Author: Karen McManus
Pub. Date: May 30, 2017
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Pages: 368
Formats: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook
The
Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little
Liars, & One of Us Is Lying is the story of what
happens when five strangers walk into detention and only four walk out alive.
Everyone is a suspect, and everyone has something to hide.
Pay
close attention and you might solve this.
On
Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention.
Bronwyn, the
brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule.
Addy, the
beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess.
Nate, the
criminal, is already on probation for dealing.
Cooper, the
athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher.
And Simon, the
outcast, is the creator of Bayview High s notorious gossip app.
Only,
Simon never makes it out of that classroom. Before the end of detention Simon's
dead. And according to investigators, his death wasn’t an accident. On Monday,
he died. But on Tuesday, he’d planned to post juicy reveals about all four of
his high-profile classmates, which makes all four of them suspects in his
murder. Or are they the perfect patsies for a killer who’s still on the loose?
Everyone
has secrets, right? What really matters is how far you would go to protect
them.
A big welcome to Karen who has graciously agreed to answer all our annoying questions 😉
1. Did you always know you wanted
to be a writer or did you want to be something else?
I started
writing books in second grade, and I told everybody back then that I was going
to be an author. But when I got to high school I struggled to finish longer,
more complicated books, and decided I didn’t have what it takes. I didn’t try
again until many years later, after I’d established a different career. So I
always knew I wanted to be a writer, but it took me a while to get there.
2. How long does it take you to write
a book from start to finish?
One of Us Is Lying took about two
months to draft and two months to revise, so four months total. But the book
I’m working on now has taken twice as long to draft so far, and it’s still not
done.
3. How do you come up with themes
for your stories?
Ideas pop into my head at random
moments, often when I’m driving or doing something mundane. They rattle around
for a while and if a character or two begin to emerge, I take it more seriously
and start brainstorming what shape the story could take.
4. Do you have a schedule of when
you write?
I work full time and have a 10-year
old, so I usually write between 9:00 PM and midnight, or on weekends. I’m that mom at the baseball game, hunched
over her laptop in the stands.
5. How are you able to balance
other aspects of your life with your writing?
I get by on about 5-6 hours of sleep a night! And
I haven’t watched more than a couple hours of television all year.
6. What elements do you think make
a great story line?
I wrote a couple other books before
One of Us Is Lying, and it was always
hard to explain my plots. They were overly complicated. With this book, I told
people from the start that it was “The Breakfast Club, with murder.” Everyone
instantly knew what I meant, and it was easy to stay on track with the main
theme. So for me, being able to sum up the concept in a single line really
helped.
7. What was the hardest thing about
writing a book?
Knowing when you’re “done.” You
could revise a book endlessly, but at some point you have to put it out into
the world and see if it resonates.
8. How many books have you written
so far? Do you have a favorite?
I’ve written four, and One of Us Is Lying is my favorite. But I
have a certain fondness for my first book, which was a terrible dystopian that
used every cliché imaginable—love triangle, evil future government, chosen one—and
way too many adverbs. I learned a lot about what not to do with that book.
9. Do you have a favorite
character?
I couldn’t choose between the four
main characters in One of Us Is Lying.
It would be like picking a favorite child!
10. Where do you write?
Anywhere I can bring my laptop, but when I’m at
home I’m usually at my desk in my office.
11. When deciding on how to
publish, what directed you to the route you took?
I didn’t start writing again with a
plan to get published. I just thought it would be fun, and a good creative
outlet. But once I finished a book that seemed like the next logical step. So I
started researching what to do with my terrible dystopian novel. Since I was
having no luck with agents I briefly considered self-publishing, but I would
have been doing it for the wrong reasons—because my work was being rejected,
and not because it was the right path for me. I wanted an agent’s guidance, so
I decided to work on my craft and keep querying. One of Us Is Lying is the third book I queried, and it led me to an
amazing agent and editor.
12. Have you gotten feedback from
family about your book(s)? What do they think?
My sister Lynne has been with me
every step of the way—she’s read every single word I’ve ever written and is
great for brainstorming ideas and discussing plot lines. I might not have kept
going if it wasn’t for her support and encouragement.
13. What kinds of things do you
like to do outside of writing?
Is it cheating if I say reading?
That truly is my favorite hobby, and now it’s also important for career
development, so: bonus. I also love traveling, although I don’t do it nearly as
often as I’d like.
14. What kinds of advice would you
give to someone who wants to start writing?
Be
persistent! There are very few overnight successes in publishing. Writing is
absolutely a craft that improves with time, practice, and industry knowledge.
15. What is your favorite book?
favorite author? Do you have an author that inspired/inspires you to
write?
Impossible to pick just one! I will say, though, that when I read The Hunger Games several years ago, it was like a light bulb went off in my head—I immediately connected to the voice and the characters, and became inspired to try my hand at writing YA (thus the dystopian knockoff that followed).
Impossible to pick just one! I will say, though, that when I read The Hunger Games several years ago, it was like a light bulb went off in my head—I immediately connected to the voice and the characters, and became inspired to try my hand at writing YA (thus the dystopian knockoff that followed).
16. Do you have any go to people
when writing a book that help you with your story lines as well as editing,
beta reading and such?
Absolutely! The very first critique
partner I ever found, via Twitter, is still the person I go to with early ideas
and drafts. I’ve met other writers along the way who I rely on at various
stages of drafting and revising. Usually, 4-5 CPs and betas read each book.
17. Are you working on anything
now?
I’m working on my second book for Delacorte,
which is also a standalone YA in the thriller/suspense vein.
18. Tell us 5 things that make you
smile
My son, a fresh cup of coffee,
dogs, hearing from excited readers, having someone cook for me.
19. Tell us 5 things that make you
sad
Intolerance, cruelty, addiction,
seeing confident little girls turn insecure, the current
administration.
20. If you could travel anywhere in
the world to visit a place so you could use it as a background for a book,
where would it be?
Tough question, because my books
tend to be set in Anytown, USA-type places, which don’t necessarily make for
exciting travel. But I have family in Sweden and I’ve always wanted to see
Stockholm during the holiday season, so maybe I’ll have to expand my setting
repertoire.
Thanks so much for joining us today, Karen. It's been a pleasure having you here!
About
Karen:
As a kid I used to write books when I was supposed
to be playing outside, and not much has changed. I'm a marketing and
communications professional who also writes Young Adult contemporary and
fantasy fiction in Cambridge, MA.
When not writing or working I love to travel, and
along with my nine-year old son I've ridden horses in Colombia and bicycles
through Paris. A member of SCBWI, I hold a bachelor’s degree in English from
the College of the Holy Cross and a master’s degree in Journalism from
Northeastern University. Which I have never, ever used professionally.
Giveaway
Details:
3 winners will receive a finished copy of ONE OF US IS LYING, US
Only.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Tour
Schedule:
Week One:
5/29/2017- YA Books Central- Interview
5/30/2017- YA Book Madness- Review
5/31/2017- Novel Novice- Guest Post
6/1/2017- Literary Meanderings- Review
6/2/2017- BookHounds YA- Interview
Week Two:
6/5/2017- Storybook Slayers- Review
6/6/2017- Book Princess Reviews- Review
6/7/2017- The Cover Contessa- Interview
6/8/2017- Book Briefs- Review
6/9/2017- Pretty Deadly Reviews- Guest
Post
Week Three:
6/12/2017- Eli to the nth- Review
6/13/2017- YA and Wine- Interview
6/14/2017- Smada's Book Smack- Review
6/15/2017- The O.W.L.- Guest Post
6/16/2017- Zach's YA Reviews- Review
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