Check out our interview with Rachel Moore, the author of "Safari Murder Party."
What was your inspiration behind your most recent book?
When I was a sophomore in high school, my literature class read “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, and I actually think it changed my brain chemistry. The danger, the stakes, the twist! I knew that, when it entered public domain, I wanted to write a modernized homage to it, and "Safari Murder Party" is that book.
What does Reading Rainbow mean to you?
For me, it’s all about picking up books you love and reading them joyfully — no matter what someone else might think! — so your bookshelves can be a richly woven tapestry of thoughts and experiences beyond one point of view. There can never be too many stories that dare you to think and dream and feel new things.
Why do you feel representation of a variety of people is so important when it comes to writing books?
When we pick up books, we do it to experience lives outside of our own — to learn and grow and live vicariously through the pages — but there’s a special joy and comfort when books can also be a mirror to the world around us. And seeing yourself in the reflection? There’s nothing like it. Especially when I worked at a library, it’s so special to be able to hand someone a book that makes them feel seen.
Tell us a little more about the book and why you decided to write it.
Safari Murder Party is a dark comedy thriller that takes place on a private island safari park where the most dangerous predator might just be your boss. It follows a burnt out executive assistant desperate to earn her dream job as a travel magazine photographer when she joins the company retreat to the CEO’s private island, but his untimely demise (at the mouths of a few hungry lions) turns out to be a greater plot to bequeath his inheritance to the last employee standing. It’s a satirical look at the pressures placed upon workers, inspired by my own experience working at jobs where I felt like my soul was being actively stolen from me with every Slack notification.
What can fans expect from your book?
Don’t expect to take anything too seriously. "Safari Murder Party" is a campy, bloody thriller with a cast of hyperbolic office characters who are willing to do anything to get ahead. But I’m nothing if not a sucker for a happily ever after, so even while there are a few dozen wild animals to outrun (and an equally feral Sales department), you can count on our lead characters, Fletcher and Waylon, falling in love along the way.
What's up next for you in the bookish world?
I’ve got more zany thrillers up my sleeve! This time, I’m turning the comedic lens toward love itself, and I can’t wait to tell you more about it soon.
