bestselling author of emotional suspense
The new Amazon Charts bestselling novel, False Step, is available now! Publishers Weekly calls False Step a “cleverly plotted thriller” and adds “Danger and savage emotions surface as [Veronica] discovers that she’s not the only one whose life is built on secrets and lies. Stone keeps the reader guessing to the end.”
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Half Past takes place in two main locations: a small town in rural Iowa and the coast of Big Sur.
I didn’t have to do any research on the first location. My family is from a tiny farming community in southern Minnesota. I only had to look up a couple of details to get that part right. My biggest disappointment was discovering that Red Owl grocery stores had gone out of business. Our local Red Owl played a big part in my childhood summers. I can still smell the maple doughnuts, and my grandma used to buy me these (now horrifying) drinks. Does this picture trigger nostalgia for anyone else?
But California was a whole other story. I’ve been to developed parts of California (Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco) and even a few secluded beaches (Half Moon Bay), but I’d never been anywhere wild. I knew the wild coasts of California were a whole other world, so I decided to do something I’ve always dreamed of. I decided to rent a cabin and explore someplace new all by myself. After all, this is my decade of trying new things.
Big Sur was everything I wanted. As described in the book, it really was a sudden shift from expensive seaside communities to a completely untamed land. It was peaceful and beautiful and picture-perfect, but I had a deep sense of my own frailty while there. Humans haven’t conquered this place. We’ve barely managed to develop small strips of it.
The bed and breakfast I described in the book doesn’t exist (nor do the people who lived there in the 70’s) but the cabin is as real as I could make it. I stayed at a beautiful roadside resort called Glen Oaks. I can’t recommend it enough. Despite the other nearby cabins and rooms, I felt utterly alone in the best way as I sat next to my fire for hours, writing and drinking wine.
I spent five days in Big Sur, exploring redwood forests and rocky coasts. I waded into the cold water on a deserted beach and hiked up a hillside stream to see abandoned lime kilns. I slipped through a long tunnel through the cliffs to emerge directly above the surf where ships used to load freight. I stared into that deep water for nearly an hour.
Everything you’ve heard about the highway is true. Gorgeous and absolutely terrifying. And when I was alone in the trees, I felt truly alone, strong and centered and vulnerable.
I loved every minute of my research in Big Sur. I hope you enjoy the results in Half Past!
p.s. Since my visit, Big Sur has suffered flooding and mudslides that cut off huge parts of the coast. Though most areas are now reachable, the people who live and work there have suffered tremendously. To find out how to help, please visit Big Sur Relief Fund.
So after writing nearly thirty romances, why did I want to write something different? Well, I didn’t. I never even thought about it.
But then a former editor asked me to write something for her. Something that wasn’t romance, because she wasn’t publishing romance. She’d asked me before and I’d said no. I said no again. But this time we were sitting at a table together and she pressed the issue. I squirmed. I told her I didn’t have any ideas for something like that. She insisted I did.
I kept saying no. But by the time I walked away, I was turning the possibility around in my head. What subject would fascinate me enough to keep my interest for 6-12 months? That’s the thing about writing a book. I read lots of different genres. I love horror, romance, historical fiction, narrative non-fiction, thrillers, suspense. But spending a few days reading a book is not the same as spending months writing one story. You have to really want that book. You have to feel it in your bones. I didn’t think I had the bones for anything except romance, but now I was wondering. Now I was plotting.
I knew any story I’d dedicate myself to would have to be female driven. I knew it would have to be dark and complicated. And I knew it would still include sex, if not romance, because that drive is part of any deep dive into someone’s character. (I often say horror & romance are two sides of the same coin: our basic, primal urge to live.)
After brainstorming for a few days, I told my agent I maybe, possibly MIGHT have an idea. She contacted my former editor. The idea wasn’t quite right. I brainstormed again. And this time, the idea caught. We went back and forth a few times. Tweaked some details. And then my editor made an offer for a book unlike anything I’d written before.
And I was terrified. In fact, my editor made a two-book offer and I wanted to negotiate down to one. What if I only had this one idea inside me? This is not how negotiations work. My agent told me to woman up.
So I signed the contract. And I wrote the book. I did it! I wrote Evelyn, After! And once I told my fear to sod off, I had a great time with this story. The best time I’d had in years. I got to write a protagonist who did truly bad things. I got to write a romance that didn’t work out. I got to write the depths of heartbreak and recovery. I loved it. And before I was done, I had an idea for another book. I HAD ANOTHER IDEA!
That second idea was Half Past. It comes out September 19th. Any my third idea is called Jane Doe and comes out next May. (My third idea!) Right now I’m trying to brainstorm a fourth book and facing a tiny little fear that I won’t think of anything. But I know I will. That doubt is just a fading memory of what it used to be.
When I was nearing forty, I started facing my fears and trying new things. At forty-five, I’ve realized that staying afraid takes way too much energy. More energy than I have these days. I haven’t walked away from romance but I am relishing trying something new and terrifying. It’s exciting and I’m enjoying the hell out of it. In fact, maybe it’s another of those primal urges to live.
Next up: That time I tried rock climbing.
A few ideas for discussion questions on Evelyn, After. Feel free to add your own ideas in the comments.
1. What was the inciting moment for the Before and After sections? Why was this the moment that divides Evelyn’s journey?
2. What do you think of Evelyn’s choice not to contact the police when she learned about the accident? Is there always a clear choice between right and wrong?
3. Evelyn told herself she was behaving logically throughout the story. Was she? Can instincts and emotions be trusted during trauma?
4. Was Evelyn’s relationship with Noah crucial to her finding her own strength or detrimental to her journey?
5. Early in the story, Evelyn decided she would try to forgive her husband. At the same time, she convinced herself that Juliette was pure evil. Why is it so easy to demonize the “home wrecker” vs. the spouse who promised fidelity?
6. There are several big confessions in this book. Is revealing a misdeed always a good idea? Does the truth always help, or is it sometimes a way of assuaging guilt?
7. After years of being a dedicated wife, Evelyn believes her husband’s betrayal means she can do anything she wants. Is cheating ever justified?
8. Gary eventually confessed a role in the hit-and-run to the police. Was this justice?
9. Could Evelyn have remained in her marriage and still found strength and independence in the end?
10. Was Evelyn, After a love story?