Two local BFFs concoct a complex crime novel!
Besties have been known to swap clothes, recipes, travel tips and child-rearing insights. Brookhaven’s Kendall Shores and Buckhead’s Meredith Lavender have gone well beyond the basics and ventured into designing the perfect murder.
It’s all in good literary fun that resulted in the pair’s co-written novel, Happy Wife. It grew out of their friendship, forged three years ago when their kids became best pals, and from Shores’ turning 40.
“I knew Meredith had worked on a lot of TV shows I admired and enjoyed, and I always had jobs that involved writing,” Shores says. “But that milestone of turning 40 made me realize I still hadn’t found a way to be creative.”
Shores’ career included grant writing and communications consulting for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Mailchimp until October 2023. Lavender spent 25 years in Hollywood writing TV scripts for shows produced by major studios including ABC, USA Network and HBO’s Max. At the start of COVID, she and her Canadian-born husband decided to make a major life change and move to Atlanta, where they bought a house sight-unseen.
“I’d been coming to Georgia to go to Sea Island since I was a kid,” says Lavender, who was raised in Illinois. “And I knew about film and TV productions here. I never shot shows in LA, but I have in Atlanta.”
Lavender continues to work in the industry, so she’s used to hearing idea pitches. “Some are great, and some are not, but when Kendall pitched her idea for a book, I got excited,” Lavender says. During one of their regular walks around Chastain Park, Shores tossed out the rough storyline set in her hometown of Winter Park, Florida, about a younger second wife living in an exclusive enclave when her high-powered, middle- aged attorney husband goes missing after a big bash. The story takes off as the wife has to prove she had nothing to do with the disappearance and possible murder.
“I love great ideas and working with people I love,” Lavender says. “We were both very motivated. In June 2023, she sent me an outline for chapters and characters. We walked again two weeks later and decided to do it. We had a full draft by Labor Day. The writers were on strike at the time, and when you have a great idea and a lot of time, you can get a lot done.”
Lavender sent a copy to her TV agent who passed it on to a literary agent who read it at Thanksgiving. By January, the book was sold to Penguin Random House. It hits online and store shelves this month and is a first novel for both authors. And both agree it couldn’t have happened without their friendship and wanting to have fun. “It was a departure from my corporate world of work and Meredith’s being on strike,” Shores says. “We wrote it to be read like you’re hanging out with a friend.”
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PHOTO: Joann Vitelli
