Today, Hartford Books Examiner extends a warm welcome to Chevy Stevens.
The New York Times bestselling author of Still Missing (St. Martin's Press, $24.99), Stevens was working as a Realtor when she had the what if? moment that inspired her to start writing what would become her debut novel. Six months later, she sold her house and left real estate so that she could finish the book. She lives on Vancouver Island with her husband and their dog, and is currently at work on her next novel, Never Knowing.
One of the most talked about books of the summer, Still Missing was included in O Magazine’s summer reads section (July) as well as People magazine’s “Great Escapes” summer reading feature (June 28). The book received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, Library Journal, and Booklist, and has been equally well-received by her contemporaries. Lisa Gardner praised it as, “A heart-pounding debut…the not-to-be missed thriller of the year,” while Karin Slaughter called the book “astonishingly well-crafted.” (You can read Hartford Books Examiner’s full review here.)
From the publisher:
On the day she was abducted, Annie O’Sullivan, a 32-year-old realtor, had three goals—sell a house, forget about a recent argument with her mother, and be on time for dinner with her ever-patient boyfriend. The open house is slow, but when her last visitor pulls up in a van as she's about to leave, Annie thinks it just might be her lucky day after all.
Interwoven with the story of the year Annie spent as the captive of a psychopath in a remote mountain cabin, which unfolds through sessions with her psychiatrist, is a second narrative recounting events following her escape—her struggle to piece her shattered life back together and the ongoing police investigation into the identity of her captor.
Still Missing is that rare debut find--a shocking, visceral, brutal and beautifully crafted debut novel.
Now, Chevy Stevens takes readers behind-the-scenes of Still Missing…
1) How did your own experiences as a Realtor inspire the events of STILL MISSING? Did you have an actual encounter that caused your mind to begin wondering, What if?
I had a couple of unsettling moments when I was in real estate, but one still sticks out in my mind. I was working at a kiosk in a mall and a man asked me to show him a vacant apartment that evening. I didn’t have a comfortable feeling, so later I referred him to a male Realtor. The man never called him and I always wondered what might’ve happened if I’d taken that showing. But in the case of STILL MISSING, the premise came to me when I was working at an open house. As a new real estate agent, I used to hold them almost every weekend, sometimes in empty houses. One day I started wondering what would happen if I didn’t come home that night. Who would notice first? What would happen to all my belongings? What if I was gone for a long time? For me it was less about the initial abduction and more about the after effects that I wanted to explore.
2) Each chapter of the book alternates between current and past events, which requires intricate plotting. What challenges did this pose to the writing process? Also, are you an outliner or do you prefer to let the story lead you?
When I started STILL MISSING I had a few key plot points in mind, which I played around with mentally for a couple of months, then one day I just started writing. Not having an outline led to some cool plot twists, but also many rewrites! A lot of the plotting happened on subsequent drafts. For NEVER KNOWING, I outlined it and then blocked it out on my office wall with index cards, but things still happened organically.
3) Let’s talk character development. How did you ensure that Annie’s progression throughout the novel was subtle (or gradual) enough to be believable and yet still marked? Also, was there ever a moment that she profoundly surprised you?
I was careful to make Annie’s progress gradual, and as you say believable within the time frame of the novel, but I’m not sure I can explain “how” I did it. Most of it was just by instinct as I felt my way through the book. I was mindful of the five stages of grief and made sure she worked through them in each session. At one point I spent a couple of months just on the session intros. The fact that she was in therapy allowed me to delve into her emotions in a natural setting, so that helped.
4) What kind of research was required to portray PTSD realistically? Was there any one thing that you found either particularly surprising or interesting in this process?
I didn’t do much research into PTSD. Most of Annie’s emotions came from my own life experiences and imagination. The symptoms and emotions of PTSD are similar whether it be someone who has had a car accident, lost a loved one, been assaulted, or had an abusive parent. Pain leaves a mark, the degree depending on the person and the event. If you have ever felt grief, or had something shocking happen to you, then you can imagine, possibly, what it would take to come back from the severe trauma Annie endured.
5) Much of the book’s subject matter is very dark. Did you find that writing such material affected your own psyche? If so, how do you separate yourself from your art?
Some of the more intense scenes, where Annie is emotionally or physically abused, lingered with me and I would need to take a break for a couple of days. I try to only read light things when I’m working on my books and in the evenings I watch a lot of mindless TV. I have to break up the “dark” or I wouldn’t be a very happy person.
6) You have a background in sales, both as a rep for a giftware company and then as a realtor. Do you find that this has helped you with marketing your book? How are the two similar and how do they differ?
Each career is different in its own way, of course, but the principles of business remain the same. You have to be self-disciplined, take it seriously, and work your butt off. I’ve always been a perfectionist so that has followed me through all my careers. I think my business background helps me understand the more practical aspects of publishing. With publishing a lot of the marketing is done by the publishers, whereas real estate you are completely in charge of your own business. But you still need to be out there doing your part as the writer. In any business, time management is very important. You need to know where your efforts and money are best spent.
7) If you were asked to give one piece of advice to aspiring writers, what would it be? Also, what is the one lesson you learned in writing STILL MISSING that you wish you had known beforehand?
Try to learn everything you can from lots of different sources—conferences, online forums, mentors, whatever works for you. Keep an open mind, but find your own voice and what connects best with your style. I also feel it’s crucial to find good sources of feedback, whether that’s a critique partner or group, or a freelance editor. It’s impossible to see everything that’s wrong with your work and being critiqued can show you a lot about how you view the world. You also then have to learn how to evaluate feedback, to find what resonates with you, which teaches you to trust your own instincts.
I don’t regret the path I took with STILL MISSING because I believe everything happens for a reason, but I certainly learned the hard way that it’s better to research upfront. It’s awful to have to rewrite big portions of chapters and scenes because you made one little mistake. I also learned it’s extremely important to have your time line worked out. So much happens organically with your characters, and it’s good to leave room for that, but I now try to have as much of the structure worked out as possible before I start writing.
8) What can you tell us about your next book, NEVER KNOWING?
Sara discovers her biological father is an infamous killer who’s been hunting women every summer for over thirty years. She tries to come to terms with her horrifying parentage—and her fears that she’s inherited more than his looks—with her therapist, Nadine, who we first met in STILL MISSING. But Sara soon realizes the only thing worse than finding out your father is a killer is him finding out about you.
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With gratitude to Chevy Stevens for sharing her time and thoughts and to Loren Jaggers (St. Martin’s Publicity) for generously facilitating this interview.
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