What began as a television pilot has become the debut novel for Elon alumna Rachel Taff, exploring the nuances and impact of true crime obsession.
Hollywood is swimming with book-to-screen adaptations, but Rachel Taff ’14 decided to do the opposite, adapting a television pilot into her debut novel “Paper Cut,” out Jan. 27 through William Morrowan, an imprint of HarperCollins in North America and Corvus, an imprint of Atlantic Books, in the UK.
Taff had worked for several years as a television producer and executive, including for Emmy-award-winning director and former president of the Directors Guild of America, Thomas Schlamme. But as her TV production career was on the rise, her personal “creative pursuits felt paralyzed.” In 2020, Taff signed up for a novel-writing course. She had already written a TV pilot titled “Paper Cut,” which she held a table read for at Elon House in 2019, but she was ready to take it further.
“I didn’t know what I was getting into,” Taff said. “It was helpful because I had this germ of an idea and of a character, but I was really just scratching the surface.”
The psychological thriller tells the story of Lucy Golden, who has become infamous for a murder she committed while escaping a California cult. Golden faces threatening questions about her past, while also working to turn a new documentary about her into a narrative-changing vehicle. The novel is told through a narrative split between the present-day production of the documentary and Lucy’s memoir about her time in the cult. Both a coming -of-age story and a take on true-crime obsession, the story was inspired, in part, by Taff’s work in television.
“I would have these stories come across my desk and was told to evaluate them for entertainment value, their adaptability and their marketability. It quickly became uncomfortable for me trying to look at these people’s tragedies as commodities,” she said. “I wanted to play on what these people’s futures turn out to be when the worst moment of your life becomes your biggest asset.”
Taff graduated from Elon in 2014 with a degree in media arts & entertainment (now cinema & television arts) and was the president of Cinelon, which she notes was formative in her development as a writer.
“It was the beginning of me learning how to be a producer, and that was really communicating and leading, and I know that has helped me even in the writing process. The better producer I became, the better writer I often became, because I would be less precious with myself and learned quickly that “the best idea wins,” Taff said.
While revising, Taff was developing pitches and scripts with writers at Dynamic Television, known for the Netflix hit, “Ginny and Georgia.” Working with writers during her television career also helped Taff handle feedback on the novel from her editors.
“It was nice to have the guidance after being by myself for so long. I’m happy that it was such a smooth experience,” she said. “TV is such a collaborative effort, and things can change and fall apart and you can blame all different kinds of people when it does. But when it’s just you and your prose, it’s very vulnerable but also freeing to have something that’s wholly my voice and what I want to say.”
Taff recently wrote the Point of View column for the Magazine of Elon’s Fall 2025 edition, encouraging others to take lessons from her journey and find their voice.
“Don’t wait for an opportunity to knock on your door. Make one,” Taff said. “Sometimes, trying something that scares you — teaching yourself a new medium, becoming a student again — is exactly what leads you onto the right path. You may even discover your dream can change.”
“Paper Cut” is available for pre-order now and out Jan. 27 at major booksellers. Taff will also be going on a book tour with stops in Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Charlotte, Atlanta, Decatur, Asheville and Charleston.