1--What is the title of your latest release?
STONE COLD FOX
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
Stone Cold Fox is about Bea, a hot girl con artist who aims to marry into the 1 percent to bury her dark past for good, but it won’t be so easy to infiltrate a family this rich, especially when the best friend of her target husband wants nothing more than to put Bea in her place at any cost.
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
Old money is in New York so that’s where Bea had to be. As for the other cities briefly featured in Bea’s past, I chose wealthy neighborhoods in major metropolitan areas.
4--Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
One hundred percent. An emphatic yes.
5--What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Ambitious. Vicious. Hilarious.
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
That mommy issues may be even more dire than those of the daddy variety.
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I’ll do casual edits that I catch in the moment, but I don’t do any major revisions until I have a full draft in front of me. I find it’s better for my pace and overall workflow.
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Michelin star tasting menus when I’m traveling. Such a splurge, but always worth it. And yes, I add the wine pairing, otherwise what are we doing here?
9--Describe your writing space/office!
I almost always write at home, either on my balcony or in my office, both of which look onto the marina in LA. It’s very serene and beachy. And my dog Junie is frequently at my side, both for support and to ask for pets/walkies/treats. If I’m traveling, I tend to stick to the hotel room for writing. I’m just not someone who works in public, there’s too many variables and I prefer a quiet environment.
10--Who is an author you admire?
I admire so many – Eve Babitz, Alissa Nutting, Gillian Flynn, Stephen King – but lately I’ve been obsessed with Jackie Collins. I love that she wrote shamelessly and with her own smutty style, critics be damned. I think the writing life should be fun and she wholeheartedly embraced that with aplomb.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
The Secret Garden and Little Women both made me want to be a writer. I read them on repeat when I was a little girl.
12--Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
Well, it was a whole process that was new to me, but essentially the manuscript went to auction because there was a lot of interest. My agent called to loop me in when I was in New York actually, having a drink at the Bowery Hotel bar with my husband. That felt extra charming to get publishing news while in town. I ended up liking all the editors enormously during our initial calls, but I did have a standout favorite and when the proceedings were finished, she also came in with the most compelling offer, so it was a no-brainer. I was back home in LA when the auction went down and since it was happening on east coast time, I basically woke up to a book deal. It was all very exciting!
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
Bonkers thrillers with bitchy protagonists and tragic family sagas that make me weep.
14--What’s your favorite movie?
I have so many. Moulin Rouge! White Christmas. Almost Famous. Torn Hearts (is that gauche to say since I wrote it?). I suppose I gravitate to movies when music is a big part of the story. And of course, The Secret Garden (’93) and Little Women (’94).
15--What is your favorite season?
Fall. I love the fashion, the temperature, the holidays, my birthday, my dog’s birthday, my wedding anniversary. I very much thrive in Q4.
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
Anything luxurious. Last year my husband and I went wine tasting in the Santa Ynez Valley. Another year I spent the whole day at the spa. And I like to have a nice meal with my friends, too. I also usually have a little solo cry because I’m dramatic about aging. Oh, well.
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I’m an HBO fiend. Succession (I listened to the score to constantly while writing Stone Cold Fox), The White Lotus and I even binged Euphoria and fell in love with it, along with Sydney Sweeney and Zendaya, though I don’t recommend watching both seasons over the course of a couple days or you might end up having wild vivid dreams about doing drugs with teens in glitter makeup and running for your life. Oh, I also loved the movie Bodies Bodies Bodies. Super fun and clever. A book I loved recently was Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield. Creepy, sexy, weird, and beautiful -- truly quite a combo! It’s hard to pick because I watch and read so much. I share a lot of recommendations in my monthly newsletter which can be subscribed to on my website.
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
French. It’s such a treat and so cheese-forward.
19--What do you do when you have free time?
Read novels and magazines, go to the beach, go on vacation, go shopping, hang out with my husband and my dog, call my girlfriends. God, I love a gabfest on the phone, feels so retro. Anyway, I work very hard, but I absolutely prioritize my leisure time. I’m very lucky that what I do for a living happens to be so much fun, too.
20--What can readers expect from you next?
I can’t say too much yet, but I’m hard at work on another thriller where music is a big focus in terms of vibe and setting - and who knows? Maybe Bea’s story will continue down the line. She has quite a hold on me that one!
Like any enterprising woman, Bea knows what she’s worth and is determined to get all she deserves—it just so happens that what she deserves is to marry rich. Filthy rich. After years of forced instruction by her mother in the art of swindling men, a now-solo Bea wants nothing more than to close and lock the door on their sordid partnership so she can disappear safely into old-money domesticity, sealing the final phase of her escape.
When Bea chooses her ultimate target in the fully-loaded, thoroughly dull and blue-blooded Collin Case, she’s ready to deploy all of her tricks one last time. The challenge isn’t getting the ring, but rather the approval of Collin’s family and everyone else in their 1 percent tax bracket, particularly his childhood best friend, Gale Wallace-Leicester. Going toe-to-toe with Gale isn’t a threat to an expert like Bea, but what begins as an amusing cat-and-mouse game quickly develops into a dangerous pursuit of the grisly truth. Finding herself at a literal life-and-death crossroads, with everything on the line, Bea must finally decide who she really wants to be. Like mother, like daughter?
Thriller Psychological | Women's Fiction Contemporary [Berkley, On Sale: February 14, 2023, Hardcover / e-Book, ISBN: 9780593547502 / eISBN: 9780593547526]
Rachel Koller Croft is an author and screenwriter in Los Angeles where she has scripted projects for Blumhouse, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Comedy Central, among others. She lives by the beach with her husband, Charles, and their rescue pitbull, Juniper.
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