Emily asked Ann Redisch Stampler:

Hey Ann! Have you considered writing a teen novel that's set outside of L.A.? How do you think the story of Afterparty would translate to another setting?

Ann Redisch Stampler Hi Emily,

Good questions! Actually, I'm very excited about a new novel, a thriller, that (ta da!) is not set in L.A. Think small town Ohio and Las Vegas, with one episode of a cross country chase set in a part of L.A. where the Afterparty characters would never, ever venture.

As for whether Afterparty would work in another setting -- certainly girls develop intense two-edged friendships like Emma and Siobhan's, and guys like Dylan blow through their lives with hurricane force, beyond L.A. city limits. There are parents who try to control their daughters all over the place, and girls who rebel and break the rules. L.A. doesn't have a lock on girls whose family histories haunt them, and who feel they don't belong anywhere. So in terms of the emotional center of the story, not L.A.-specific.

In terms of the externals of Emma and Siobhan's lives, though, Los Angeles plays a significant role. I suspect that the book would have an entirely different feel if it were set in a different city.

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