Nancy Stancill

    Nancy Stancill spent 38 years as a newspaper reporter and editor before she began writing fiction full-time. A graduate of UNC Chapel Hill, she earned an M.A. in creative writing from the University of Tampa in 2015.

   Her works include Saving Texas (2013), Winning Texas (2016), Tall (nonfiction, 2020), and Deadly Secrets ( 2024).

  More on Nancy is here.

  • ‘A warning disguised as entertainment’

    July 2, 2025

    Nancy has garnered a five-star review for “Deadly Secrets” at Literary Titan, an Irvine, Calif.-based publisher of fee-paid reviews of fiction and nonfiction works. Here’s what Editor-in-Chief Thomas Anderson had to say about “Deadly Secrets:”

    “Deadly Secrets” is a high-stakes political thriller that drops readers straight into a near-future America fractured by extremism and secession. Centered around Annie Price, an investigative journalist still healing from a past ambush, the story unpacks the creation of a new state called Westcarolina – a theocratic breakaway backed by religious fanatics, corrupt politicians, and shadowy powerbrokers. As Annie chases leads through bombings, government secrets, and personal betrayals, the book balances political commentary with the pulse of a fast-paced mystery.

    Let me just say it up front: I devoured this book. The writing has that brisk, no-nonsense cadence you want in a thriller – nothing bloated or overly poetic. Every sentence moves the story forward. Nancy Stancill doesn’t waste time. Her protagonist Annie is sharp without being snarky, tough without being cartoonish. And while the plot careens through explosions, shady politicians, and mounting paranoia, it never forgets the emotional toll all this takes. Annie’s moments of doubt and trauma hit hard. You don’t just watch her chase a story – you feel the cost.

    Some characters lean toward caricature, especially the villains. Reverend Kingston Avery, the zealot who builds a “Christian state,” reads at times like a mashup of every televangelist villain trope. That said, his hypocrisy and ambition feel eerily relevant. What really surprised me, though, was how layered the story becomes – especially in the way it weaves Annie’s personal entanglements with broader questions about truth, faith, and power. The romantic subplot adds tension without slowing things down, and there’s this subtle ache in Annie’s longing for normalcy that sneaks up on you.

    “Deadly Secrets” feels like a warning disguised as entertainment. It’s a propulsive, emotionally grounded novel that juggles political fiction, crime drama, and character study without dropping the ball. I’d recommend it to fans of investigative thrillers, political dramas, and anyone who likes their mysteries with a bite of real-world grit. If you’ve ever wondered how close fiction can creep to reality, this one might leave you a little uneasy, in all the right ways.

    – Thomas Anderson
    Editor-In-Chief, Literary Titan

  • Great time in Belmont

    May 30,2025

    I had a great time at the Belmont Bookshop. Ann Doss Helms, a friend and former fellow Observer reporter, asked her usual intelligent questions and I got to mingle with a nice crowd at the bookstore.

 

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Excerpts from recent posts on ‘Deadly Secrets’

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Excerpts from recent posts on ‘Tall’

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Excerpts from posts on ‘Saving Texas’

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Excerpts from my blog posts

To read the entire article, click on the headline above the excerpt.

  • What’s next for Annie

    Sept.8, 2024 #bookandcat  

  • Book sales at Queens

    Feb. 2, 2024 Nancy sold copies of all three of her books Friday at the Senior Scholars at Queens Expo. Susan ...

  • Reflecting on the memoir form

    July 6, 2023 First published July 5 at Cully Perlman’s NovelMasterClass.com’s blog under the headline “GUEST POST: Writing Memoir: Nancy Stancill’s ...

  • The Last Day

    March 19, 2021 I wrote this poem about my mother-in-law Jaye, who died two weeks ago. The Last Day Hungry. Stop for a chicken sandwich. Arrive ...

  • Building a legacy

    Jan. 28, 2021 I walked into the Charlotte Observer building for the first time in the spring of 1993. An editor ...

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