About the Author

Jillian Lauren is a true crime expert, writer, storyteller, adoption advocate, and rock wife. She is the New York Times bestselling author of the memoirs Everything You Ever Wanted and Some Girls: My Life in a Harem and the novel Pretty. Some Girls, in which she recounts her time spent in the harem of the prince of Brunei, has been translated into eighteen languages.

She was the only journalist to extensively interview Samuel Little, the most prolific serial killer in American history. This experience is chronicled in Joe Berlinger’s hit documentary series Confronting a Serial Killer and in Michael Connelly’s podcast Murder Book: The Women Who Brought Down Samuel Little.

Jillian has an MFA in creative writing from Antioch University. Her writing has appeared in New York Magazine, the New York Times, Vanity Fair, Paris Review, the Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Magazine, Elle, Flaunt Magazine, the Daily Beast, Salon, and many others. Her work has been widely anthologized, including in The Moth Anthology and True Tales of Lust and Love.

Jillian is a regular storyteller with the Moth and performs at spoken word and storytelling events across the country. She did a TEDx talk about adoption and identity at Chapman University in 2014. She has been interviewed on The View, Good Morning America, and Howard Stern, to name a few. She is a member of Greater Los Angeles American Mensa.

Jillian is married to Weezer bass player Scott Shriner. They live in Los Angeles with their two sons.

IG: @jillianlauren

Twitter: @jillylauren

FB: Jillian Lauren

TikTok: @jillianlaurenauthor