What is the title of your latest release?
IN DEADLY COMPANY
What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
IN DEADLY COMPANY is Such a Fun Age meets Knives Out. It’s a diverse, twisty whodunit with humorous social commentary about the modern workplace.
How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
I knew part of the story was going to be set in Hollywood because the main character is watching a movie production based on her real-life experiences of what happened during the party weekend where several people, including her boss, were killed. The rest of the story (flashbacks told from different characters’ perspectives) is set in Hudson Valley, New York, because I wanted a setting that had gravitas and showed the wealth of the spoiled one-percenters. Hudson Valley has several historic mansions, including those once owned by the Mills family and Vanderbilts.
Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Absolutely! Nicole Underwood, my protagonist, is a complicated woman who makes some not-so-great decisions but she has her redemption arc by the end. She’d at least have some great stories to tell.
What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Complex, smart, and conniving
What’s something you learned while writing this book?
I learned about movie productions. I had to research the different roles and responsibilities on a movie set (for example, the difference between a first assistant director versus a second assistant director), the different types of equipment, what people say on set (“Cameras on the move!”), and even little details about what color pages you use in movie scripts to denote the rewrite stage. I know I didn’t get all the details right, but I had fun researching.
Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I am definitely an “edit as you go” author. I like to write a few pages or a couple of chapters, read it, and then edit before I move onto the next set of pages. I look for flow, repetition, pacing, continuity, or if the story is making sense, in general. I find that if I wait until the end of the novel to tackle those things, I basically have to rip the story apart and start over again.
What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
I love chocolate-covered strawberries and cherries. (Once, I ate an entire box of chocolate-covered cherries in one day. It’s addictive!)
Describe your writing space/office!
I don’t write my novels at desks. I prefer writing in bed or on my bedroom chaise lounge with a drink and snack nearby and the television playing quietly in the background.
Who is an author you admire?
Toni Morrison. She’s influenced so many writers. I read the Bluest Eye and Tar Baby in my twenties and felt such a strong connection to those stories. I’m still in awe of her. I wish I had gotten to meet her before she died.
Is there a book that changed your life?
Not a book but a book series… the Sweet Valley Twins. I was a sporadic reader as a kid but when I discovered that series at my local library, I became so passionate about it. I was fully invested in the lives of Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield and their friends. When a new book in the series would appear on the library shelves, I was usually the first or second person to check it out. I eventually moved onto other books with more complex subject matter and themes, but it fostered my love for reading. That’s why I’m not a book snob. Whatever gets you excited about reading, especially when you’re a young person—go crazy!
Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
As a midlist author, even when you’ve previously worked with a publisher, it’s always a nail biter if they want to renew your contract. Also, my editor had left the company for a position elsewhere. I wasn’t sure who would be my editor or if my publisher was still interested in selling my books. I finally got the book offer and was relieved. They were even willing to work with a contract editor who specialized in mysteries and thrillers to help me with the first round of edits of my book.
What’s your favorite genre to read?
Right now, my favorite genre is a tie between thrillers and horror. When I started my career, I was a romance author and a big romance reader, but I hit a reading slump. Switching to thrillers helped me get out of it.
What’s your favorite movie?
I have many comfort watches but my go-to that always makes me laugh is the Big Lebowski. It’s foul-mouthed but brilliant. I love the Dude, Walter, and their antics.
What is your favorite season?
I like early fall when it’s still sweater weather and the days are still long. It isn’t too hot but it’s nice enough for a long walk in the evening.
How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
I’m a pretty chill person who doesn’t like big parties or elaborate productions, so my ideal birthday is lunch or dinner with my family or a couple of friends. We’d just hang out, talk, have a nice meal and eat some cake at the end.
What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I am obsessed with Severance. It has a great mix of science fiction, drama, romance, and humor. The TV series started off slow, but it was eerie enough to keep me interested in trying to figure out what in the world was going on in that office building. I’m also fascinated by the implications of technology that allows people to “severe” themselves when they go to work and when they leave their job every day. I had so many questions as I watched. Why weren’t the departments allowed to interact with each other? What’s with the goats? And what do you mean some of the workers don’t have navels?!? Each season’s ending has left me wanting more. I can’t wait for the third season.
What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
I love Korean food. Bibimbap, kimchi, Bulgogi, Japchae, Samgyeopsal . . . It’s definitely a cuisine I would have every week if I could.
What do you do when you have free time?
Free time? What’s that?? But seriously, when I do, I like going on a quick jog. I don’t do the amount of running I did a decade ago, but I try to do it twice a week just for muscle memory and it feels good to still move my body. I also love to go to the movies and local museums. I work in and live near Washington, DC, so I have access to all the FREE museums in the Smithsonian complex and the other museums in town. It’s a great way to spend the afternoon and then take a walk along the waterfront.
What can readers expect from you next?
After IN DEADLY COMPANY, I have a YA thriller/horror called THE SUNDOWN GIRLS, with Nancy Paulsen Books, slated for January 2026. In the novel, a family vacation turns ominous as their 17-year-old daughter discovers the horrifying history of sundown towns where Black people had to leave before dusk or risk their lives, and that history’s connection to several present-day disappearances.
IN DEADLY COMPANY by L.S. Stratton
A year after the blowout birthday celebration she organized accidentally ended in the death of her nightmare, one-percenter boss, Xander Chambers, Nicole Underwood thought she was setting the public record straight by agreeing to consult on a feature film based on her story. But on the set in LA, she watches in frustration as her experiences are persistently sidelined by inappropriate casting and frequent, bizarre script changes.
Nicole is haunted by the events of that fateful house party and visions of her now deceased boss. Xander had been unfit to lead the company his mother—famed entrepreneur Bridget Chambers—had founded and built to Fortune 500 status until her untimely death in a car accident several months prior. After being Bridget’s favorite assistant, Nicole had honored her mentor by staying on to keep Xander organized and on task despite his relentless partying. When he wanted her to plan his wild bash, Nicole saw a chance to probe the people closest to the Chambers family and learn if Bridget’s crash was truly a simple tragedy. But Nicole, who just wanted to be the best assistant possible, could not have foreseen the terrible consequences of her actions.
Humor | Thriller | Horror [Union Square Press, On Sale: September 2, 2025, Trade Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9781454960737 / eISBN: 9781454960744]
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About L.S. Stratton
L.S. Stratton is an NAACP Image Award-nominated author and former crime newspaper reporter who has written more than a dozen books under different pen names in just about every genre from thrillers to romance to historical fiction. She currently lives in Maryland with her husband, their daughter, and their tuxedo cat.
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