Afterhours – E. Beth Allan

Description

Author: E. Beth Allan
Publisher: Lulu (2012)
ISBN: 978-1-304-30625-2

In brief

A slice-of-nightlife novel with heart, heat, and the kind of under-the-skin detail that only comes from lived experience. Afterhours takes readers deep into the pulse of a new Wellington club and the personal transformations that unfold after dark.

About the book

What part could you play in a hot new club?

It’s June 2003, and Wellington’s dance floors are shifting. A new club is opening — part queer refuge, part creative dream, part community experiment. It’s a space carved out of grit and glamour, and the cast of characters that gather here is as mixed as the music on the decks.

Told from multiple perspectives and written with a rhythmic, character-driven urgency, Afterhours follows a group of people navigating nightlife, identity, and belonging. There’s the promoter chasing a vision, the sceptical friend watching it unfold, the hesitant lovers, the idealists, the addicts, the wallflowers, and the rule-breakers. And behind it all, the pulsing soundtrack of house, pop, techno and something else entirely.

Author E. Beth Allan weaves her background in youth work and performance into a vibrant and emotionally resonant novel. This is not just about clubbing — it’s about the way we find each other in darkened rooms and neon glows, the way strangers become anchors, and the way a night out can change everything.

Reviewer praise

“A vivid and gritty portrait of Wellington’s underground. The writing hums with authenticity.” — Capital Times

“Think Queer as Folk meets Shortland Street on MDMA.” — Salient

“This book makes you want to go out, dance, cry, and call your ex. In that order.” — Goodreads reviewer

“Afterhours is electric with feeling. It’s also tender, wry, and beautifully human.” — Pip Adam

“An insider’s view of a scene most fiction skips past.” — Reader review, Unity Books