Emos, Posers, Goths, & Haters follows a determined teen girl going into her senior of high school who has to navigate the labyrinth of unwritten rules and the glaring scrutiny of her peers as she ascends into the elite clique at school.What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

This story had a long and winding road going back to my first book, Fragmentation Vol I: The Three of Clubs. A bridezilla enters a former criminal turned event planner’s life and wants a themed wedding. At first, it was going to be based on Mean Girls. Not sure if I could secure the rights that were needed. I went about creating my own knockoff of Mean Girls.

The goal was to release Emos, Posers, Goths, & Haters as a short story along with Fragmentation Vol II: In Search Of. Something kept eating away at me, though. I had the chance to tell a more complex story with emotional themes. The decision was made to pull the short story and rewrite it from the ground up.

How could I pull it off? What I hoped to do mirrored the front book cover. The first half is a biting satire/comedy of cliques and high school comedies. This is where some of the over-exaggeration of clique promotions comes from. The second half had more thriller elements that led to its harrowing conclusion. When the two genres clashed, who would win out?

In a way, the story is like Mean Girls with Carrie elements, but with an original story and unconventional narrative techniques.

In a lot of contemporary coming-of-age fiction novels, authors often add their own life experiences to the story. Are there any bits of you in this story?

Yes. I was bullied in my first few years of high school because I was one of the shortest boys in school. A substantial growth spurt did not come until my junior year. At its core, this is a story of bullying and mental health. What ramifications can occur in the short term and long term? Many say, well, bullying is just a stage in high school for many. For some, mental health has such a hold that by the time high school ends, anxiety and other mental health-related issues are now so pronounced that they directly reflect the rest of their lives.

What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?

I wanted to write my own Mean Girls story with this biting edge and social commentary attached to it. It was paramount to show the leading clique, the Empresses, and once the veil is revealed, it becomes a house of cards. Self-esteem issues occur in all types of cliques.

Returning to the last question, the two significant themes were bullying and mental health. Can a few members of the two most popular cliques have events where they must deal with what it is like for those in the lower cliques?

What is the next book that you are working on, and when can your fans expect it to be out?

My nest book is Harsh Winters due out on 12/05/2025. (A comedic novella may also be released in 2025).

What happens when one combines the suspense of a serial killer mystery with the intellectual curiosity of a whodunit, the philosophical depth of exploring evil’s origins, and the psychology of trauma from losing a best friend growing up to a serial killer. Which is the essence of Harsh Winters.

This is not just a book. The reader will experience Harsh Winters. Why? The reader will go from a passive participant to an active one in having to figure out who the killer is.

“Diane Campbell has loved true crime since her early twenties. The genesis as a child was the murder of her best friend by a serial killer. The justice system’s failure of the victim’s families still haunts her. Years later, along with her band of closely knit internet sleuths, they take up the challenge of finding a new serial killer—one who only seems to strike during the harsh winter months of the Midwest.

Her world is turned upside down when she falsely accuses an innocent man. Diane will soon learn life lessons of getting it wrong for the benefit of likes and clicks. For now, with her marriage crumbling because of this obsession, evil sets its sights on her.”

A prequel to Emos, Posers, Goths, & Haters is expected in late 2026.

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