Behind The Book White Lights With Lauren Kate 

I love it when I can interview authors multiple times! New York Times Bestselling author of The Fallen Series, & her various romantic comedies What’s In A Kiss & By Any Other Name, has now returned for another Behind The Book discussing her upcoming release White Lights. White Lights will be released on June 9^th available in a bookstore near you! 

Q: Welcome back to Book Notions Lauren! For the readers who haven’t read White Lights, would you please give a brief description of the book? 

A: White Lights is set in a world where Heaven is running out of angels, and the systems of Life and Death have begun to fall apart. Into this chaos steps heroine Desdemona Rae—an aspiring filmmaker and the only suspect in a violent attack that’s left her brother in critical condition. When a mysterious man named Rafe de la Cruz recruits Dez to an elite film school called Acheron, Dez jumps at the chance to escape the law and fulfill her lifelong dream of making movies. But Acheron isn’t what it seems, and even though her mentor Rafe is gorgeous and charismatic, she suspects he isn’t telling her the whole truth about the films they’re making. As the mysteries mount, Dez finds herself swept up in an existential conflict on a cosmic scale—with more than her heart on the line.  

Q: How long did it take you to write White Lights? Which scenes did you enjoy writing the most? I love the idea about Acheron not being a normal film school. 

A: I’ve been mapping out White Lights for several years, but once I actually sat down to write it, I finished the first draft in about six months. The subsequent drafts take me another six months, so it’s about a year of writing—after a much longer thinking journey. 

I loved being back in dark academia. Bringing the setting and social dynamics of Acheron to life was tremendous fun. It’s a dark, dangerous, debaucherous place full of secrets, which I was thrilled to uncover with Dez. I loved writing the tortured dynamic between Dez and Rafe. There’s a gala scene that takes place on a pivotal night in their relationship. It was one of the most exciting, and difficult, scenes to write. 

Q: What lessons or reminders do you hope readers learn and remember once they finish reading White Lights?

A: My books are always about the alchemizing power of love, how love gives us strength and sovereignty we wouldn’t otherwise have. White Lights is a cosmic love triangle, one side of which is enemies-to-lovers Another side of the triangle is the one-that-got-away. Dez’s journey is the third side. I’m proud of Dez’s courageous and dangerous act at the novel’s end. 

White Lights also reflects my fascination with the ancient texts discovered at Nag Hamadi in 1945. The fifty-two texts—found buried in urns in a rural Egyptian cave—were written at the same time the New Testament was written. But these texts were kept out of the Bible due largely to their gnostic teachings. Gnosticism imagines that the way to God and truth can be found within each soul—through knowledge and mystical inner wisdom—rather than through rules and laws and church. This subversive concept of the divine matches Desdemona’s rebellious spirit. 

Q: White Lights is the beginning of a trilogy. Have you finished writing book 2 and have you begun writing book 3 yet? 

A: I’ve just finished the first draft of the second book in the series, so I have a sense of its scope, but it’s still a work in progress. Where White Lights centers around a broken system of death, the second book contends with a dangerous epidemic of eternal life. A large portion of the novel is set in a sex cult. 

I have a vision for the climax of the third book, specifically where it will take place—and the journey to this unreachable destination feels endless with possibility.  

Q: Since this is your second series about a romance between angels and humans, would you ever consider writing a crossover series with the characters of Fallen & with the characters of White Lights? I think fans of one or both series (including me) would love to see that! 

A: It’s a great idea…

Q: Congratulations on Fallen becoming a series on AMC! Does Hollywood already have the rights to the White Lights trilogy and even some of your romantic comedies? 

A: Stay tuned…

Q: When Hollywood does get the rights to White Lights, who would be your dream cast to portray the characters you created? 

A: Off the top of my head…Margaret Qualley would be a great Dez. I like Charlie Plummer for Rafe. Lucas Hedges for Asher. Cara Delevinge for the ferocious White Lights angel called Yael. This is one I wouldn’t mind making a cameo in—perhaps as a piece of someone’s life flashing before their eyes.