Yellowstone National Park is a popular tourist destination—over 4.5 million visitors in 2024, according to Wikipedia—and yet many haven’t heard of the 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake, which had a profound impact on the park. But Stephanie Landsem hopes to change that with her novel The Fault Between Us, which is set in the days leading up to and during the natural disaster.
The historical novel centers around three sisters whose once-special bond is now strained. As Bridget and Frannie travel to Yellowstone to bring eldest sister Claire home, all three sisters get swept up in an event that tests not only their relationships but their own survival.
As you’ll read in the Q&A with Stephanie below, she and her family have a personal connection to Yellowstone National Park that helped Stephanie craft a moving and emotive novel.
If you like what you read, get access to the entire first chapter of The Fault Between Us. Or find your own copy in softcover, e-book, or audiobook at a retailer near you.
What inspired this story?
Since my parents lived in Yellowstone at the time, I’ve heard stories of the Hebgen Lake earthquake all my life but only recently realized that very few people know about the devastation it caused or its unlikely heroes and heroines. I wanted to write the story of this cataclysmic event and include my love for Yellowstone National Park and the adventurous nature of those who lived there in the 1950s—including my own mom and dad.
What about this book excited you while writing it, and what do you hope readers will learn?
My dad worked for the National Park Service all his life, and our family has a special connection to Yellowstone National Park, where my siblings and I were born and my parents lived for the first ten years of their marriage. I loved interviewing my mom and her three sisters—who all worked summers at the park in the 1950s—for authentic historical details and fun anecdotes. I hope readers will learn about the tragic Hebgen Lake earthquake and be inspired by the heroes and heroines who faced darkness, wind, and rising water to save the victims on the night of the quake and during the days that followed.
What are your passions and how do they impact your writing?
I grew up loving the outdoors—that will happen when you live all your life in or near national parks—and have a special love for Yellowstone. Many of our family stories revolve around snakes, bears, and the dangers and beauties of the park. I hope to share some of these with my readers. I believe every American should get a chance to see “America’s Wonderland” and hope this book will inspire some summer vacations to our greatest national park. When I contemplate the Grand Prismatic, the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone, or Old Faithful, I’m struck by God’s great love for us in giving us the wonder and beauty of the natural world.
What do you find to be the most challenging part of the writing process? What advice would you offer young writers?
When writing historical fiction, my most difficult task is deciding what NOT to include. There are always so many interesting tidbits and fascinating information, trimming down the manuscript to keep the story moving is the hardest part. My advice to young writers is not to be afraid to delete even your favorite paragraphs in service to the story!
The Fault Between Us by Stephanie Landsem
1959. Claire, Bridget, and Frannie Reilly were once as close as sisters can be. Though their mother left when they were young, their loving father raised them with everything they could want. But when Claire marries a handsome cowboy and settles out west, a thousand miles away, the sisters’ strong bond begins to unravel.
Claire struggles to adjust to a life utterly unlike her upbringing, and surprising revelations about her husband’s past make her wonder if she’s made a terrible mistake. With a new baby and a shoestring budget, the last thing she needs is her family’s interference.
Sensing something isn’t right, Bridget takes a temporary nursing assignment in Yellowstone, promising her father she’ll bring Claire home—with or without her husband. When Frannie, the rebellious youngest sister, is sent along in hopes it will corral her behavior, the Reilly sisters reunite on the eve of a seismic event that rips Yellowstone apart, tests their survival, and exposes the ever-widening rift in their relationship.
Based on real events of the 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake and inspired by true stories, The Fault Between Us is a suspenseful exploration of the bonds of sisterhood, the depths of family drama, and how hidden wounds can only heal when they’re brought into the light.
Stephanie Landsem writes historical fiction for women, about women. She’s traveled the world in real life and traveled through time in her research and imagination. As she’s learned about women of the past, she’s come to realize that these long-ago women were very much like us. They loved, dreamed, and made mistakes. They struggled, failed, and triumphed. She writes to honor their lives and to bring today’s women hope and encouragement. Stephanie makes her home in Wisconsin with her husband, three ferocious cats, and a neurotic dog. Along with reading, writing, and research, she dreams about her next travel adventure—whether it be in person or on the page.
