between the pair is unmistakable, but so are the signs of danger. Millionaire Sonny owns a tacky wine brand and can't help aggravating Cosmo, while caustic magazine writer Maëlys hovers with her pen poised.An accomplished debut that deftly tackles themes of desire, beauty, shame, class, and substance use, Lush balances startling set pieces with an incisive exploration of human nature.
Daria Lavelle was born in Kyiv, immigrated to the US with her family as a child and now lives in New Jersey with her husband and their three children. She holds a BA from Princeton University and an MFA from Sarah Lawrence College. Aftertaste is her debut novel. It’s already sold into 13 territories with a major motion picture in development.
Rochelle Dowden-Lord is from south London. She has worked at Pan Macmillan, Hachette and Harper Collins. She was a co-host of the popular publishing podcast Main Characters. Lush is her debut novel.
