Make the story good, then rewrite it: Mark Stevens on his new thriller

By Steve Weddle

The new thriller from Mark Stevens was released on May 1 as an Amazon First Reads selection and quickly racked up thousands of positive reviews. No wonder.

No Lie Lasts Forever is a smart, fast-paced thriller that keeps readers engaged and guessing through 450 pages of twists and turns.

Ahead of the book's official June 1 publication date, Mark and I chatted about this new book, whether his earlier Allison Coil series is really over, and what sort of reader he has in mind when he writes. 

Steve Weddle: So the tagline for No Lie Lasts Forever is “A reformed serial killer coaxes a disgraced journalist into finding the imposter trading on his name.” What a setup. How did that come about?

Mark Stevens: How? I have no idea. I was driving. It was night. I was alone. This was a long time ago. I had written three crime novels. All were safely out of the hands of readers. I had good agents for all three projects at that point, but I was still learning how to write. So, there I was. Driving. I wasn’t trying to dream up a plot. I wasn’t thinking about my next project or anything like that. To put it simply, I was minding my own business. And the whole concept of this book materialized in my head. At least, the general shape of it. I could feel it. I know, that sounds strange to say. I’m not a woo-woo guy. But I could grasp the general tension of the whole story. In a flash.

Steve Weddle: Which section of the book did you write first?

Mark Stevens: Act one, scene one, sentence one. I always start at the beginning. I have no idea how other writers manage to write a scene from the middle of the novel without knowing the beats and details for what has come before. To me, writing out of order is some sort of black magic that should be outlawed because it sets a dangerous precedent for intelligence and perception that is most likely the product of an evil alien presence. What else could it be?

Steve Weddle: How is this new novel impacted by your time at The Denver Post? And why is Flynn Martin a broadcast journalist instead of a print journalist?

Mark Stevens: Second question first: Because the incident that causes Flynn Martin citywide embarrassment, and gets her suspended from the station, is something that plays out as she’s covering an ongoing hostage situation at a convenience store. Flynn already has a bit of celebrity in Denver as a highly visible reporter who has been around for years and that celebrity. Print reporters, generally speaking, don’t have the same public persona and the print reporters don’t typically get put in those situations. Because television reporters have access to that little stick of dynamite: live television.

And I would say much of the book was informed by 20 years in journalism (three different newspapers in all and six years producing national television news for the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour back in the 1980s). I also spent a long time working with reporters as director of communications for school districts and the state department of education here in Colorado. So I worked with lots of reporters from the other side of the communications fence, so to speak. The fact that reformed serial killer Harry Kugel works at the Colorado Department of Education is pure coincidence. It’s got to be.

Steve Weddle: Do you have a Mark Stevens reader in mind when you write? And, if so, has that idea of the reader changed for you since you started?

Mark Stevens: It sounds wrong, I guess, but I don’t have readers in mind. Sorry, readers. I guess that comes from years and years of writing without being published. And it’s possible you could think that was the reason WHY I wasn’t getting published, because I didn’t know my reader. But I also think it’s kind of a mistake to think you’ll only have one type of reader, right? So I write for myself. I try to make the story good and then rewrite it five or six times after that.

Steve Weddle: Which part of this book was the hardest to write?

Mark Stevens: Can I get away with saying “all of it”? No? I guess writing from Harry Kugel’s point of view was the hardest thing to try and get right. A guy who was once evil but who stopped, cold. And reformed himself. Maybe? It was a challenge to make him somewhat likable and engaging and then watch him squirm as the pressure builds.

Steve Weddle: What surprised you the most about this book?

Mark Stevens: I’d have to say I was surprised at the role that Michael Martin plays. He’s Flynn’s father. A longtime former print reporter who has retired from the daily Denver newspaper but still works as a citizen journalist. I was surprised at their relationship, especially how they treated each other less like father-daughter and more like friends. If the sequel gets published, he plays a pretty strong role in the follow-up, too.

Steve Weddle: This book and your 2023 novel, The Fireballer, were both Amazon First Reads picks. How has that experience differed from publishing your earlier books?

Mark Stevens: Well, it’s tremendous exposure. To be included as one of seven or eight titles promoted all month long to Amazon’s vast readership? It’s pretty hard to beat. And everybody I know who has worked with the editors at both Thomas & Mercer and Lake Union has nothing but praise for their work. The marketing is fantastic. But the bottom line is that editors at both houses made The Fireballer and No Lie Lasts Forever better books. That’s worth more than anything else. Truly.

Steve Weddle: And speaking of your earlier books, you had five novels focused on Allison Coil, a hunting guide in Colorado. These were all pretty outdoorsy – wildfires, dead hunters, environmentalism, and more. Why did you move away from that series? Have you completely left that series behind?

