Lauren Thoman
Author Interview - Lauren Thoman
Author of I'll Stop the World and You Shouldn't Be Here
About You Shouldn't Be Here:
When sixteen-year-old Angie Stewart starts hearing a mysterious voice in her house, she’s thrilled at the possibility of a ghost. Finally, something interesting is happening in her boring hometown of East Henderson, Pennsylvania. But why is she the only one who can hear it? And what does it want from her?
Meanwhile, first-year teacher Madelyn Zhao just got the keys to her new home, which is located close to her job, within walking distance of a dog park—and, most importantly, in the town where her cousin went missing several years ago. No one in East Henderson wants to talk about what happened, but Madelyn is determined to find answers.
As the two strangers search for clues, their investigations begin to point toward the same dark place. But by the time they realize that the truth could be deadly, it’s too late to turn back. And someone out there will stop at nothing to make sure their secrets stay buried.
Author Interview - Lauren Thoman
About I'll Stop the World:
Trapped in a dead-end town, eighteen-year-old Justin Warren has always had his life defined by the suspicious deaths of his grandparents thirty-eight years before. In a cosmic twist of fate, Justin’s choices send him crashing into the path of Rose Yin, a senior at his school that he's never met―because Rose lives in 1985. Justin won’t be born for another twenty years. And his grandparents are still alive―for now. In a series of events that reverberate through multiple lifetimes, Justin and Rose have a week to get Justin unstuck in time and put each of them in control of their futures―by solving a murder that hasn’t even happened yet.
Author Interview - Lauren Thoman
Author I draw inspiration from:
2024: Stephen King, Michael Crichton, Robin Hobb (Realm of the Elderlings series), R.F. Kuang (The Poppy War series), V.E. Schwab (The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue)
2023: Every author I read. Especially other author friends who ask me to critique their manuscripts and help make them better before publication. It doesn't matter what genre it is; reading the work of other people always has something to teach me about craft, about character, about how to weave a sentence or set up a conflict or deliver a twist. Even when something doesn't work for me, it's helpful to ask myself what's not working about it, and how I can avoid doing the same thing in my own work. Every book I read is a writing workshop. Every story helps fill the creative well. The fuller that well is, the easier it is to draw from it.
Favorite place to read a book:
2024: By the fireplace snuggled up with my dogs.
2023: I prefer audiobooks, which I like to listen to while taking my dogs on walks through our neighborhood. But if I'm reading a physical book, it depends on the weather. On a cold winter night, I love nothing more than to curl up by a roaring fire in the rocking chair my husband made for me. On a warm summer day, I like to read in the hammock out on our porch. And on a drizzly afternoon, there's nothing better than sitting in my dragon chair (a wingback armchair we reupholstered in dragon fabric) in my library with a book and a tasty beverage... and probably a dog or two.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with:
2024: This is perhaps cheating slightly, but since I read SO many Star Trek: The Next Generation novelizations as a teenager, I'm going with Captain Jean Luc Picard. I just think he would be a fascinating person who would never run out of interesting things to talk about, and of course because he is Patrick Stewart, I could happily listen to him talk about anything, indefinitely. Obviously he would need to have a thermos of Earl Grey tea to keep him from being cranky.
(Also there is literally an episode of TNG where Picard gets stuck in a turbolift, which is Star Trek's version of an elevator, with a bunch of children, and it's my very favorite episode. It's called "Disaster.")
2023: The Fool from Robin Hobb's Realm of the Elderlings series. I feel like we'd never run out of things to talk about.
Author Interview - Lauren Thoman | Book Character I’d Like to be Stuck in an Elevator With
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author:
2024: After finishing The Hunger Games, I really wanted to read something else that made me feel the same way, but the next few books I read didn't scratch the same itch. Out of frustration, I decided to try writing my own. My dystopian idea fell apart after about five pages, but I really enjoyed writing them, and decided to keep going with a different idea.
2023: After reading The Hunger Games trilogy. It left me with such a profound book hangover that the only cure was to try writing my own.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook:
2024: I love using the dust jacket as a bookmark with a hardcover, love the portability of paperbacks, love the search ability and accessibility of ebooks, and adore how audiobooks (my favorite format) allow me to multitask while listening to a book. I also love that I can check out audiobooks and ebooks from the library without ever leaving my house!
2023: Audiobook for nonfiction and some fiction. Hardback for the rest, and also if I just really love an audiobook and want to hold the physical one in my hands or see it on my bookshelves.
The last book I read:
2024: Slow Noodles: A Cambodian Memoir of Love, Loss, and Family Recipes by Chantha Nguon. It was absolutely captivating, and also made me extremely hungry.
