I wanted to show how-under the right circumstances-anyone can make bad, stupid choices.

Why did you choose to set up the narrative in this manner?Ī: When people use the phrase “Stalker Girl,” they often also use an adjective like “crazy” or “creepy” or “pathetic.” As if to say only the saddest specimens of humanity would stoop so low. Q: You structured this book in a unique way, opening with Carly stalking Taylor, then “rewinding” six months to Carly’s relationship with Brian. Brian, the boy they both love, was nowhere to be seen. Looking back, I think it’s interesting that both Carly and Taylor were present in my initial half-realized scene. The girl obsessively checking her phone is excited because she and her fabulous boyfriend have backstage passes for a Vampire Weekend show that night and she needs to know when he’s picking her up. But when I’m sad, I imagine that everyone else is happy. The girl who keeps checking her phone is desperately hoping to hear back from the boy who’s drifting away.

I focus in on things that seem to indicate trouble. Some time ago I realized that when I’m happy, I tend to invent sad stories for strangers. Like many writers, I’m a big people watcher and I often find imagine my way into other people’s lives. Q: What was your inspiration for writing Stalker Girl? Did it start with the concept of stalking, with the character of Carly, or with something else?Ī: It started with a half-realized scene of an unhappy teenage girl sitting in a café watching and marveling at another teen girl who, from the outside, seems perfect.

Stalker Girl by Rosemary Graham