Liani Kotcher, also known as Rektok Ross, is a former trial attorney who has successfully transitioned into the roles of author, screenwriter, and producer. Her repertoire includes the popular Season Series, comprising Ski Weekend, Summer Rental, and her most recent release, Spring Harvest.
Spring Harvest: A Fresh Take on Vampire Lore
Spring Harvest, Ross’s latest offering, is a pulse-pounding vampire action thriller. Primarily aimed at adults in their 20s- 40s who enjoy young adult fiction, the book delivers a fast-paced narrative with a streamlined prose style reminiscent of YA and commercial fiction. While not explicitly written for teens, its appeal might extend to mature younger readers due to its mature situations and strong language.
Ross drew inspiration for Spring Harvest from diverse sources. She was captivated by the action and suspense of horror movies like Halloween H2O and shows like Stranger Things. As well as vampire classics like The Lost Boys, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Salem’s Lot, and The Vampire Diaries. The unique fusion of genres and settings was sparked during a road trip from Northern California to Los Angeles. Passing a sign for Gilroy, the garlic capital of the world, ignited Ross’s imagination, and she ingeniously blended the concept of vampires with a music festival, thus birthing Spring Harvest.
Rektok Ross on crafting Spring Harvest hero Alix Summerlin
At the heart of Spring Harvest is Alix Summerlin, a striking and self-assured young woman navigating a recent breakup. Alix is not seeking to be a savior. However, when vampires invade the music festival she’s attending, she is unexpectedly thrust into the role of hero. Ross emphasizes Alix’s strength and competence, distinguishing her from the typical damsel in distress often portrayed in similar stories. Alix’s journey involves embracing vulnerability and emotions, which she has suppressed due to past trauma.
She’s not this fragile, insecure girl, you know, female character that we see a lot in these types of stories—the one that then changes into a strong person. She’s always been strong. Her change is actually the opposite. It’s getting more in touch with her vulnerability and her emotions, which she’s really shut off because of some personal tragedy she’s had in her own life.She really has issues with loving people and letting people in. Except for her best friend and her dad—those are the only two people she really loves. And it’s a big issue for her. I think it was really fun to write a character arc where she’s the opposite of what you’re expecting as a woman in these types of stories. She’s not… she is very, very strong. She is not the underdog. – Rektok Ross
Often, the most inspirational stories are those where the underdog rises up, and there are plenty of stories about the unlikely girl finding the strength to save the day. But what’s refreshing about this story is that it feels more realistic to what we see in reality. We see it every day when we look to matriarchs and community leaders who have always been strong. Whether it’s out of necessity or some other factor, there are women in our communities who are not afraid to do what has to be done. Women who feel a sense of justice. Women who become heroes in their own communities every day.
The Vampires in the Spring Harvest Universe
Although Ross drew inspiration for Spring Harvest from diverse Pop Culture and Vampire Lore sources, the story’s inspiration came from somewhere completely different.
I was driving from Northern California to LA for the first time, a trip I’ve now done many times. I was alone with my dog, late at night. If you’ve never made this drive before, it might surprise you. There are a lot of farm towns in California, something you might not expect if you haven’t visited or aren’t from there. We often think of Hollywood and entertainment, but California is a huge agricultural state. There are stretches of the drive with nothing but farmland.
Late at night, with just my dog, I saw this huge, creepy sign: “Gilroy, the garlic capital of the world.” As any thriller/horror writer would, I thought, “That’s crazy! What is this random town doing in the middle of nowhere, growing so much garlic?” And why would you need that much garlic? My mind, of course, immediately went to vampires. I thought about everything happening in California at the time – fires, extreme heat, record-breaking temperatures. What if this garlic town existed for a reason? What if they grew garlic because of a vampire infestation they finally got under control? And what if a global warming event wiped out the garlic crop? Would the vampires return?
That’s how the idea came together. I wanted to write about this cool farm town, but all my books involve groups of friends going on trips and getting into trouble. How could I get them to a garlic town? Why would they go there? Then it clicked: garlic festival, music festival, springtime. I thought it would be fun to have them go on what they think will be an awesome party weekend at a Coachella or Stagecoach-type festival, only for vampires to show up.
The vampires in Spring Harvest are unique and interesting. They are science-based vampires, not fantastical or supernatural. They have a gene that is suppressed by garlic, and when the garlic goes away, the gene turns on. This makes them more realistic and believable than the vampires often seen in fiction. Ross did keep a couple of nods to traditional vampire lore. Such as their strength, speed, and aversion to running water.
You can purchase “Spring Harvest” by Rektok Ross on Amazon or Barnes & Noble. Make sure to also check out the other two popular books in her Season Series, Ski Weekend and Summer Rental.