2023: The Poison Thread by Laura Purcell. I tweeted at the author that I feel like if "PrimDark" was a genre, this would be it. So genteel. So grim. Lovely writing that at times had me curling up in a horrified ball.
Author Interview - Lauren Thoman | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer:
2024: Computer! First I outline by telling myself the story out loud, and transcribing it via voice-to-text on my phone. Then I go in and edit the transcript until it makes sense, and add/change it until it feels solid. From there, I will use that to create a spreadsheet where I will figure out what each chapter is about and in what order they go. And then I draft in Scrivener.
2023: Computer. I have so many empty notebooks because I think I'm going to try writing by hand, and then I just can't make myself do it.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with:
2024: Samwise Gamgee from The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien! We would spend our days gardening and snacking and taking naps. It would be amazing.
2023: Chen Kitay from The Poppy War series by R.F. Kuang. I just want to wrap him in bubble wrap. We'd just hang out and play board games and never get into any trouble, it would be great. (see also: Samwise Gamgee from The Lord of the Rings; just replace the games with gardening and cooking stew.)
Author Interview - Lauren Thoman | Book Character I’d be Best Friends With
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a:
2024: Lawyer or a data analyst. I think there are probably alternate universes out there where that's what I'm doing.
2023: The dull answer is freelance pop culture writer, since that's what I was doing up until I sold "I'll Stop the World." The alternate universe answer is a lawyer, a data analyst, or maybe a dog trainer.
Favorite decade in fashion history:
2024: The current one where everything is stretchy and soft. I do not like constrictive clothing, and would prefer my clothes to feel like pajamas at all times.
2023: I'm honestly digging the current trend of "everything is stretchy." I haven't worn real pants since 2020.
Place I’d most like to travel:
2024: Everywhere, but near the top of my list is New Zealand so I can do the Lord of the Rings tour. I would also really, really love to go back to Scotland and just stay there indefinitely.
2023: So many places, but next on my list is Scotland, Ireland, and the U.K. I've been to London before, but the rest of the U.K. remains an unexplored mystery to me. I would also love to do a Lord of the Rings tour through New Zealand. And I would very much like to travel with my kids to China, like how my grandparents took me when I was a teenager.
My signature drink:
2024: Dr. Pepper Zero (with raspberry and vanilla if I'm getting it from Sonic); white wine on the sweeter side, or a Cherry Coke with Kraken spiced rum.
2023: I am a wee bit addicted to Diet Dr Peppers with vanilla and raspberry from Sonic. But if I'm at a party, I'm probably ordering a Jack and Coke.
Favorite artist:
2024: Oooof too many to answer! Music seriously changes from minute to minute, although I've always had a great love for R.E.M. Visually, my kids are amazing artists and I love seeing what they come up with, but outside of my own household, I have always really enjoyed the glass art of Dale Chihuly. In film, I'm currently extremely into what Mike Flanagan is doing with all of his Netflix series. I think we're on the same wavelength.
2023: This is going to sound cheesy, but my kids. They are such amazing artists. They did not get their talent from me. I can barely draw stick figures.
Number one on my bucket list:
2024: One day I really want to write a TV show. I think that would be so cool.
2023: Well it WAS to publish a book, so now I have to rearrange it! I really think I'd like to work on a TV series. Limited series, multi-season series, doesn't matter, but I'd love to be significantly involved in a creative capacity in telling a story for television. I think it would be an awesome creative experience.
Anything else you'd like to add:
2024: Thank you so much for having me! And as Bob Barker used to say, remember to spay and neuter your pets.
2023: I can't think of anything, so I guess I'll pull a Bob Barker: remember to spay and neuter your pets!
Find more from the author:
https://www.facebook.com/laurenthomanwrites
https://www.instagram.com/laurenthomanwrites/
https://www.threads.net/@laurenthomanwrites
https://www.tiktok.com/@laurenthomanwrites,
https://bsky.app/profile/laurenthoman.bsky.social
About Lauren Thoman:
Author Interview - Lauren Thoman
Lauren Thoman writes speculative fiction for teens and adults. Her debut novel, I'll Stop the World, was selected for publication in 2023 by six-time Emmy nominee Mindy Kaling through her eponymous imprint, Mindy's Book Studio. Lauren's pop culture writing has also appeared in numerous online outlets including Parade and Vulture. Lauren lives outside of Nashville, Tennessee, with her husband and two children in a house full of dogs and fish. When she's not writing, she's probably on the hunt for tacos or coffee, poking around her flowerbeds, or buried underneath a pile of dogs.
