When it comes to blending chilling supernatural elements with raw human emotion, indie author Stephanie Matthews knows exactly how to keep readers perched on the edge of their seats. Today, we’re thrilled to dive into a conversation with Stephanie—an author whose stories are filled with eerie tension, layered characters, and the kind of atmosphere that lingers long after you’ve turned the last page.
From her dream of sharing a table with the legendary C.S. Lewis, to her reflections on the freedoms (and frustrations) of self-publishing, Stephanie offers a candid and often humorous glimpse into her creative life. She also shares the surprising joys of editing, the real struggles of finding the right story to tell, and why—despite crafting terrifying fictional worlds—she has no interest in actually living in one.
Join us as we explore Stephanie’s inspirations, her writing process, and the little hidden Easter eggs she loves sneaking into her books. Trust me—you’re going to want to add her stories to your TBR pile!
QUESTION: If you could meet any author, living or dead, who would it be?
STEPHANIE: I think sitting down at a table with C.S. Lewis would be stellar. In addition to him being quite intelligent, I’ve always imagined him with a mischievous glint in his eye, the kind that said he always had an incredible story to tell; maybe true, maybe not, maybe a mix of both, but he could just as easily debate the finer points in life or sweep you off to that one time he was in Budapest and ran into the uncle of the King of Sweden…
QUESTION: Do you think you were born in the wrong era? Or are you exactly where you should be?
STEPHANIE: Good question. When I was younger, I definitely thought I was born in the wrong era, or at least the wrong place. I couldn’t find my place or my people. Now I realize that, at a minimum, I couldn’t have been born before at least the invention of antibiotics. Or before women were freed to do what they wanted outside the home. Or any other number of things that, when I think about these things, I realize that I’m exactly WHEN I should be. I also had to learn that sometimes finding your people and your place takes time.
QUESTION: If you could physically travel into a fictional book world, where would you go and why?
STEPHANIE: Easy: Narnia. It’s a place of child-like wonder, a little danger, lots of adventure, but not impending doom like Middle-Earth.
QUESTION: Would you ever want to live in any of the fictional places you have created?
STEPHANIE: HAHA! No. My books are a bit of a horror. So….umm…..no, thank you.
QUESTION: What do you love about self-publishing?
STEPHANIE: The freedom to create the final product how you want it to be. No publishing company telling you to change your main character’s name to fit a trend, or remove a core element of your story because they’re afraid of not being mainstream enough. Your book is YOUR book.
QUESTION: What do you dislike about self-publishing?
STEPHANIE: It feels like you never know everything you need to know to make good decisions about HOW to successfully publish. There’s always another “well, I wish I knew THAT earlier” moment, or “I know I read THIS somewhere….in the five different publishing guides I have…”. Going through all the proper editing and design steps (if you don’t do your own design work) is expensive, and you have to accept that you might not ever break even in your sales to recover your costs. And, you don’t always have access to the experience of an industry veteran who could help guide you to better choices that you may not have been aware of.
QUESTION: What is your favorite part of the writing process?
STEPHANIE: I’ve really grown to love editing. The process of finishing a story is somewhere between like chiseling a marble statue and trying to solve one of those brain puzzles where you have to try take the ring off the string, but the string is seemingly tied in knots around a wooden pole: impossible! Until you start chiseling out the image from the marble, start moving pieces around in the puzzle. Eventually you’ll be left with your work of art AND a solved puzzle and it’s quite fun!
QUESTION: What is your least favorite part of the writing process?
STEPHANIE: Coming up with an idea that I want to dedicate that much of my time and life to. I’m not a super fast writer who can push out a novel regularly so writing a story is a commitment, especially since I have a career and other activities I like to do which all compete for my spare time. I want my stories to resound with readers in a way that they can’t be quickly forgotten and that means having a pretty deep conviction that I have something to say that someone needs to hear.
QUESTION: Are you a pantser or a plotter? Or a bit of both?
STEPHANIE: By nature I’m a panster, but I’ve realized that my storytelling could be so much stronger if I took a bit more time at the start. Let’s say that my goal is to be both because writing exclusively from a pre-determined plot with no room for deviation isn’t quite as much fun, is it? 😊
QUESTION: What’s your go-to beverage when writing?
STEPHANIE: Water! Water is so good, and proper hydration fuels the brain!
QUESTION: What’s your go-to snack when writing?
STEPHANIE: It’s really just kind of whatever I feel like eating at that time, which is also usually something pretty quick and easy because when I’m in the zone I tend to forget to eat, or drink.
