By Marissa Wells
Contributing Writer
Grace, a melancholic vampire, calls a suicide hotline seeking advice on how to die but instead connects with Ness, an idealistic operator. As they explore what’s more important — safety in life or certainty and excitement in death —their connection deepens into a dangerous love story. The more Grace shares about her life as an outsider, the more Ness understands her desire to die, while simultaneously being drawn to her alluring qualities.
So goes “Death of a Nightingale” by Annika Pampel.
The book was inspired by the anger and copious amount of unanswered questions Pampel experienced following the suicide of a friend.
“I’ve thought a lot about how we talk about depression and suicidal thoughts and how we as a people shy away from truly hearing about the different depths of it,” Pampel said. “In order to chat about both, the darkness and my friends’ absurdly morbid sarcasm, I wanted to write an escapist story that can embrace all of those different shades.”
It was important for Pampel to write a book that addresses heavy questions in ways that would be easily digestible for readers.
“I remember having my fair share of tough situations to handle as a young adult and not enough literature that touched upon those subjects and that made me want to read it,” she said.
“Death of a Nightingale” is intended for young adult readers ages 16-30. Readers will be presented with important life lessons that testify to the beauty of being present and the strength of being vulnerable.
“There are a lot of pieces of teenage angst in the story and relationship struggles as well as questions of growing into one’s own sexuality without judging oneself too harshly,” Pampel said. “I want audiences to just enjoy the ride; it’s a fun adventure with sexy dark shadows and characters from a different world.”
Pampel’s favorite part of her book is the dark sense of humor of the characters.
“It’s absurd and a little off-beat, romantic and realistic,” Pampel said. “There are levity and beauty in the darkest moments of our life, too.”
In addition to being an author, Pampel is a filmmaker and actress based in Los Angeles. For more information about the author and her work, visit Instagram @annikapampel and @death.ofanightingale.
“Death of a Nightingale” is available for $18 on Amazon in addition to other online retailers and book stores.
