Interview: Stacy Green – Into The Dark
Today we are pleased to welcome to Rhodes Review, Stacy Green, author of Into The Dark who is currently on tour to promote her book.
Rhodes Review: When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
Stacy Green: I’ve always wanted to be a writer, but for a long time, it was something I never thought I could accomplish. It wasn’t until a good friend read some recent work and started pushing me that I finally decided to take the plunge.
Rhodes Review: How did you start writing?
Stacy Green: I’ve written little stories since I was a kid, but the first thing I remember writing that had any plot to it was a story about New Kids on the Block, probably around 1989. I would have been 12 and thought it was a masterpiece. My mom still has the notebook
Rhodes Review: What is your work schedule like when you’re writing?
Stacy Green: I’m a SAHM and do part-time child care, so I’m able to get a lot done as long as I don’t procrastinate. I usually try to write for a couple of hours before lunch as well as after. On my off days, I can write straight through, but when the kiddo is around, it’s choppy.
Rhodes Review: What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
Stacy Green: Hmm. I suppose the natural light thing. I don’t like to write at night anymore, partially because I’m always beat, but I also like to be in a room with the main light off and lots of light in the windows.
Rhodes Review: Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?
Stacy Green: I watch a lot of true crime shows, so I’m always looking for ideas there. I also keep a journal of any sort of “what if” question that might pop into my mind. With INTO THE DARK, I originally wanted to write about a SWAT officer saving the damsel in distress. Then I discovered the tunnels beneath Las Vegas, and the book took on an entirely different meaning.
Rhodes Review: What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
Stacy Green: Read! Relax. Spend time with my daughter. We try to cram in as much family stuff as possible on the weekends.
Rhodes Review: What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?
Stacy Green: How crucial back story is to the plot and how very little of it actually makes it into the book. You can’t tell a good story without knowing what happened before, so in a sense, you’re writing two books. You just can’t bombard the reader with the details.
Rhodes Review: Do you have any suggestions to help someone become a better writer?
Stacy Green: Keep writing. And read, read, read. Read the books in your genre, study how they are telling their stories. Read outside your genre, too. Look for fresh sentences that stand out, and always write the story you want to. If you love it, others will, too.
Rhodes Review: Which of your books was the easiest/hardest to write?
Stacy Green: I can’t say that any of them were. Into the Dark is my debut, and as a new author learning story structure, it had its own set of challenges. My April release, TIN GOD, was tough because the plot was much more intricate than Dark’s. And the book I’m currently working on has a pretty intense subplot, so it’s tough as well. And that’s how it should be – if you’re learning as you write, every book will present new challenges.
Rhodes Review: Which of your characters is most/least like you, and in what way(s)?
Stacy Green: Emilie has some of my personality, in that I’ve dealt with letting go of the past and not letting my mistakes eat me alive.
Rhodes Review: If you were to do your career as an author again, what would you do differently, and why?
Stacy Green: That is really tough, because I feel I’m still at the start of my career. If anything, I wish I’d had more faith in myself early on and not taken so long to get to this point.
Rhodes Review: What inspired you to write Into The Dark?
Stacy Green: Many things. Originally it was simply the idea of a hot SWAT guy. And then I wanted to write about a woman with some secrets. But it wasn’t until I found out about the tunnels and the homeless living inside them that I really started to understand who the bad guy was, how he could use those tunnels, and how the plight of those living inside could shape both Nathan and Emilie’s lives. So it really started to come together after that.
Rhodes Review: What was your favorite part of Into The Dark?
Stacy Green: A couple of scenes. First, when Nathan discovers what’s under the bank and realizes what the Taker has done. Second would be much later, when Emilie is in true peril. I really felt like that’s when the theme came together.
Rhodes Review: What was the hardest part of Into The Dark to write?
Stacy Green: The hardest part was learning story structure and understanding how much that plays into the plot. Writing a story is very different from writing a book, and I really had to learn (and am still learning!) how to do that.
Rhodes Review: What did you wish was different about Into The Dark?
Stacy Green: You know what? It’s my first book, and I’m happy with it. There are little things I would change, but there will always be something you wish you’d done differently. At this point, you have to be proud of what you’ve done and let it go.
Rhodes Review: What are your favorite authors/books?
Stacy Green: Lisa Garder, Thomas Harris, Stephen King, Anne Rice, Greg Iles. Gardner’s Say Goodbye is a standout to me, as is Silence of the Lambs, The Shining, The Queen of the Damned, and Turning Angel. But all of their books are great.
Rhodes Review: If you could have dinner with one person, dead or alive, who would it be and why?
Stacy Green: Nefertiti, although I’d need a translator. I’d like to know what her life was truly like in ancient Egypt, and if she was as beautiful as her famous bust shows.
Rhodes Review: What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?
Stacy Green: That writing a book is a lot harder than I thought! It’s one thing to have a bunch of great ideas, but putting them together in a cohesive plot that isn’t too far fetched yet keeps readers on the edge of their seats is tough, and a constant work in progress!
Rhodes Review: Stacy, thank you so much for joining us here.
Stacy Green: Thanks so much for having me! I hope your readers enjoy INTO THE DARK.
INTO THE DARK is on sale for $2.99 for a limited time only!
INTO THE DARK/Blurb
IT’S THE MOMENTS FROM OUR PAST THAT BIND US.
Branch Manager Emilie Davis is having a day like any other–until two masked men storm into WestOne Bank demanding cash. Her hopes of a quick end to her terror are dashed when she realizes one of the men has no interest in the bank’s money. Emilie is his prize, and he’s come to claim her.
When hostage negotiator Nathan Madigan and Las Vegas SWAT enter the bank on a rescue mission, Emilie’s captor makes a shocking escape into the abyss that lies beneath the city: the Las Vegas storm drains, a refuge for the downtrodden and the desperate.
HOW WILL IT END?
Who is the man the media has dubbed the “Taker?” Why is he after Emilie, and what is the connection he’s convinced they share?
Emilie can’t run from the Taker, and she can’t escape her own past. As her life closes in on her, she has nowhere to turn but to Nathan. The lines of professionalism blur as Nathan becomes determined to save Emilie. Together they venture into the depths beneath Las Vegas and discover a shocking piece of the puzzle.
But the Taker remains one step ahead. Desperate for the threat to emerge from the shadows, Emilie makes a bold move to reclaim her life, and it may cost her everything.
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BIO
Stacy Green is fascinated by the workings of the criminal mind and explores true crime on her popular Thriller Thursday posts at her blog, Get Twisted.
After earning her degree in journalism, Stacy worked in advertising before becoming a stay-at-home mom to her miracle child. She rediscovered her love of writing and wrote several articles for Women’s Edition Magazine of Cedar Rapids, profiling local businesses, before penning her first novel. Her debut novel, INTO THE DARK, is set in Las Vegas and features a heroine on the edge of disaster, a tormented villain, and the city’s infamous storm drains that house hundreds of homeless. INTO THE DARK is available on all digital formats and paperback November 30th.
Website: www.stacygreen.net
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