The following is an interview with USA Today bestselling author Victoria Helen Stone regarding the upcoming release of her thriller novel, Follow Her Down, through Lake Union Publishing. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Stone about her creative process in bringing the mystery and characters to life on the page, what she hopes that readers may take away from story, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: Congratulations on the upcoming release of Follow Her Down! For those who may be unfamiliar, what can you tell us about the story’s premise?
Victoria Helen Stone: Thanks for letting me talk about my new book! In Follow Her Down, decades of doubt, fear, and suspicion interfere with Elise Rockwood’s attempts to overcome her past when she returns to the hometown where her teenage sister was killed. At age thirty-five, she’s finally trying to move on and make peace, but her new stable life is threatened when a former lover is found dead, and her brother insists the death is related to the long-ago murder of their sister.
Elise initially rejects her brother’s conspiracy theories, but as the evidence begins to pile up, she finally finds herself willing to listen. As the traumas of the past are reemerging, it seems the nightmare is far from over. Elise’s greatest fear now is who will survive the truth.
BD: How would you describe your creative process in crafting this murder mystery? It’s always thrilling to follow mystery stories as the reader, but I would imagine that crafting the narrative and staying 3 steps ahead of your reader is quite the challenge!
VHS: This one took a lot of plotting, because there’s a current murder mystery unfolding while Elise and her brother are still struggling with the mystery of their teenage sister’s disappearance twenty-five years before. Elise has no idea which clues might actually be related to the past and which are just coincidence, so I had to spend a lot of time laying those out carefully, both for Elise and for the readers!
I’m a writer who likes to figure things out along the way as I’m learning about these characters, but that wasn’t an option with Follow Her Down. I had to have everything mapped out to the end before I started, so it took months to plan the book. But the actual ending? That I surprised myself with.
BD: At Fanbase Press, our #StoriesMatter initiative endeavors to highlight the impact that stories can have on audiences of various mediums. How do you feel that this story may connect with and impact readers?
VHS: I’ve always been a huge fan of complicated female characters. None of the women we love in real life are perfect, and we still root for them and hope for love and joy in their lives. So, I like to center my stories around women who’ve made many mistakes—their lives might even be a complete mess—and yet they still find the strength and will to hope for better. I want women to recognize their own complex lives in my books because those #StoriesMatter.
BD: What makes Lake Union Publishing the perfect home for this story?
VHS: I get so much editorial support from Lake Union, which is an invaluable benefit. I have an editor, a developmental editor, a copy editor, a proofreader, and a sensitivity reader. Though it can feel overwhelming to get nearly twenty pages of feedback by the time I’m done with the process, it really helps me get past that fear that something has fallen through the cracks, especially if the revision is extensive! I always know my Lake Union books are getting the best treatment possible.
BD: Are there any other upcoming projects on which you are working that you are able to share with our readers?
VHS: Yes! I’m currently finishing up my 2025 release which has a working title of Bald-Faced Liar, but I have no idea what the final name will be. This is my first time writing first-person POV since my Jane Doe thrillers, and I’m having a blast. Bald-Faced Liar is the story of a woman who lies her way through the world, but she has a good reason. She’s hiding from a traumatic past, and though she’s a bit of a people person, she doesn’t want anyone to get too close. But then someone starts sabotaging her life and exposing secrets she thought were buried, and everything goes downhill from there.
BD: Lastly, what would you like to tell fans who want to learn more about Follow Her Down and your other work?
VHS: Thank you for asking! You can find all my books and links at VictoriaHelenStone.com or keep up with me and my rambling mind on Threads (@victoriahelenstone) or Instagram (@victoriahelenstone). I’m also on Goodreads!