QUESTION: What do you do when your characters stop speaking to you? Or when they won’t stop speaking to you?
STEPHANIE: I walk away. I leave the story and do something else, take my mind off it. Or, if they’re being really stubborn, I get the ‘ol notepad and pen out and start making charts, lists, and all the good brainstorming stuff to force them back to life. Sometimes the character needs to refocus as much as I do.
QUESTION: What’s an opinion that non-writers have about writers that is completely ridiculous?
STEPHANIE: That we make more profit from a book sale than we actually do. People are shocked when I tell people the profit margins for books through any type of retailer.
QUESTION: Do you have a word that you use too much in your writing?
STEPHANIE: “Just”. I use it just about everywhere, for just about everything, in all places, times, and spaces. It’s just such a good word!
QUESTION: Do you have a favorite character from your books?
STEPHANIE: I really enjoyed writing Lars Dreschler, my grumpy, old German man. His heart is in the right place, but his methods are … grumpy and, well, kinda mean.
QUESTION: How do you come up with cover concept(s)? And do you design yourself or do you have a designer?
STEPHANIE: For better or worse, I come up with the concepts. I have a friend who dabbles in graphic design who brought my two covers to life. I’m really proud of how the cover for “The Gift” came out; it was inspired by a CD cover for one of my favourite rock bands. The cover for “The Eve’s End” didn’t come out quite how I wanted it to, but we were rushed with that one and couldn’t quite hit the same magic we had for “The Gift”. I think fondly of “The Eve’s End” cover, but I know it doesn’t hit readers the way I wanted it to. What I do love is how the back covers are fully designed as well, and each chapter number has a designed font. With both “The Gift” and “The Eve’s End” my designer and I hid letters in the chapter number graphics, and when you put all the letters together you get a message. I love that Easter Egg detail and that’s one of those great things I was able to do by self-publishing.
Stephanie’s Books
| Book | Genre | Blurb | Link |
 | Supernatural thriller/horror | The darkness begins here. Fae Peeters has been invited to her grandmother’s picturesque Belgian village to spend Christmas and get her special Christmas gift. When Fae arrives, however, all is not calm nor bright and Fae starts to wonder if the waking nightmares she’s experiencing are related to her “gift”. The locals certainly seem to know something she doesn’t. When Christmas Eve comes, Fae meets a mystery man who will change her life forever. This is a Christmas story of survival that will haunt you to the last pages. | https://a.co/d/csbIu2n |
 | Supernatural thriller/horror | The Eve’s End picks up twenty-eight years after the events of The Gift and Fae has unfinished business with the little Belgium village…or does the village have unfinished business with her? Fighting the terror that has plagued her for so many years, Fae has little interest in involving herself in Christmas Eve activities again, but with an unexpected visitor to the village reminding her of herself twenty-eight years ago, Fae might not have a choice but to face her demons. | https://a.co/d/3RZmbmS |
About the Author
Stephanie M. Matthews was raised as an East Coast girl in Nova Scotia not appreciating the taste of lobster which, in hindsight, was a bit of a miss. She has since settled in Ontario and is balancing the paying job- side-hustle writer lifestyle, living her best life in her spare time. In addition to novels, Stephanie also has a number of classical history articles published in smart sounding peer reviewed history magazines.
When not writing or working, Stephanie enjoys training for obstacle course races, playing hockey badly, travelling Europe, and fueling her passion for Ancient Rome. She’s also at various stages of learning both Italian and French and though “enjoys learning foreign languages” may be a stretch some days, learning new languages is pretty cool. Kind of like learning kung-fu. Except that one of those will let you order food in fun European countries and the other won’t.
Stephanies’s Social Links
FB: https://www.facebook.com/StephanieMMatthews
IG: stephaniem.matthews
Goodreads: Stephanie M. Matthews
Website link: www.stephaniemmatthews.com
Check out interviews with Indie Authors
Jennifer Brasington-Crowley Ghost Writer Interview
Interviews with Indie Author’s Characters
Marnie Reilly Mysteries Ransom Elliot
Shari T. Mitchell’s Marnie Reilly
Shari T Mitchell’s Detective Lieutenant Danny Gregg
Brooker Peterson’s Lillian Martin
TL Brown’s Lucie Bellerose
Jennifer Brasington-Crowely’s Raven Xerces
TL Brown’s Sebastian St. Michel
Rose J. Fairchild’s Aura Prisma Cordyline
Thanks so much for hanging out with Stephanie and me. I’ll be back soon more interviews, character profiles, and Marnie Reilly Mysteries news.
Take care and see you next time!👋
