We chat with author Jennifer Graham about The Fall of Iris Henley, which is a twisty thriller about a Texas teen accused of murder who’s desperate to clear her name.
Hi, Jennifer! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
I grew up in Anchorage, Alaska, but I’ve lived in Austin for almost twenty years now. It’s too hot for me but all my stuff is here, so I make it work. I’ve been an event planner, a porn store clerk, a library assistant, a freelance writer, an instructional designer, and a high school tutor. I like gardening, swimming, and crafting, though I’m not really good at any of it. I also like spending time with my family and pets.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
As long as I can remember. I come from a family of heavy readers. We were at the library every weekend, and I spent my childhood nights hiding under the covers to finish one more chapter (or ten). We were also inveterate storytellers—my dad in particular would shamelessly milk fish stories, hunting stories, family lore, you name it.
Coming up with stories is reflexive for me. Having the discipline to sit down and write them out—well, that’s the hard part.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: Green Eggs and Ham
- The one that made you want to become an author: Watership Down by Richard Adams
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
Your latest novel, The Fall of Iris Henley, is out February 24th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Messy drama and some trauma.
What can readers expect?
THE FALL OF IRIS HENLEY is a psychological YA thriller about the ways the internet can ruin your life! More specifically, though, it’s about harrassment, gossip, and trauma, against the backdrop of a small town in Texas.
Varda, Texas is rocked when the town’s golden boy Rocky Koenig and social outcast Lynette Zeiger are found dead in an apparent murder-suicide. No one knew they’d been seeing each other—especially not Rocky’s girlfriend (and Lynette’s former best friend) Iris Henly.
Six months later, Iris is finally starting to heal. Things are getting back to what passes for normal. But that’s when an anonymous social media post accuses Iris of being the murderer. Suddenly all the old wounds are open again. Friends and family start to look at Iris like she’s a monster. Iris sets out to clear her name—and in the process she uncovers the ugly secrets under the surface of her community.
Where did the inspiration for The Fall of Iris Henley come from?
I think it started with Gamergate. Back in 2014-2015 I remember watching as this extremely gendered harassment spiraled outwards from its point of origin to pull a whole community in. And while the scope of Gamergate was notable and frightening, the harassment itself wasn’t particularly surprising. Anyone who has been A Woman On The Internet has gotten a whiff of that kind of treatment.
But that isn’t to say women can’t dish it out as well, and in fact there’ve been a few pretty notable cases of catfishing and harassment with female perpetrators (the podcast Sweet Bobby and the Netflix documentary Unknown Number, for instance; I think they’ve both been out long enough that this isn’t a spoiler).
The anonymity of the internet makes it possible for some people to be their very worst selves. To say the ugliest, cruellest stuff without fear of repercussion. If you’re a writer that begs the question: who are the people that lean into that cruelty, and why? What is it doing for them? What impulses are they indulging—and how do we stop them?
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
It is very funny to me that my protagonist is a pretty, popular teenager, because her lived experiences are a million miles away from mine. I was bookish, awkward, and hostile—in this book I identify a lot more with Rocky’s sister Julia, or Iris’s sister Noelle. Like many of us that grew up to be writers, I ran with the weirdo art kids.
That said, I ended up very attached to Iris. Here she is, just stepping tentatively out of the trauma of the murders and trying to figure out who she is in their aftermath, only to be knocked right back down by the worst the internet has to offer, and no one in her life is supporting her. I think we have all been in a situation where we’re going through something awful, and the people around us—our peers, our families, our friends—just aren’t up to the task of helping or even understanding. It’s really scary to feel that alone. So it was cathartic to write about that isolation. And it was empowering to imagine the ways Iris could come through it.
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
Writing a mystery is in part putting together a puzzle; the clues have to be both visible and obscured and the timing of every plot point can affect every other plot point. Editing is sometimes a nightmare; you’ll change one detail only to realize it was a load-bearing detail, and now you have to rewrite half the book. As someone who let’s say gets bogged down in details, it can feel overwhelming.
My strategy is to tap into the brain trust around me. I have really smart friends. Some are writers or editors; some are avid, insightful readers. There are a few that let me call and talk things through with them when I get stuck. Sometimes they have good ideas for how to solve a problem; sometimes they’re just really good at asking me the right questions so I can work through it myself.
What’s next for you?
I’d really like to do a period piece—ostensibly because I’m a history buff, but also, after finishing such a technology-centric plot, I really want to write something that takes place in a world without cell phones!
Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up this year?
I’ll be honest, I’m usually a backlist girlie. I am not good at staying on top of new releases. There’s too much good stuff to keep up with! But I am really excited for Avery Curran’s Spoiled Milk, a gothic lesbian boarding school murder mystery. And Tana French’s new one, The Keeper, comes out in March—I read everything she puts out.
