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Clay Stoner crafts fiction where the surreal meets the raw–West, horror, and the unknown. Stories that linger. Worlds that unsettle.His stories haunt, provoke, and stay with you long after the last page.

Tales Without Boundaries

West of Oblivion

Where Time Betrays the Living

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PREVIEW Stoner’s Novel:

“We’re all just //// on the road to a better place.”

Clay Stoner’s Legacy:
Stories That Stay With You

Step into the bold storytelling of Clay Stoner, where grit, wisdom, and raw emotion collide. Each novel is a journey—unpredictable, thought-provoking, and unforgettable. Browse the collection and discover your next great read today!

THE WEEPING PAST: A FORBIDDEN LEGACY

Deep in the Washington mountains, Chrisma-La hides a forgotten world, steeped in ancient druid rituals and forbidden desire. A young druid princess captivates Rocky Rolls, luring him into a realm where prophecies whisper of darkness. But beneath its beauty, an ominous fate looms—a trial that will push him to the edge of destiny. Will he survive what lurks beyond the veil?

Available Winter 2028

WEST OF OBLIVION

West of Oblivion blends Western grit, sweeping fantasy, and forbidden romance into a haunting tale of destiny and redemption. As past regrets collide with the present, the thin veil between memory and reality unravels. Some choices echo forever—will you dare to face them?

Available Winter 2027

READ MY BOOKS

Copilot: What drives your storytelling—do you start with character, theme, or world-building first?

Clay Stoner: None of those. I start with a title and a genre. From there, I look for the right names for my characters. But if I’m honest, many of my ideas come to me in dreams. I watch a lot of movies, and growing up, I read many of the classics. I always told myself I’d try writing one day. Well, that day has come.

Copilot: How do you balance intrigue and subtlety when weaving deeper themes into your books?

Clay

Stoner

Interview

WITH

CO-PILOT

Questions Generated Without a Prompt

DELIVER UNTO TO ME THAT WHICH IS MINE

A haunting, atmospheric novella by Clay Stoner for fans of Cormac McCarthy and Donald Ray Pollock. When old sins surface in rural America, a man’s search for closure becomes a relentless reckoning where debts demand payment. Discover more titles at NocturnalGate.com.

Available FALL 2026

THE BOVINE EFFECT

A thought-provoking dark novella by Clay Stoner for readers of Joe R. Lansdale and Richard Russo. Offered a chance at renewed youth, a rural town confronts the true cost of reversing mortality and reclaiming abandoned dreams. Explore the full list at NocturnalGate.com.

Available Winter 2026

THE MEADOW BEYOND THE RISE

A sharp speculative novella by Clay Stoner for fans of Peter Heller and Edward Abbey. As unchecked development consumes fertile farmland, the land itself begins to fight back in a chilling ecological reckoning. Discover more books and resources at NocturnalGate.com.

Available SPRING 2027

Clay Stoner: Now that’s a tough question. Balancing intrigue and subtlety with deeper themes is something I really don’t think about when I write. When I first start a story, I like to begin in the “real world.” Since I don’t work with outlines, I take my main character and confront them with a situation, and that’s when I say, “How can they solve or get through this in a unique way?”

Copilot: What has been the most challenging scene you’ve ever written, and why?

Clay Stoner: My mind works in “pictures.” In my current novel, West of Oblivion, the main character, Cole Gunne, suffered from an “adverse reaction” to a combination of stings and juices from a cactus plant. I had a hard time picturing how he would “evolve” after that happened. It was a tough scene because I did not know where to go from there. I wrote myself into a corner.  But  you’ll have to read my book to find out.

Copilot: Do you have a particular philosophy that influences your writing?

Clay Stoner: I don’t know if I have a single philosophy. I do find that religion frequently creeps into my work—my parents sent me to Catholic schools when I was young. But when I write, the one thing that I enjoy, and that my characters really thrive on, is surrealism. I like to throw my characters into a hot pot of boiling surrealism and watch them struggle to survive.

Copilot: In your mind, what makes a protagonist compelling—flaws, resilience, or something else?

Clay Stoner: If anything, my protagonists have to survive. Whether that’s for the better is up to the reader to determine. I rarely give them much to work with to get through a situation. I used the word “evolve” earlier, and that pretty much defines what my characters are all about—what they must go through in each scene just to move on.

Copilot: Is there a specific emotion or experience you hope readers take away from your work?

Clay Stoner: Oh, yes! If nothing else, I want the reader to feel that I’m an excellent writer and that they didn't waste their time reading my book.

Copilot: If you could give one piece of advice to new writers, what would it be?

Clay Stoner: What advice for new writers? Hmm... let me think... Don’t fall for the saying that you should “write what you know”—that’s ridiculous. Not if you have a real imagination! But I do agree with one thing: you must write from the heart. Who wants to read a novel where the author didn’t put his heart into it? Man, I got a headache answering all these tough questions—this is definitely the last one.

Copilot: How has your writing style evolved over time, and what triggered that change?

Clay Stoner: I started out writing young adult fiction, fantasy, and horror. I found I couldn’t go as deep with “hidden meanings”—which is one of my favorite things to do. Eventually, something had to give. I had this novel written, the first in a trilogy, The Weeping Past: A Forbidden Legacy. I went through a lot of ideas and scrapped a good portion of them. I never published it—it was just too raw. It needs a major rewrite. But in writing it, I really enjoyed shaping the characters’ lives and the changes they go through as people. Look, writing is hard. And I mean, it’s really hard. Keeping track of what I wrote at the beginning all the way to the end without an outline makes my brain hurt. Sometimes I get it right; other times, I need an editor!

Okay, that’s it. I’m done. Thanks, Co-Pilot, my favorite AI, for this interview!