Sara Grant on Best Friends

Guest post by Sara Grant, author of Dark Parties

BFFs 4 Evva


Dark Parties is a love story. Sure there’s a sexy, mysterious leading man and forbidden romance. But in many ways the central love story is between two best friends – Neva and Sanna. If you are lucky enough to have a best friend, you know the importance of this relationship and that they save your life in big and small ways all the time.

When I was Neva’s age, boyfriends came and went but girlfriends endured. I wanted to write a story with friendship at its heart. Maybe that’s strange for a book titled Dark Parties. But this feminine camaraderie is the underlying pulse of the book. Neva and Sanna complete each other. They finish each other’s sentences. Neva grounds Sanna and serves as her surrogate family. Sanna provides Neva with a spark and an energy.


When the novel opens, Neva and Sanna have decided to rebel against the government. Each has different objectives. Sanna wants to make a splash. Neva wants to make a difference. Sanna has the ideas. Neva has the connections. They host a dark party – a party in the pitch black. Their hope is to entice their friends to join them in a secret rebellion. But when the lights go out, Neva accidently kisses someone. When the lights come back on, she realizes she’s kissed Sanna’s boyfriend. Now she’s falling for her best friend’s boyfriend and discovering secrets and lies that threaten her friendship, her family and her country. Ultimately Neva must risk everything to save her best friend.


Sanna reminds me of two of my best friends. She’s part my oldest and dearest friend Courtney. We met in college. She’s the one who understands me like no other – and likes me anyway. We have been friends for more than twenty years. We have grown up and weathered many trials and tribulations together. We are separated by a big ocean but no matter how long between our phone calls, it’s like we were never apart. She knows the right thing to say no matter what my conundrum.


Sanna is also part my newest and dearest friend. From the moment we met in 2005, we had an instant connection. We are both Americans named Sara who married Brits and now live in the UK – and have a deep love for Mexican food. She has boundless enthusiasm and is never at a loss for big ideas. She never ceases to amaze me. I can always count on her.


What’s the saying? A friend helps you move, your best friend helps you move a body. If one of my friends called with an emergency – no matter what the time, no matter where I was – I’d drop everything to help.

What would you do to save your best friend?