by Rachel Hauck
As an author, it’s fun to revisit a novel once it’s been written and released. But Meet Me at the Starlight, which released in July, isn’t the story I first envisioned.
The idea for the novel began in 2018 with the Starlight as a dinner club with jazz and big band music. By the time I wrote “The End” in 2023, the Starlight was a skating rink!
The original heroine was Tuesday Danforth, a super model who tried to heal her broken heart with food. The hero was Ansel Longmire—I still love this name—a single father who also nursed a broken heart.
The fictional town of Sea Blue Beach, set on the north Florida coast, remained a constant from concept to completion. I love small towns, especially small beach towns, where everyone knows your name.
To me, small towns represent the dreams and hard work of our ancestors; and in many ways, they’re like family. There’s a familiarity to the streets and shops. A comfort in knowing your banker, grocer, pastor, and even the mayor.
I ended up putting the idea aside for other projects. By the time I returned to Sea Blue Beach, things had changed. For one, my niece named her baby Harlow. Harlow Hayes. I had to name a character Harlow Hayes. I mean, doesn’t that sound like a glamorous ’30s star or a private eye?
“Despite the dark and cold, Harlow Hayes was on the case.”
Since I don’t write P.I. stories, Harlow Hayes became my super model. Ansel Longmire became Matt Knight, an ’80s A-list actor with a past he wants to forget.
Then there was the Starlight. Was it a dinner club à la the 1940s? Perhaps a diner? (But I’d done a few of those in other novels.) A theater?
Then friend and author Beth Vogt suggested, “What about a skating rink?”
Ping! That was it. Once I knew the Starlight was a skating rink, the story took shape. The roller-skating heyday from the ’30s to the ’70s, fading by the mid-80s, became my timeline. Since I graduated from college in the ’80s, I was well prepared to revisit the era.
In the ’80s, models began to gain celebrity status—like Christy Brinkley and Kim Alexis. Actors like Rob Lowe and Emilio Estevez were part of the tabloid celebrated Brat Pack.
In the 2018 version, there was an older woman, Anna. In the 2023 rendition, she became Tuesday Knight, Matt’s grandmother, owner of the Starlight.
Tuesday was a star from her first scene. We meet her as a young wife and mother, trying to make it during the early days of the Depression. Rejected as a baby, abandoned as a teen, Tuesday constantly chooses love and faithfulness to others above herself yet never allows herself to be a victim.
While writing, I began to see the rink as a metaphor for God’s kingdom—a place to find truth, healing, and love.
I also kept feeling like the town of Sea Blue Beach had something to say. I’d seen this technique used before—the town as a character— and I liked how it moved the plot along without bogging down another character’s storyline. A talking town? Why not?
Sea Blue Beach and the Starlight also have royal roots, founded by a prince and a freed slave.
As with any novel, Meet Me at the Starlight required research. From the history of roller skating and roller skates, to the evolution of the modeling industry. Kim Alexis, an ’80s super model, was kind enough to explain the finer details of a model’s life.
As an avid roller skater in the ’70s, I drew from my own rink experiences to create the scenes at the Starlight—of course with hyperbole! The walk-on character of Gene, the airman from Eglin, is based on a real airman who often drove over to Tallahassee to skate with “the gang” on the weekend.
North Florida in the early 20th century was a farmer and fisherman culture until the government began selling lots in the ’30s. I used a bit of literary license to create the thriving Sea Blue Beach during that time.
The elements referencing WWII and Tuesday’s son are based on research as well. There are pop culture references from the ‘80s, such as Princess Diana, David Letterman, Tom Cruise and “Top Gun,” Bruce Willis and “Die Hard.” The Starlight’s music evolves from a Wurlitzer organ to Elvis to the Beatles to Foreigner.
So why not meet me at the Starlight, skate a session or two with Tuesday, Harlow, and Matt? It won’t be long until you know everyone’s name.
About the Author
Rachel Hauck is an award winning, New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. She is a double RITA finalist, and a Christy and Carol Award Winner. Her book, Once Upon a Prince, first in the Royal Wedding Series, was filmed for an Original Hallmark movie. Rachel was given the prestigious Career Achievement Award for her body of original work by Romantic Times Book Reviews. She is a writing workshop presenter and mentor, and earned the Mentor of the Year award from ACFW. A graduate of Ohio State University (Go Bucks!) with a degree in Journalism, she’s a former sorority girl and a devoted Ohio State football fan. Her bucket list is to stand on the sidelines with Ryan Day. She and her husband live in sunny east coast Florida.
About the Book
Former eighties supermodel Harlow Hayes seeks solace in a quaint Florida beach town to hide and heal from a heartbreak that shattered her entire world. To her surprise, she encounters Matt Knight—a Hollywood A-lister with a bad-boy reputation—who has returned to his hometown to help his plucky grandmother, Tuesday, save her century-old skating rink, the Starlight. Tuesday's determination and resilience even protected her beloved rink from her husband's shady business dealings. Yet when the Starlight is threatened with demolition, Tuesday may not be able to stop it. As Matt and Harlow plot with Tuesday to save the Starlight, they find themselves on a journey of surprises, self-discovery, and the kind of healing that leads to love.
Did You Know?
No matter how strong we might consider ourselves, and how much we like to go it alone, experts agree that being with others, relying on others you can trust, ultimately leads to a better life, quicker problem-solving processes, and even better health. Dr. Sue Johnson, a noted expert in that area of study suggests, “Being the ‘best you can be’ is really only possible when you are deeply connected to another. Splendid isolation is for planets, not peoples.” Here are some of the benefits the experts suggest from relating to others at a deep level:
Research suggests the benefits of having strong relationships include lower rates of anxiety and depression, higher self-esteem, greater empathy, and even longer life.
As humans, relationships are vital to our mental and emotional well-being and even our survival.
Healthy relationships encourage personal growth. There’s nothing better than having someone on your side when the chips are down, cheering you on and lending a hand when a hand is needed.
When life gets challenging, when things get tough literally and figuratively, I look forward to reaching out to others in my “home team” for the support, encouragement, and the extra muscle it occasionally takes to survive and thrive in today’s world.
-Dave Pratt, Home Team 2
Why I LOVE My Local Christian Bookstore
“There is something magical about a bookstore. I love to peruse the categories, lift books from shelves, and examine the covers and backs. Handling books in a brick-and-mortar store brings sensory pleasure that online shopping can’t duplicate.”
-Sally Jo Pitts, Sweet Deceit
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