Into the Apocalypse with Kyla Stone

In a landscape flooded with post-apocalyptic fiction, author Kyla Stone has carved out a distinctive niche with her gritty, character-driven novels that explore the collapse of civilization with frightening realism. From her breakout Edge of Collapse series to the adrenaline-fueled Primal series, Stone has established herself as an important voice of survival fiction that balances heart-pounding action with emotional resonance.

In this exclusive interview, Stone opens up about the research behind her disaster scenarios, the psychology that drives her complex characters, and why she believes stories of human resilience in the face of catastrophe continue to captivate readers. Whether you’re already a fan or new to her work, Stone’s insights into crafting authentic apocalyptic worlds offer a fascinating glimpse into the mind behind some of the genre’s most compelling tales of survival against impossible odds.

Are you ready to face the darkness?

An Interview with Kyla Stone

Many of your books take place in harsh, survival-driven environments. How do you go about researching and constructing such vivid, dangerous worlds?

Mostly, it’s my imagination. That and growing up in Michigan. We have some brutal winters, especially in the Upper Peninsula. For research, I read several survival in the wilderness books, and then imagined what being lost in a winter wilderness would feel like. When I was writing those bitterly frigid scenarios, I would physically feel cold, though not as much as my characters.

From EMPs to nuclear fallout scenarios, your stories involve a lot of scientific and tactical details. What kind of research do you conduct to ensure authenticity? And how do you decide which real-world details to include and when to take creative liberties for the sake of the story?

I read several books on the subject I’m tackling, as well as research on the internet, reading articles and studies, but the best research is through interviews with people who have the lived experience to provide the specific details you can’t find anywhere else, whether that’s an ER doctor, a spec ops soldier, a forensic dentist, or a diabetic.

Obviously, an electromagnetic pulse hasn’t detonated over the U.S., neither have we experienced a country-wide terrorist attack, but a lot of good information can be extrapolated from experiments and historical events.

I try to be realistic, especially with the science behind an electromagnetic pulse, although occasionally I do take a few liberties, but as few as humanly possible. Usually it’s geographical, like I might add a library to a real small town that doesn’t have one, for example, or create a fictional grocery store where I’m going to stage a fight scene and possibly blow up said fictional store. I don’t want any store owners upset with me.

Though I’ve never served in the military, I wanted to be accurate with battle and fight scenes as well as authentically depicting the psyche of a soldier haunted by war. I’ve had many soldiers message me to tell me I got it right, or as close as I could. I think that’s the highest compliment for a writer.

When I read your books, I often feel as though I’m reading a crime or psychological thriller set in a post-apocalyptic world. For instance, the Edge of Collapse series began with a disturbing scene that could have fit in Thomas Harris’ Hannibal Lecter series. Are you an avid thriller reader? What are some of your favorites?

Yes, I love all kinds of thrillers. From more military thrillers like the Gray Man series by Mark Greaney to literary crime thrillers like Tana French’s The Likeness and S.A. Cosby’s All the Sinners Bleed (amazing book, but dark). Some of my early favorites back when I was young include Dean Koontz’s Intensity and John Grisham’s A Time to Kill.  I recently read Malice by Keigo Higashino, an intelligent Japanese thriller where the plot revolves around the why of the crime rather than the who, which I found fascinating.

Your characters often face impossible moral choices under extreme pressure. Is there a process in which you develop a character’s internal motivations that drive these tough decisions?

The moral and ethical questions of survival in a post-law world are fascinating to me. I wanted to explore some of those ethical dilemmas in my books through the perspectives of different characters. Usually, I give each character a fundamental flaw, wound, or weakness in the brainstorming process, and then as I write, I make sure to put them in pressure-cooker situations that will force them to confront who they really are, at their core. Some characters face and rise above those challenges, others cannot overcome that fatal flaw.  

Many of your books feature multiple points of view. What do you find most rewarding—and challenging—about juggling different characters’ perspectives?

It’s definitely a challenge to juggle the different POVs for four characters. They each have their own personalities, beliefs, backstories, and attitudes, which takes time to develop as a writer, but once they’re fully fledged in my mind, I find it rewarding to bring each of them to life on the page. I think their conflicting beliefs and motivations bring a depth and breadth to the apocalyptic world, so the reader gets to experience the story through different perspectives.

You incorporate reliable dogs as important characters in your stories. Tell us a little about the dogs that have touched your personal life. Did any of them inspire the dogs in your stories?

Ghost is based on our Great Pyrenees, who was named Shadowfax after Gandolf’s white steed in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, a family favorite. Shadowfax was a gentle giant, 140-pounds of calm sweetness toward everyone, from cats to toddlers, unless his people were threatened. Great Pyrenees are natural guard dogs; they don’t need to be trained to be protective. We always felt perfectly safe and loved with him around.

After Shadowfax, we haven’t wanted another dog to replace him, but our family is starting the ‘Let’s get a dog’ discussion, and if we do go for it, the only dog for us is another Pyr. I wouldn’t be surprised if his name is Ghost. 😊

Your stories often question how far people will go to protect those they love or to survive in a collapsed world. Are there any overarching themes or messages you hope readers will take away?

I think most post-apocalyptic stories are ultimately about hope and the resilience of the human spirit. Despite atrocious odds, despite world-ending disasters, despite the worst of humanity, there is still goodness. There is still light in the darkest places. We have to fight for it. We can’t give in to the darkness. That’s the one thing I would want readers to remember. Never give up hope.

What can readers look forward to next from Kyla Stone?

I’m currently working on a stand-alone psychological thriller, where a mother must decide how far she’ll go to protect her family when her 14-year-old daughter falls under suspicion in her best friend’s death at a slumber party. It’s definitely different than what I’ve done before, but I’m enjoying the new challenge.

 

Thank you so much to Kyla Stone for joining us today. Don’t forget to download a FREE copy of Chaos Rising at Kyla Stone’s website!