I make things up and write them down.

I’m Daria Lavelle, a speculative fiction writer and the author of Aftertaste. I’m thrilled you’re here! Come on in. Pull up an imaginary glowing chair. Let’s hang out.

Aftertaste

now available for pre-order

A food story to binge. A ghost story to devour. A love story to savor.

What if you could have one last meal with someone you’ve loved, someone you’ve lost? Aftertaste is the story of Konstantin, a grieving dishwasher who discovers that his food can bring spirits back from the Dead for one last meal with their Living. Convinced that his calling is reuniting strangers with their dearly departed, he sets out to open a New York restaurant serving closure, never expecting to fall in love—or to threaten the stability of the Afterlife—in the process.

An epic love story, a dark comedy, and a synesthetic adventure through food and grief, Aftertaste is about all the ways we hunger, and how far we might go to find satisfaction.

PRAISE FOR AFTERTASTE

  • "A hauntingly evocative journey through the realms of pain, pleasure, and the power of food."

    Nigella Lawson
    Food writer and host of The Taste, MasterChef, Nigella Feasts and more

  • "Brilliantly constructed and wholly original, Aftertaste is like no novel you’ve ever tried before. It’s much more than your usual dish—it’s a whole literary tasting menu. Packed with ghosts, romance, fine dining, and the mob, it will leave you stunned, thrilled, and totally satiated."

    Julia Phillips
    Author of Bear and Disappearing Earth

  • "An original concept perfectly realized. Witty and poignant, surprising and satisfying, this lovely book about death is brimming with life."

    Karen Joy Fowler
    Award-winning author of We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves

  • "A breathtaking novel. Combining the grit of the restaurant world with the magic of the afterlife, Aftertaste perfectly blends unexpected ingredients into a book you'll want to savor. I already can't wait to read it again."

    Laura Hankin
    Author of One Star Romance and The Daydreams

  • "Aftertaste is practically exploding with love, life and flavour. I relished every word."

    Louise Kennedy
    Best-selling author of Trespasses

  • "A decadent debut that marks the arrival of a sparkling new voice. Dark and delicious, sincerely moving and at times laugh out loud funny, a heady, bittersweet, beautiful novel about life and death, grief and closure, passion and hunger. A must-read."

    Rachel Harrison
    USA Today Bestselling author of So Thirsty and Black Sheep

  • "Aftertaste offers the glories of food and cooking—all the yes-chef details we now love—in a cool, brilliant, and suspenseful novel whose spec-fic plot wants to talk about the mysteries of sense-memory and death.  I could not put it down."

    Joan Silber
    Author of Secrets of Happiness and Improvement

early book buzz

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Most Anticipated Books of 2025
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I build worlds out of words.

Daria Lavelle writes fiction, most of which features some pretty impossible things.

Her debut novel, Aftertaste, a dark comedy about food, ghosts, and the New York culinary scene, will be published in May 2025 by Simon & Schuster in North America, Bloomsbury in the UK, and around the world.

Her short fiction has appeared in Dark Matter, The Deadlands, Dread Machine, and more, and her work has been shortlisted for prizes by The Masters Review and The Molotov Cocktail Zine.

She holds a degree in Comparative Literature and Creative Writing from Princeton University, and an MFA in Writing from Sarah Lawrence College, with a focus on Speculative Fiction. When she's not inventing worlds or distorting this one, she enjoys opera, escape rooms, and One Night Ultimate Werewolf. She lives in the Garden State with her husband, their hyperactive golden doodle, and their three magical children, who are in training to learn how to make stuff up, too.