For those that know me well, what inspired me to write “Girl’s Night” should come as no surprise. As a young gay boy I was obsessed with the TV series Charlie’s Angels, the original, and its original leads: Kate Jackson, Farrah Fawcett-Majors (then), Jaclyn Smith, and Cheryl Ladd, the latter who replaced Farrah after the first season. Cheryl actually became my favorite as the spunky, but relatable Kris Munroe, the little sister of Fawcett’s Jill Munroe.
Gorgeous girls with big hair, bell bottoms, platform shoes and guns, fighting the bad guys. It was pure escapism and tailor made for my vivid imagination; it kick-started my favor of crime/detective fiction.
The show stayed with me, even to this day, but as I matured and my writing skills matured, I longed to somehow express a similar plot with more of my signature expression. A few decades later, during the explosion of “Chick Lit” which I believe Charlie’s Angels somehow inspired, I got the idea to write a stand alone short story about four, female, high school friends that reunite, late thirty-something women that get together and become involved in a crime mystery. After I had finished it, I realized it was a combo of Charlie’s Angels and the late 90’s popular, “Sex And The City”, a show I had never watched, but knew it played well to the celebrated, empowered, successful, martini sipping girlfriend culture that had become popular, thankfully. Even my tagline of Girl’s Night is: Martinis & Murder.
Throw in my favorite female murder mystery, early 70’s Movie of The Week classic, “Five Desperate Women”, in my opinion the precursor to Charlie’s Angels which was also an Aaron Spelling production, I had found my groove. I’ll focus solely on Five Desperate Women in a future post, not sure when.
I dare not give too much of Girl’s Night away, however, Tamara, Rita, Melissa and Lisa finally meet up at a swanky martini joint in Chicago’s South Loop neighborhood. Through the years they had mostly been in contact with each other on social media reunions. Right away their familiar chemistry as close friends from high school kicks in: They were very close, like sisters with all the dynamics like, competitiveness, love and envy, all rolled up into one complicated ball, mix in a little crime and you’ve got it.
After writing Girl’s Night, I put it on the shelf and started working on other projects, almost completely forgetting about it until I took an inventory of my short stories. I had never intended on Girl’s Night being more than a one time short, but as I read it again, I realized how well it would work as a short read series. I revised it, made one major change to a characters fate, and was ready to write the follow up: Girl’s Night: Disco Night. It was my direct homage to Charlie’s Angels and the 70’s. I’ll go into that one more when it’s ready for publication.
I can’t deny that Girl’s Night, like Charlie’s Angels, is pure escapism. It’s totally unrealistic for four high school friends to get involved in crimes at every reading, however I hope to entertain an audience that likes to have fun, and as unrealistic as certain elements are, I want to blend in the realism of today, such as friendships, dating, loneliness and crime that we face in our society like never before. I hope you’ll enjoy reading Girl’s Night.
https://www.amazon.com/Girls-Night-Franchot-ebook/dp/B07Y8KNBJ7