I absolutely love “Stalker”, Julia Clardy’s short story about a girl diagnosed with several mental disorders who, although viewed as crazy, has a perfectly normal perspective of the things around her. The story alone won me over – the writing was intriguing and the story was completely original. Its main character also reminded me a little bit of myself; the narrator claims to be a “people watcher”, and I think I fit into that category as well. The writer in me just loves to observe my surroundings and create stories and backgrounds in my head. More observing, less interaction. That’s what I felt Julia’s character was displaying, so I was immediately drawn in. Then, I read the author’s side note: her story was an assignment for which every sentence had to – in chronological order – start with a letter of the alphabet, and the piece had to include a 100-word sentence and a one-word sentence, according to Julia. When I read this, my eyes automatically went to check every sentence of the story to see if it was true – and it was. To say I was surprised is an understatement. I am now officially inspired to write my own story following these rules. I think the fact this wonderful story accomplished so much, exceeded so many standards, is utterly amazing. I really feel connected to this story now, and to this idea of fulfilling many, unnoticeable-until-the-reader-finds-out-and-checks-and-is-just-astonished goals while still writing a story that is brilliantly fantastic on its own. Thank you, Julia.