Piper L. White is an author from North Carolina. She holds her BFA in creative writing from UNC Wilmington, where she also got her certificate in publishing. Her other work can be found in literary magazines such as Atlantis, Full House Literary, Carolina Muse Arts, amongst others.
Her debut novel All (Dead) Girls Lie, a sapphic YA thriller, published with Row House Publishing in May 2025.
In All (Dead) Girls Lie, Quinn insists she’s a liar but not a murderer — yet she becomes deeply entangled in a killing that shakes her small town. What inspired you to center the story around a narrator whose credibility is immediately in question, and how did that shape the suspense?
When I first got the idea for All (Dead) Girls Lie back in 2021, I was watching this television show called Cruel Summer which also centered around a mystery where the credibility of the protagonists came into question. The main characters of the show were also teenage girls, which was the first spark of the match for me to write my own mystery/thriller. I wanted to play on that sense of credibility, especially when it came to teenage girls going through the motions of girlhood with a murder plot at the center of the story. I think using unreliability as a plot device builds suspense within the reader because even as there were all these high-stakes moments, there is still that lingering question of, “Wait, is this really true?”
The relationship between Quinn and Gilly develops while they’re surrounded by grief, suspicion, and danger. How did you balance the sapphic romance with the escalating mystery so that both the emotional and thriller elements feel equally important?
My favorite kinds of stories to read always have some kind of romance element where it isn’t the overarching plot of the story. I wanted to do the same here to add layers to the plot so there were tender moments for the reader to connect with the characters, and make them root for them. In a book like a thriller or mystery, it’s important to build that connection because it stirs up more feelings than simply suspense, and lets the reader breathe in realistic moments as well. I always say that grounding the reader in reality makes the story feel more real, and with the sapphic romance element within All (Dead) Girls Lie, I feel I was able to do so. I also think that a driving force for my main character is her feelings for Gilly, which add to the thriller narrative and her character arc.
Boiling Springs feels like a classic tight-knit town where everyone knows each other — and everyone has secrets. What drew you to the small-town setting, and how does it amplify the themes of trust, gossip, and hidden truths in the novel?
I love a small-town setting, especially in a mystery/thriller because it adds to the stakes of the plot. There’s a certain vibe there of, “We’re trapped here. We can’t get out.” Being from the south and having family in small towns as such, I was able to pull from those moments in my life where I gossiped with my family about what was happening. Somehow everyone in town would know about it because gossip tends to spread like wildfire there. I wanted to implement this into All (Dead) Girls Lie because everyone is essentially a suspect. Besides the rumors, having a murder case in the background where anyone could be guilty drives paranoia in the characters, making an eeriness settle over the town, leaving the characters wondering who they can trust.
Quinn eventually starts investigating the murders herself as more friends turn up dead and lies pile up. What was your process for plotting clues, red herrings, and twists to keep readers guessing while still keeping the mystery believable?
The term “plotter vs. pantser” has come up in conversation with other writers, and I would consider myself more of a plotter. For me, the big moments come to my brain first. I know who the killer is before I even get my first word on the page. But from that moment, I sit down with myself, and plot out how I get to that point within the story, and how I can guide my readers through clues to help them crack the case. My favorite app on my phone is my notes app, which is where All (Dead) Girls Lie first came to fruition as a concept. I wrote down the BIG reveal, then followed up with bullet points on different moments where suspense could be driven, and readers could get thrown off the trail. Once I got the gist of the direction I was going in, I then filled in the “meat” of the story as I wrote, making sure to keep track of smaller climaxes that would guide readers to the reveal at the end of the book.
Your background includes both creative writing and experience inside the publishing world. How did those experiences influence the way you approached pacing, character voice, and genre expectations while writing All (Dead) Girls Lie?
I began writing All (Dead) Girls Lie while still in school for my BFA in creative writing from UNC Wilmington (shoutout to Kenan Hall). In doing so, I was still in the process of learning what I could of the craft then going home to implement those lessons as I was drafting my novel. For me, it was a pivotal moment writing during that time because I was still exercising my skill of the craft. I saw my novel, not only as a project I was passionate about, but a way for me to practice my chosen art form. During my writing process, I also heard my professors in my head, reminding me of all the editorial and grammatical skills they had taught me, which helped me approach my editor with as clean and tight a manuscript as I could.
Coming from a background working in book publishing I think helped me in the aftermath of the publication of All (Dead) Girls Lie the most. My editorial eye was beneficial during drafting, but my marketing background is what helped me learn to talk about my book and gain readership!
INTERVIEW: YA SH3LF