We chat with author Bradeigh Godfrey about her psychological thriller The Followers, which is The Girl on the Train meets the world of social media exploring about influencer culture, parasocial relationships, and the secrets we keep from those we love most.
Hi, Bradeigh! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hello! I’m physician, a mom, an author, and a massive book nerd. I’ve written two psychological thrillers, IMPOSTER (which came out last year), and THE FOLLOWERS, which came out August 29.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
I grew up loving to read and write my own stories, but I never thought I could write my own novels and publish them. When I was in college and later in my medical training, I stopped reading for fun and stopped doing any creative writing for years. It wasn’t until several years later, when I was working part-time as a doctor and raising four little kids, that I started to feel the call to write again. I kept telling myself that I was already too busy, and no one would care about my stories anyway, but eventually I sat down and wrote a chapter that would eventually be part of my debut novel, IMPOSTER. Even though it took years to finally be published, I haven’t stopped writing since.
Quick lightning round! Tell us the first book you ever remember reading, the one that made you want to become an author, and one that you can’t stop thinking about!
I have a vivid memory of reading The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss in kindergarten, amazed that letters on a page could create a story that would transport me somewhere else.
The first book I read by someone I knew in real life made me realize that a regular person like myself could get published. It was Wreckage, by Emily Bleeker.
I can’t stop thinking about None of This is True by Lisa Jewell. The eerie atmosphere and unique characters had me desperate to find out where this story was going.
Your latest novel, The Followers, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Influencer, secrets, stalking, truth, and lies.
What can readers expect?
The story is about Molly Sullivan, an Instagram influencer who’s built her following on showing her life authentically, who shares a photo of her fiancé for the first time. He reacts badly and demands she take it down; she does, but it’s too late. Across the country, Liv Barrett has already recognized him as the man who killed her sister years ago, then disappeared. The police don’t believe her, so Liv decides to use the Molly’s social media posts to find her, befriend, and infiltrate her life in order to gain information about the fiancé (now husband) and bring him to justice. But of course, the story isn’t as straightforward as you might expect—there’s another unnamed stalker following Molly as well, some social media commentary from chat rooms, plenty of twists and turns, and a little romance, too.
Where did the inspiration for The Followers come from?
Like so many of us, I’m fascinated by the lives of influencers—how much of what they share is real? How do they decide what to post and what to keep private? I wondered what would happen if someone with such a public life fell in love with someone with a secret past—and accidentally revealed his identity by posting about him online. From there, the story blossomed.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I loved writing the commentary from a chat room devoted to snarking on Molly’s posts. I’m fascinated by the way these big influencers have so much discussion around them, with Subreddits and other accounts devoted entirely to discussing their life, speculating about what’s going on behind the scenes, and basically hating on them. These snarky commenters became a sort of Greek chorus, reacting to Molly’s online presence while the reader is seeing what’s really going on in Molly’s life.
What’s next for you?
I’m working on another book that’s a bit of a genre departure for me—it’s part murder mystery, part ghost story, part small town drama. I also co-write romance under the pen name Ali Brady, and our next book comes out next summer.
Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for our readers?
A recent thriller I loved that also features an influencer and explores social media: The Personal Assistant, by Kimberly Belle.
A thriller that had my jaw dropping multiple times: The Drowning Woman by Robyn Harding.
