Truth be told: Author debuts with strange stalker story

As she explained some of the details of her debut novel, “False Victim,” Kathie Truitt had one small criticism. “I think I’ve lost my funny. I hate that!” she said.

But for a first novel, this 48-year-old self-described “hillbilly debutant” from Alexandria could do a lot worse. She’s already considering movie offers for her story, which was based on her own disturbing experience with a stalker who plagued her with costly legal troubles — and worse — in her old quiet neighborhood in Northern Virginia.