Stacy Willingham Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Stacy Willingham
Stacy Willingham worked as a brand strategist and copywriter for various marketing agencies before she decided to write fiction on a full time basis.

She earned her MFA in Writing from the Savannah College of Art & Design and her BA in Magazine Journalism from the University of Georgia.

Stacy first began writing when she was about four years old. Her sister actually taught her how to write and read. She is a few years older than Stacy and Stacy was rather jealous when she was able to go to school first while Stacy was still too young, so after her sister returned home, she’d sit Stacy down and teach her everything that she had learned that day. As a result of that, Stacy started writing these screenplays and little books from as early as she can remember.

When it comes to writing heroes, they evolve as Stacy herself does. Stephen King has always been a hero because of his very inspiring publishing journey which was fraught with self-doubt and rejection, which she found to be motivating and relatable when she hadn’t found an agent. “The Shining” was also the first book she read that made her feel afraid in a way that no book ever had before. When she was done reading for the night, she’d hide it under her bed because it’d freak her out just to look at it.

Stacy has also looked up to Truman Capote ever since she read “In Cold Blood” during high school. The idea of a “nonfiction novel” was very fascinating to her, and it was a book that made her want to be an investigative journalist for quite a few years, which she still thinks she’d enjoy.

When she is struggling with writer’s block, she will typically force herself to stand up from her computer and go for a walk with her dog. Even if she attempts to get her mind off of her book, she will inevitably spend the whole time thinking about whatever problem she is trying to work through, and by the time she gets back home, she has had some sort of lightbulb moment. Or, at the very least, some general idea of how she can move forward.

She also finds inspiration of reading the words of authors that she admires. Reading a chapter of Emma Cline’s “The Girls” or anything by Gillian Flynn usually does the trick. If all else fails, she just pours herself a glass of wine and comes back the next day.

While writing “A Flicker in the Dark”, the character of Chloe was the one part of the novel which stayed the most consistent from the original idea to its execution. The original story idea was always: What must it be like to a serial killer’s daughter, and what would you do if his crimes began happening all over again? A ton of things changed in the novel while it made its way through each draft: parts of the plot itself, just about every other character, and even a little of the ending. However Chloe was always at the heart of things and she remained true to the person she started out as.

She has always been interested in serial killer psychology. For her entire adult life, she’s watched documentaries on them, read books on them, attempting to understand how they work and exactly how their brains can be wired so differently from everybody else’s. From this research, she has realized that a lot, if not most, of the infamous serial killers of our time have had families, wives, girlfriends, and kids that had no idea what they were doing in the dark.

Something clicked inside of her when she realized that just about every serial killer of our time had people that loved them but didn’t know their true self. That is where Chloe came about, because Stacy was wanting to get inside the mind of somebody that loved a serial killer and was tricked by them in the most intimate way possible.

Stacy is just fascinated with serial killers since she cannot understand them. Their brains are wired drastically different from hers, and as a result of that, she cannot see herself in them in any way shape or form. She spends so much time reading about them and watching documentaries on them because she wants to understand why somebody would do the things they do, however at the end of the day there’s no logical answer for it. It is a mystery that never truly gets solved, so our curiosity stays piqued and we continue coming back for more.

“A Flicker in the Dark” is the first stand alone novel and was released in the year 2022. When Chloe Davis was just twelve, six teen girls went missing in her tiny Louisiana town. By summer’s end, Chloe’s dad had been the one arrested as a serial killer and was promptly put in prison. Chloe and her family were left to wrestle with the truth and attempt to move forward as they deal with the aftermath.

Chloe, twenty years later, is a psychologist in a private practice and is getting ready for her wedding. She has a fragile grasp finally on the happiness that she has worked so hard for. At times, however, she feels just as out of control of her own life as the troubled teens she sees as patients.

Then one local teen girl disappears, then another, and that horrifying summer comes crashing back to her. Could she be paranoid, by seeing parallels that are not actually there, or for the second time in her life, could she be about to unmask a killer?

Stacy has created one unforgettable character in a spellbinding thriller novel sure to appeal equally to fans of Karin Slaughter and Gillian Flynn. Stacy’s writing is outstanding here, with her past and present timelines flowing beautifully, and her characters are multi-layered, well developed, damaged, yet still believable and making you feel all kinds of things. The ending is believable and horrible, yet satisfying.

2 Responses to “Stacy Willingham”

1. Kayla D: 12 months ago

   I just found these 2 books and banged them in a week. PLEASE WRITE MORE!! Stacy is literally my favorite author now

   Reply
2. Robin Komorek: 2 years ago

   I just finished reading your book! It was awesome! I am looking forward to reading you next masterpiece!! thank you!

   Reply