Mark Stevens: I didn’t purposely move away from the Allison Coil series. The fifth book, The Melancholy Howl, ends with plenty of room to pick up various threads and write another. But now No Lie has sent me in a different direction. I’ve written a sequel and the plan is for a third in a tight trilogy about Flynn Martin. There are other projects in the works, too. But, never say never. I’d love to get back to Allison and see what trouble she can run into next.

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***

“I never thought I’d be so invested in a serial killer. The PDQ murderer is a character for the ages—complex, calculating, at times sympathetic—and he makes the pages shudder and howl. His relationship with a disgraced reporter is the stuff of classic crime fiction. In No Lie Lasts Forever, Stevens breaks free of all the old tropes, crafting a tense, surprising, and gritty tale about our darkest impulses, our quest for truth and redemption, and the lengths we go for the people we love. I adored this book.” —I.S. Berry, author of The Peacock and the Sparrow

Green grass and cool uniforms: The Mark Stevens Interview

“The Fireballer is not just a great baseball yarn that any fan of the game will enjoy—it is also a richly-layered exploration of character, regret, and redemption.” 

—Lou Berney, author of November Road and The Long and Faraway Gone

By Steve Weddle

As I write this, Mark Stevens has the #1 spot on Amazon's new release list for contemporary fiction. Not a bad way to start the year, and so well deserved.

A poignant story about hopes, dreams, and how far one man’s talent takes him before he realizes it’s about what you do—and how you do it.

Frank Ryder is unstoppable on the baseball field—his pitches arrive faster than a batter can swing, giving his opponents no chance. He’s being heralded as a game-changing pitcher.

But within the maelstrom of press, adulation, and wild speculation, Frank is a man alone. Haunted by a tragic incident from years past, he yearns to be the best but cannot reconcile the guilt he carries with the man everyone believes him to be. Frank’s path to redemption leads him on a journey back to where his life changed forever, to visit his family, his high school coach, and his brother. Through reconnection and reconciliation with those also deeply affected by the devastating event of Frank’s youth, he finds peace and his place in the world both in and outside the game.

The Fireballer is a lyrical, moving story of undeniable talent and the life-changing power of forgiveness and a subtly romantic ode to America’s favorite pastime.

This was a book I thoroughly enjoyed. The Fireballer is warm, charming, and powerful, and Frank Ryder is such a fully imagined character.

Keir Graff has called this an "emotional thriller," and that sounds just about right. This is a book that grabs you and won't let go.

DSD's own Claire Booth said this novel is a "true triumph."

Mark and I had a recent email chat concerning the book, and I was glad we agree on the horror of ghost runners. 

***

Steve Weddle: What kind of a baseball nerd were you before you got to this book?

Mark Stevens: Nerd? Not much. I know people who can recite batting orders and lineups from decades ago for their favorite teams. Batting averages, pitching records, everything. These people inhale the game and never forget an inning. Me? I’m just a huge fan. Since I was nine years old. I remember vividly walking into Fenway Park for the first time and seeing all that green grass and those cool uniforms. Back then, I’d only seen a game on black and white television so the real-life experience was galvanizing. And life-changing.

 

SW: Why is this a baseball book rather than a redemption story about a corporate lawyer overcoming a bad case from 10 years ago or a police officer trying to make up for accidentally killing a child? What is it about baseball itself that so matches up to the story and the character you're working with here?

 

MS: Second question first: Because the very thing that makes Frank Ryder the subject of national conversation (his ability to throw a baseball) is the very thing that took a life and has haunted him, for good reason, ever since. Plus, Ryder is playing a game. A game. But it’s a game that can be dangerous and also allow an athlete to be rich. And famous.

 

First question second: Well, there are plenty of novels about redemption for police officers and lawyers, but I think baseball immediately connects to the nation’s psyche. Its soul. And, frequently, the pitcher is at the center of the story. Because the pitcher, in theory, controls all. That instantly means pressure. It’s the only major sport that starts with the defense putting the ball in play. And, in a pitcher’s perfect world, the other eight players on the field aren’t even necessary. A pitcher is isolated. Alone. And yet in charge of the story unfolding in front of him. Every batter presents a new problem. Every inning holds potential for disaster. It’s high-stakes. And, in the big leagues, you have to do it all

 

SW: You've done quite a bit of writing, including five or six Allison Coil mystery novels. How would this book have been different had you written at the beginning of your career?

 

MS: There is no way. Not even close. After I finished book five in the mystery series (The Melancholy Howl) I went back and rewrote book one (Antler Dust) based on all I had learned about writing. And what had I learned? I don’t know. It’s an accumulation of little things that come down to style. I think every aspect of my storytelling abilities got marginally better—enough that I needed to go back and spruce up that first book.  The story didn’t change, but my storytelling style did.

