Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown - Author Interview / Blog Tour

Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown
June 12, 2012; Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Summary

Calder White lives in the cold, clear waters of Lake Superior, the only brother in a family of murderous mermaids. To survive, Calder and his sisters prey on humans, killing them to absorb their energy. But this summer the underwater clan targets Jason Hancock out of pure revenge. They blame Hancock for their mother's death and have been waiting a long time for him to return to his family's homestead on the lake. Hancock has a fear of water, so to lure him in, Calder sets out to seduce Hancock's daughter, Lily. Easy enough—especially as Calder has lots of practice using his irresistable good looks and charm on ususpecting girls. Only this time Calder screws everything up: he falls for Lily—just as Lily starts to suspect that there's more to the monsters-in-the-lake legends than she ever imagined. And just as his sisters are losing patience with him.(courtesy of Goodreads)

Anne Greenwood Brown

I am a Minnesota author, writing about mermaid assassins on Lake Superior. My debut YA series begins with LIES BENEATH, coming June 12, 2012 from Random House/Delacorte.

The sequel (currently titled WATER LILY) is anticipated for March 2013.

Besides writing and reading YA literature, I love all things Irish, romantic movies, beef stroganoff, and Nutella.

If I'm listening to music it's Violent Femmes, The Coronas (awesome band out of Dublin), and Great Big Sea (out of Newfoundland). (courtesy of Goodreads)

Please welcome Anne to Alison Can Read!

1. Please describe Lies Beneath in one or two sentences.

LIES BENEATH is an evolution story about a merman who leaves his animalistic ways, adapts to a new situation, and learns to become human.

2. Most YA books feature girls as main characters and nearly all merpeople books do. What inspired you to choose a boy as the main character?

It wasn't really a conscious choice. I was writing an adult contemporary novel with a character who worked on a ferry boat on Lake Superior. Every night I kept dreaming that the guy was diving over the rail of the boat into the water. After about ten nights of that, he dove and burst out with this amazing tail! I sat up in bed with the first line of the novel running through my head: "I hadn't killed anyone all winter, and I have to say I felt pretty good about that."

3. Where are the best places to visit on Lake Superior? (As an 8 year resident of Minnesota, I'd put my vote in for Duluth or Grand Marais)

Oooo a fellow Minnesotan! I'll second those suggestions. On the Wisconsin side I'll add Madeline Island, and on the Michigan side, the "Pictured Rocks."

4. What are some of your favorite YA books - either current or older?

The Book Thief, Going Bovine, Anna and the French Kiss, Eclipse (for the tent scene), all the Harry Potters, Nightshade, Shiver, The Fault in our Stars, Daughter of Smoke and Bone . . .

5. What is one piece of writing advice you can offer other than the ubiquitous read a lot and write a lot?

If it isn't fun or coming easily, it may be that you're writing the wrong thing. I tried for YEARS to write adult contemporary but it felt so forced. It didn't sound like me. Finally I got around to trying MG and YA. It was like a smack to the head. Finally everything clicked. Everyone has a unique writing voice, and that voice is best suited for something. Find that something. It might not be what you originally thought it would be.