Q&A With Lauren Thoman

Lauren Thoman is the author of Mindy’s Book Studio selection, I’ll Stop the World and her new release coming out on August 1, You Shouldn’t Be Here. Lauren’s pop culture writing has appeared in numerous online outlets such as Parade and Vulture.

Q: Lauren, would you give a brief description of You Shouldn’t Be Here?

A: Of course! You Shouldn’t Be Here follows two main characters in the same eastern Pennsylvanian town. One is a teenager named Angie who is determined to prove her house is haunted; the other is a choir teacher named Madelyn who has just moved to town hoping to find answers about the mysterious disappearance of her cousin a couple of years before. Madelyn and Angie are total strangers to one another and looking into different things, but their investigations wind up intersecting in unexpected ways, and put them both on the wrong side of the most dangerous and powerful man in town, who will stop at nothing to make sure his secrets stay buried. 

Q: Where did the idea for You Shouldn’t Be Here come from? I enjoyed reading the book so much with a mystery and a ghost story with twists!

A: I love good ghost stories and had the idea that it might be fun to play with the haunted house trope outside of the horror genre. Since my last book, I’ll Stop the World, was a speculative mystery, it felt natural to make this one a mystery as well. I also had been doing a lot of thinking about power and money and accountability and had been doing a lot of research into narcissism and cults and high-control groups, so all of that quickly congealed into the villain, Doug Raymond, and helped shape the conflict of the book. 

Q: In your acknowledgments section you wrote about how you know what it’s like to doubt yourself and feel as though you second-guess every choice and decision like Madelyn felt in the book. Of course, she becomes more confident throughout the story. Would you say Madelyn is like you? Are any of your other characters taken from bits and pieces of people you know?

A: All my characters are informed by people I know in one way or another! No one is 100% based on any one person, but all the threads I use to weave them together are taken from life. Madelyn and I do have a lot in common, especially in the ways her anxiety tends to manifest, but there are also bits and pieces of a lot of other people in her. Like many writers, I’m constantly taking mental notes about the people I encounter. For me, there’s no other choice if I want to write compelling characters; I need to have more tools in my belt than just my own personal experience. Not every character I write can think and act like me without the story feeling monotonous and boring. So, it’s important to look outside myself to see all the other ways people interact with the world, and to try to understand what makes us all different from one another. It’s only through paying attention in real life that I feel equipped to make things up in fiction.

Q: What is the plot of your next book if it’s not too early to share?

A: That’s a good question, and I wish I knew the answer! You Shouldn’t Be Here is a standalone novel which was sold in a one-book deal, which means there is nothing specific I must write or publish next. So, I’m working on a few things, and we’ll see which one crosses the finish line first. One is a post-apocalyptic haunted house horror novel for adults; one is a YA novel that I’m co-writing with a friend which reimagines a series of historical events in a contemporary setting; and one is a superhero mystery/thriller. Hopefully one or all of those will eventually make it through the publishing pipeline, but your guess as to which one will be next is as good as mine!  

Q: You have written for Parade and Vulture! I think it’s impressive having work in major online publications. For anyone wanting to submit work for online publications, what is your advice to them? What is the submission process like?

A: My main advice is to be confident, polite, and professional. Pitch yourself in a way that makes it easy to say yes and hard to say no. Too many writers wind up undermining themselves when they pitch their ideas. They lead with all the reasons not to hire them, like “I know I don’t have a lot of experience, but…” or “I don’t know if anyone is interested in this, but…” Don’t do that! Pitch like you know what you’re doing, and like you know who your audience is, and like you know there will be a demand. Word your pitch email professionally, and if there are submission instructions listed on the publication website, follow them to the letter.

Once you manage to land an assignment, budget your time so that you can turn in a clean draft by or before the deadline, and always communicate with your editor if you have any questions or problems. So much of getting consistent work as a writer boils down to simply being reliable about turning in good work on time. Eventually, once you establish yourself as a good writer who is easy to work with, you may even be offered assignments instead of having to cold pitch. 

Q: If Hollywood were to get the rights to You Shouldn’t Be Here who would be your dream cast to play the characters you created? I would especially love to see You Shouldn’t Be Here become a limited series because the story has everything I like with a mystery, ghosts and twists and turns. Also, I’m sick of Hollywood doing remakes, reboots, sequels, prequels and spin-offs to everything.

A: You are speaking my language—I adore limited series, and that would be my preferred format for an adaptation! Casting is tricky though, since I didn’t really have any specific actors in mind when I was writing this book. For Madelyn, I think Jessica Henwick could be good. Angie is tough, since I don’t know many actors that can convincingly play teenagers, period, much less a mixed-race Chinese American ghost-hunting teen. I would say Stephanie Hsu has the right vibe, but she’s probably too old to play a 16-year-old now. Maybe Auli’i Cravalho? Come to think of it, she could also play Madelyn. This is hard! 

For Alex, I envision him as someone like Tyler Posey. Very charming and soft-spoken with good hair. I’m at a complete loss for Bas, since again, I just don’t really know many teen actors. Maybe an unknown new talent? And then with Syzygy, I think Brigette Lundy-Paine would be amazing. 

Doug Raymond, though, I think should be a recognizable older actor, someone with a lot of charisma who can also pull off sinister and creepy. Joe Pantoliano would be good, I think. Or maybe someone like Chris Cooper, or even Jeff Bridges. Sam Neil would be another interesting way to go. Lots of options with him!