The Story Behind The Club by the Sea
It’s been almost two months since the release of my debut novel, The Club by the Sea. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading the reviews and comments from those who have read it so far. One of my favorite things to do is have friends text me updates as they are reading it with their thoughts and ideas on where the book is going to take them. I truly never imagined that one day I would be listening to people interpret a piece of work that was orchestrated in my brain, but here we are.
One of the most common questions I get asked is, “What was your inspiration for the book? Where did this come from?” The answer is a few different things. In today’s blog post, I am happy to share the story behind The Club by the Sea.
Taylor Swift’s song, “Right Where You Left Me”
The catalyst for what truly got my wheels turning when it came to writing the novel was a Taylor Swift song. If you know me, does this really come as a surprise? The song “Right Where You Left Me” was a bonus track on Taylor Swift’s 2020 album, Evermore. Swift uses a metaphor of someone being frozen in time at a restaurant as perhaps a comparison to her personal life - the idea that maybe she is forever stuck at an age due to fame. There are haunting lyrics like, “Did you ever hear about the girl who got frozen, time went on for everybody else, she won’t know it. She’s still 23 inside her fantasy, how it’s supposed to be,” or “Help, I’m still at the restaurant. Still sitting in a corner I haunt.”
When I first listened to the song, these strong visuals instantly played out in my head. I visualized a performer on stage inside an old, dinner theatre show that overlooked the ocean. A place where people would dine and spend countless hours back in the day. But this performer is trapped there, and the decades just move on without them. I initially thought it would make a great music video, but I knew I had no chance of ever getting that concept into the hands of Ms. Swift. So, thus the idea of a book was born.
Baz Luhrmann’s film, Elvis
We all remember watching the iconic film Elvis in the summer of 2022. You know, the one directed by Baz Luhrmann, who can never do wrong when it comes to crafting cinematic masterpieces. I remember watching the film in theaters and being fascinated with the visuals and the idea of Elvis’ high-profile fame. How he never really got to go on a world tour because he was stuck in the Vegas residency. How he was controlled by a manipulative manager. When I began to write The Club by the Sea, I pictured visuals from this film as inspiration for how I wanted to describe the scenery and the characters.
Haunting Love Stories
As writers, we all have hopeless romantic characteristics in us. I knew that this story needed to have an element of a love story. Why? What else makes a person want to change their ways? Love. However, as I began the early stages of writing, I didn’t realize it would shift into essentially three different love stories. In The Club by the Sea you have someone who deals with balancing love and their career. Can they make both work, and are they willing to make the sacrifices to make it both work? Then you have this love story that I like to refer to as the haunting love story. You know, the one that is thrilling and cathartic for only a short season of time. Thus leaving you haunted by it forever. And then we have the love story that is what I like to call simple love. The love that provides stability and a sense of peace - what perhaps we realize is ultimately what we want in life. As readers, you watch each of these stories unfold and the characters develop throughout the book. Which is something I am proud of - because when the first draft was completed, that element was really missing.
Songs of the Past
The Club by the Sea takes place in a swanky jazz club located in Big Sur, California, known as The Sea House. The novel bounces back and forth between present day and the past, telling the story of Clark James and his residency at the club. In order for me to write a story that heavily focuses on jazz and music from the past, I needed to listen to music that was going to encompass those vibes. So, I listened to a lot of music from different decades. I even created a playlist, The Club by the Sea playlist, on Spotify. Feel free to give it a listen!
There you have it. The inspiration and story behind the novel. Art inspires art.
The Club by the Sea is out now and available primarily anywhere. If you want to order it online, the fastest shipping method is to buy it directly from the publisher option. If you’re local to East Tennessee and want to avoid shipping all together, it’s available at Hoskins in the Flat in historic downtown Clinton, Tennessee.
