Rosemary Graham

STALKER GIRL a “Remarkable Read” on Obsession

Rosemary — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 19:38:47 +0000

School Library Journal just published a short list of “Remarkable Reads” on the topic of Obsession. Among the five titles is Stalker Girl, which they call “tense, tightly-drawn and suspenseful.”

People! Do Your Own Homework.

Rosemary — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 00:31:41 +0000

This morning I got a Google alert about my second novel, Thou Shalt Not Dump the Skater Dude. I don’t know why I still have this alert set up. The book’s five years old and when I do hear from Google, it’s usually because someone has decided to put their copy up for sale on Amazon or Ebay for a nickel (plus shipping). But every once in awhile it’s because someone’s blogging about it or recommending it or something nice like that and so I don’t delete it.

But today’s Google alert makes me think maybe it’s time. It led me to a site called Cha Cha, where lazy and stupid people ask questions like “Why do split ends happen and what exactly are they?” (Didn’t know they assigned research papers in Cosmetology school) and “Who is leading the NFC east in the NFL?”

I don’t know the answer to either of these questions off the top of my head but I’m certain I could find more reliable answers elsewhere on the Internet in less time than it took for those people to go to Cha Cha and type them out.

The Skater Dude question posted was “Do the characters end up together in the end of the book Thou Shalt Not Dump the Skater Dude, by rosemary graham?

Dude. I get that you aren’t a big reader and you have this stupid book report due tomorrow and you have better things to do with your time. But why not just open the book to the final pages and see for yourself?

And to the person who googled “Is there any metaphores in thou shalt not dump the skater dude?” Here’s your answer:

I Don’t Get It

Rosemary — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 06:17:44 +0000

New York published a long exposé by a Columbia MFA grad who was almost exploited by James Frey and his Full Fathom Five book packaging company. We’re supposed to be shocked and appalled. Everybody on Facebook’s condemning Frey for his greed and ego. Some are asking how Columbia can allow someone like him to prey on their students. In my view, Columbia, which charges 45K 48K a year for its MFA, preys on students! Many friends and writers I respect are piling on Frey for this. Me, I’m shrugging and kind of annoyed by the kids who thought this was going to be their big break.

Interview with Sara @ The Hiding Spot

Rosemary — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 16:07:12 +0000

I really enjoyed doing this interview with Sara at The Hiding Spot. Read it or Sara’s wonderfully generous review of STALKER GIRL. If you leave a comment after the interview or in response to Sara’s review, you’ll be entered to win a free signed copy.

Booklist and BCCB Like Stalker Girl

Rosemary — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 05:29:30 +0000

Booklist says “Graham takes a vilified behavior . . and assigns it to her protagonist, and along the way manages to generate a surprising amount of sympathy.”

The BCCB says “Graham’s style is friendly and conversational, yet her storytelling is precise and controlled. She skillfully moves back and forth in the timeline for maximum impact, and without explicitly creating a cause for Carly’s overwhelming need, she sets up a background and an immediate past that would understandably make a normal girl particularly vulnerable. Carly is achingly believable . . .”

Made The CoCo Times!

Rosemary — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 23:41:54 +0000

The Contra Costa Times covers Stalker Girl.

Breaking Up is Harder 2 Do

Rosemary — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 16:51:41 +0000

Over at Cynsations, I’m guest-blogging about breakups now and then.

Taking the Scholarly Route

Rosemary — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 21:49:39 +0000

Thanks to Meg Waite Clayton for inviting me to tell how I went from Walt Whitman scholar to YA novelist on her fabulous 1stbooks blog.

Finally

Rosemary — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 22:20:33 +0000

Stalker Girl is out in the world.

I did a fun interview with RT Book Reviews that’s available as a podcast.

She Wasn’t Always Like This

Rosemary — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 03:40:40 +0000

That’s what I wanted to call my new book. But the professionals—my agent, my editor and others at the publisher—all thought Stalker Girl was the better choice. Short and to the point, they said. No one would wonder what it was about.

Maybe. I acquiesced, deferred to the pros.

But to me, “She wasn’t always like this” captures the heart of the story better. It’s the opening sentence in one of the book’s early chapters. We’ve already met Carly, the Stalker Girl, in full-blown stalking mode and now we’re about to learn who she is and why she’s following her ex-boyfriend’s new girlfriend around the streets of Manhattan.

Carly wasn’t always a stalker, and she hopefully won’t always be a stalker.

But right now, she’s seventeen and her first serious boyfriend has not only dumped her, he’s found a new girlfriend in what seems to Carly to be a pretty short time.

Who wouldn’t be just a little bit curious?

Who wouldn’t at least try to find out what the girl looked like?

Who wouldn’t start comparing themselves to the new girl?

Who can say definitively that they would never do the things Carly ends up doing in this book?

To me, “She Wasn’t Always Like This” conveys the idea that we can never know what acts we’re capable of, be they admirable or embarrassing.