 

SW: How can we get rid of the DH in the National League? It's almost as bad as starting a runner on second in extra innings. 

MS: How about if we round up all the baseball fans in the United States and we all agree to not buy one beer at a ballpark until they reinstate the DH in both leagues? That’ll hit them where it hurts! And I’m sure everyone will be willing to forgo a few ballpark beers to restore baseball to its rightful strategic order, which requires that managers have to decide whether to pull the starting pitcher in hopes of one more beneficial at-bat. Plus, installing the DH in the National League had no impact in 2022! National League teams averaged 4.34 runs per game in 2022—down slightly from 2021. Pitchers are dominating the game, no matter who is at the plate.

 

Don’t get me started on those weird extra inning ghost runners! How sad for MLB to stoop so low. How can any self-respecting professional baseball player walk out to second base in the 10th inning knowing he’s done exactly nothing whatsoever to earn the spot? It’s a crime.

 

SW: Like me, do you twitch whenever an announcer says "ground-rule double" instead of "rulebook double"?

 

MS: How about “automatic double”? It’s such a purely, weird baseball thing. It’s one of the quirky rules of the game, like the infield fly rule. I can’t say the phrase itself has bugged me, but it will now that you’ve pointed it out. Speaking of things announcers say, watch this 1-minute video of a ball going right through a seam in the fence. And the commentator has to say “He’ couldn’t do that again if he tried.”  No, really?  

SW: You open this book with a quote from Tommy Lasorda, who might be the most quotable manager in any sport ever. Of all the managers and all the players, who would you like to see play a game, if you were given a time machine for a summer afternoon?

MS: A diabolical question. I’d like to take the fifth. I have a feeling this answer will incriminate me among baseball fanatics because there are so many good choices, but I’d like to go back and watch Willie Mays in his prime. Nothing better than a good three-way player and he was among the best. 

SW: I've said that no one ever picked up a book because of theme. We read for character and plot and setting, for action and emotion. Yet, theme is an undeniable current underneath the best narratives. I see redemption and forgiveness in this book and wonder what made you write about those and why you find them so important.

MS: Do you have an hour? Or two?

I think, in a way, that all books are about loss. A stable world goes unstable. The “now” of our main character is threatened or our main character is living with a secret or burden that needs to be resolved. That “loss” can also be in the form of having a “want” and not being able to achieve it—that feeling of something missing in the character’s life. Shame and embarrassment are powerful drivers for story, too. The “loss” in that case is your public reputation, the public story you’ve been telling about your moral character is threatened. How far will we go to uphold the precious veneer we’ve created in our public image?  

If you don’t have a loss, you probably don’t have a novel. I can’t say I set out to want to write a novel that addressed these themes, but when the idea for it came to me it was practically screaming in my ear: write me. That’s a good feeling to have. 

SW: What was the toughest scene for you to write? Did it come fully formed or did you have to fight it?

MS: Easy answer. The scene between Frank and Gail Johnson in her house. I won’t identify Gail’s role in the story because that’s a bit of a spoiler. I think I rewrote the dialogue in that scene 30 to 40 times. Easy. 

SW: Finally, what are a few books you've read recently that you think people should check out.

MS: I loved Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell. Yes, long book but so much energy and so creative. Fantastic dialogue. Rock and roll in the late 1960’s in London. There’s music on practically every page, in more ways than one.

I can’t say enough about Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison. A very powerful first-person voice that covers so much ground about economic class, enterprise, and personal identity.  

And, finally, James Sallis’s Sarah Jane. The definition of concise, tight, and enthralling. It asks the reader to sit up and listen. There is so much deep in-between every word of exposition and dialogue. I read it and immediately started over because I knew I had missed so much.  

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From the Publisher

The Fireballer is a book I’ll never forget. I truly can’t talk about this book except in a rush of emotion, crescendo-ing to uncontrollable tears while I spoil the ending, which, of course, I won’t do here in this letter.

Mark Stevens has written a remarkable novel—a book about humanity by way of baseball. If you, like me, are a fan of The Natural, Field of Dreams, or Moneyball, read on. This one’s for you.

The Fireballer is captivating, emotional, tender, and hopeful. The story of one man’s extraordinary talent and stoicism. The story of mistakes and guilt and forgiveness and grace. Of unwritten rules and personal codes of honor. Of a nation joyfully caught up in collective fervor, rooting for an underdog rookie pitcher as he breaks records and exemplifies good sportsmanship. The story of how he almost loses everything and how, in order to find his way forward, he looks back.

Whether or not you’re a fan of the quintessential American pastime, the story within these pages will, I hope, spark in you the same feelings of connection, understanding, and reverie that I have when I read (and reread) it. It means the world to me to be able to share it now with you.

As Babe Ruth said, “The only real game, I think, in the world is baseball.”

—Alison Dasho, Editor