What happens when a reality show turns into a psychological battlefield? That’s the unsettling backdrop for The Standout, a smart and suspenseful thriller by Laurel Osterkamp that explores the tension between identity, ambition, and trust.
Robin Bricker thinks she’s taking a bold step by joining The Standout, a ballet-themed fashion competition show that could finally put her creative ambitions in motion. But almost immediately, an anonymous threat demands she break off her engagement—or else. Then comes RottenRobin.com, a website devoted to destroying her reputation. As Robin is forced to navigate backstabbing contestants, rising paranoia, and long-buried secrets, she starts to question who she can trust—and whether her own mind is turning against her. With her protective brother Ted and a fiercely private ballerina named Zelda as her only allies, Robin dives into a maze of betrayal, manipulation, and past trauma. The closer she gets to uncovering the truth, the blurrier the lines between performance and reality become.
Laurel Osterkamp is the author of The Side Project, Favorite Daughters, and Beautiful Little Furies, an Amazon #1 bestseller. She blends elements of psychological suspense, emotional depth, and literary flair in her character-driven novels that often explore the intersection of ambition, memory, and resilience. A graduate of an MFA program and a longtime high school teacher, Laurel brings a sharp eye and deep empathy to the page. Her fiction has earned critical praise and awards, including a Kindle Scout publishing contract and a 2024 Kindle Book Award. She lives in Minneapolis with her family and two highly opinionated cats. Find her on Instagram or visit her website.
Author Q&A
What were the biggest rewards and challenges with writing The Standout?
Writing The Standout was both very rewarding and challenging for me. I was in grad school when I began, and two of the first courses I took were in flash fiction and in YA fiction. Flash fiction is all about using a brevity of words for a maximum impact, and leading your readers to a point where they can infer where a character is going on their journey. Several of The Standout’s chapters, especially ones from Ted’s POV, began as flash fiction assignments for that course. I would count how many words I’d written, trying to eliminate as many as possible to stay under the assignment’s limit. This really taught me a golden rule of writing, that often less is more. And, the YA fiction writing class was invaluable for me while writing from Zelda’s POV. At the same time, I felt challenged because I’d never written from a male point-of-view before, and it had been a long time since I’d attempted a teenager’s voice.
How did you research your book?
Just about all my research was done online. However, while I was researching The Standout, there was a show at The Walker (a modern art museum in Minneapolis, where I’m from) that was all about fashion. I went and bought a couple of books in the gift shop afterwards, which were a great reference when writing about Robin’s fashion design challenges. I also dug into my old childhood books to find this compilation of stories from classic ballets, like Swan and Giselle. I referenced it for the design challenges that Robin and Zelda were a part of, and for the condensed ballet stories that Zelda tells. But for everything about climbing roofs, parcour, and Ted’s private investigator course—that was all found via YouTube and Google.
Where do you write—home, coffee shop, train?
Occasionally, if I’ve dropped my daughter off somewhere far from home, and she’ll need a ride back in under two hours, I go to a coffee shop or a library to write. But it isn’t ideal for me. I like to write at home, where I can get up to get a snack or go to the bathroom, and not worry about leaving my laptop out. I also get distracted when people nearby are chatting or whatever. It’s nice to be in my own space, where I can play music and possibly pet my cat, who is my most loyal writing buddy.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3K59vh2
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27281023-the-standout
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