Stairwell to Silence follows a former Navy SEAL turned PI who is investigating the death of a brilliant law student who, while ruled an unfortunate accident, quickly turns into a conspiracy and murder case. How did you decide what to reveal, and when, to keep that shifting tension alive?

I did every reveal strategically. I attempted to write in a way that each chapter ended almost with a cliffhanger, which encourages the reader to want to “see what comes next.” I had some pivotal plot twists, and I made sure not to divulge too early as they may compromise the ending. Even the ending was a twist, not to give anything away, but it makes the reader ask himself, “What really happened to Bella?” This was my first trial of a neo noir thriller, so the ending needed to be that way – essentially ambiguous. The reveals were placed strategically to keep the reader engaged, changing the narrative to keep the reader guessing what comes next.

Klade’s investigation feels like a descent rather than a straight path. What does each layer of the investigation reveal—not just about the case, but about Klade himself?

Each layer revealed how thorough Klade is in his work. It tells the reader how dedicated he is not only to taking on a challenge, but indeed to getting to the truth. That the investigation felt like a descent rather than a straightforward path, well, that was an attempt to make the stairwell a metaphor for what may have happened to Bella, with her going “downwards,” and also that the deeper down that stairwell that Klade went, the more he discovered that what happened was not exactly a cut and dry accidental death as the powers that be would have them believe. 

The novel explores how wealth and influence shape outcomes. What interested you about that intersection of class and justice?

I see that scenario every day. Money and connections often times dictate what the narrative is, whether this is right or wrong. Interesting fact is that this is not my first novel with that concept, as my very first novel, Sovereign Deception, explored something similar. 

What do you hope lingers with readers after the final page—the mystery, the mood, or the moral questions?

The moral questions would be the main thing I would hope to linger on. I also would realize that a picture might not necessarily tell the whole truth. 

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