Q&A: Stephanie DeCarolis, Author of ‘The Wives of Hawthorne Lane’

We chat with author Stephanie DeCarolis about The Wives of Hawthorne Lane, which is a twisty tale of domestic suspense where four neighbours become the prime suspects in a murder investigation that reveals the sinister underside of their picture-perfect community.

Hi, Stephanie! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?

Hi! I am the USA Today best-selling author of four thriller/suspense novels.  And it still feels surreal to be able to say that! I’m also a lawyer, and I live in Oceanside, New York with my husband and two daughters. When I’m not writing, you can usually find me curled up with a good book, baking something sweet, or on the tennis courts (where I’m probably losing a match).

When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?

I’ve always loved writing, but I think the first time I ever really considered becoming an author was when I was in fifth grade.  I remember my teacher giving back a class assignment, and as she handed me my paper she told me that I could be an author someday.  Her words really stuck with me, and it was an idea that lived in the back of my mind ever since.  However, as much as I loved the thought of writing a novel of my own, it was something that I struggled to make time for in my life while I was in school, and then building a career and a family.  It wasn’t until after my daughters were born, when I took a step back from law firm life, that I decided to finally give it a real try.

It was a strange transition, going from working full-time at a law firm, to working part-time from home and raising my children.  I found that I started to feel a bit lost, my sense of identify shifting somewhere in the sea of bottles and diaper changes, nap schedules and endless sleepless nights.  I needed something of my own. Something outside of my role as “Mom”, and in the legal profession that I had slowly started to fall out of love with. And writing a book, finally making the time and the space for that lifelong dream, felt like the perfect solution. I realized that if I didn’t take the opportunity right then, when it was calling to me the loudest, I would always regret it.  I would always wonder “what if I had tried…” And so I did. I wrote what would come to be my debut novel, THE GUILTY HUSBAND, in the small pockets of time I could find for myself— squeezing in writing sessions during nap times and between preschool pick-ups, the glow of my laptop screen keeping me company after three AM feedings when I couldn’t fall back asleep and felt like I was the only person in the whole world who was awake.

Working on that manuscript turned out to be not only exactly what I needed during that season of my life, but it would be the thing changed my life entirely.  And I feel so incredibly fortunate that I get to keep doing this, that I get to do what I love every day and call it work.

Quick lightning round! Tell us:

• The first book you ever remember reading: Ah! This is a tough one! I’ve been reading since as long as I can remember. But the first series I remember loving as a kid was the Babysitters Club. (The way I would RUN to the mailbox when the new issue arrived with my subscription box!) And now one of my daughters is reading this series and it’s made my heart so happy to watch her fall in love with reading the same way I did.
• The one that made you want to become an author: Seven Types of Ambiguity by Elliot Perlman. I remember reading that book on the train to Manhattan as I commuted to a summer internship during law school and dreading when the train pulled into the station and I had to put it down.  And when I finally reached the end, and saw on the “About the Author” page, that Elliot Perlman was a practicing attorney just like me, I thought to myself, “I’m going to do this someday, too.”
• The one that you can’t stop thinking about: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid (and pretty much everything else she’s ever written). I’m always transfixed by the characters Reid creates and how, by the end of her books, they feel like old, familiar friends.

Your latest novel, The Wives of Hawthorne Lane, is out September 16^th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?

Suspenseful, scandalous, and deliciously twisty.

What can readers expect?

My newest novel, THE WIVES OF HAWTHORNE LANE, will bring you to a neighborhood where the grass is always green and the houses are the envy of the town.  But behind closed doors, you’ll find a world of gossip, betrayal, secrets and, of course, murder. The wives of Hawthorne Lane can’t wait to welcome you to the neighborhood…

For more, here’s the back cover copy:

In this twisty domestic thriller, four neighbors become the prime suspects in a murder investigation that reveals the sinister underside of their picture-perfect community—from the bestselling author of The Guilty Husband.

Hawthorne Lane is the perfect place to live.  Its tree-lined street and stately homes are the envy of the town.  Every Halloween the residents of Hawthorne Lane come together to host their famous Fall Festival.  But this year, someone won’t survive the night.

As a murder investigation ensues, it quickly becomes clear that there’s more going on behind the closed doors of Hawthorne Lane than meets the eye.  And four women, each with secrets worth killing for, find themselves at the center of it all.

There’s Georgina, the perfectionist and reigning Queen Bee, who pays a high price for her elevated status.  There’s Audrey, the bold and beautiful neighbor with the high-flying corporate career, but whose marriage is on the rocks.  There’s Libby, the working mother who is struggling to come to terms with her recent divorce while parenting her teenage son, and then there’s Hannah— the newcomer to town, with a mysterious past that is coming alarmingly close to catching up with her.

As the clock ticks down to Halloween, their lives will cross in the most unexpected ways.  And soon only one question remains: Who will pay the ultimate price for the lies they all tried so hard to bury?

Where did the inspiration for The Wives of Hawthorne Lane come from?

While this book is fun, and twisty, and entertaining, it also deals with some heavier subject matter; namely, domestic violence.  Which is where the concept for this book started. I know this can be a difficult topic for people to read about, even in a fictional setting, but I felt it was an important one to talk about given its prevalence. And it’s an issue that is near to my heart.

Early in my legal career, I worked on a voluntary basis as an advocate for victims of abuse.  While all of the characters in this book, and the situations they find themselves in, are entirely fictional, it was inspired by real women and my experience working with them.  The women I met in this capacity came from all walks of life—different cultures, ethnicities, and socio-economic backgrounds—but all of their stories inspired me to keep fighting, to keep having the tough conversations.  And I hope that’s what I’ve done with THE WIVES OF HAWTHORNE LANE — I hope it starts a discussion around a topic that none of us can afford to ignore.

I’ve included discussion questions at the end of the book to help guide readers through some of the more sensitive subject matter, and the purple color sceme you see on the front cover is a nod to the purple ribbons used to promote awareness of domestic violence and signify the courage of survivors.

Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?

I loved writing Audrey’s character—I think it’s because she’s so different than the person I am in my real life, that it was fun to try on her character and get into her head.

Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?

This book was the most challenging I’ve written to date.  I first thought of the idea a number of years ago, and after several false starts, I  set it aside to clear my mind and work on other projects, one of which would later become THE PERFECT SISTER.  But I knew there was something special about this idea, something that kept drawing me back to it, and so I decided to pick it up once again and give it another try. . .  This resulted in several more false starts followed by months of heavy revisions and edits before I even managed to complete a first draft.  But it was a labor of love and I’m so glad I stuck with it and pushed through the challenges—I’m very proud of how it turned out, and I hope people love reading it as much as I loved writing it!

What’s next for you?

I’m currently working on my fifth book– a psychological thriller with twists and turns readers won’t see coming.  It’s a really fun project, and I hope to have more news to share about it soon!

Lastly, what books have you enjoyed reading this year? Are there any you’re looking forward to picking up?

I read so many good books this year that it’s hard to choose favorites! I just finished The Wedding People by Alison Espach and really enjoyed it. The Favorites by Layne Fargo, House of Glass by Sarah Pekkanen, and The Whispers by Ashley Audrain were a few other top reads for me this year.

My TBR pile is totally out of control, but I’m planning to pick up You Belong Here by Megan Miranda next, and I’m really looking forward to it!

Will you be picking up The Wives of Hawthorne Lane? Tell us in the comments below!