New Release: Deep Betrayal by Anne Greenwood Brown

Who is afraid to go into the water?

Deep Betrayal, Anne Greenwood Brown's highly anticipated sequel to Lies Beneath was released today.

It's been thirty days, two hours, and seventeen minutes since Calder left Lily standing on the shores of Lake Superior. Not that she's counting. And when Calder does return, it's not quite the reunion Lily hoped for. Especially after she lets her father in on a huge secret: he, like Calder, is a merman. Obsessed with his new identity, Lily's dad monopolizes Calder's time as the two of them spend every day in the water, leaving Lily behind.

Then dead bodies start washing ashore. Calder blames his mermaid sisters, but Lily fears her father has embraced the merman's natural need to kill. As the body count grows, everyone is pointing fingers. Lily doesn't know what to believe—only that whoever's responsible is sure to strike again. . . .

I had the pleasure of interviewing Anne when Lies Beneath was released on June 12, 2012. Here is a transcript of our interview. To watch a video trailer for Lies Beneath please visit the full post HERE.

Jennifer: When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

Anne: I don't remember a particular moment. I guess I just always . . . wrote. I remember putting together little story books when I was in Kindergarten and my dad would make copies on his office copier. I'd go around the neighborhood hocking my wares, trying to sell enough copies to be able to buy a pack of gum. In grade school, I tried my hand at cartoons. In high school, I was a major journaler. Then, when I was 30 I made a bucket list: "Things To Do Before I Hit 40." Write a Novel was number one on the list. I did accomplish that particular goal, although publication didn't come right away.

Jennifer: Can you describe the process you went through to find an agent?

Anne: Sure! I did what most people do. I wrote hair-raisingly horrible query letters. For my first novel, I sent out two letters that literally said "I don't know what I'm doing, but . . . ." I got two rejections, and I never sent that novel out again. I wrote a second novel, a slightly better query letter (27 drafts of it over time), got a handful of requests for partials and fulls, all followed by very nice, personalized rejection letters. Then I wrote a third novel (a MG novel for my kids).

About that time I decided to go to my first writers conference with the intent of live pitching Novel #2. For whatever reason, I pitched the MG novel instead. The agent I met with, Jacquie Flynn, asked that I send it to her, which I did and didn't hear anything more.

So I wrote novel #4, which was LIES BENEATH. About the time I finished that (August 2010), Jacquie called to say she wanted to rep the MG novel. (Hooray!) It went on sub that fall but never sold, so she sent out LIES BENEATH at the end of January 2011, and it sold to Random House 5 days later in a 2-book deal (which will hopefully be a 3-book deal when all is said and done).

Jennifer: What advice would you give an aspiring author about acquiring an agent?

Anne: Go to conferences. Make in-person connections with people. Even if they say "no" at the live pitch, at least you can approach them with a different project later and say "I met you at . . ." Also study query letters--what works, what doesn't. Ask for help. I made a real breakthrough in the quality of my queries when I asked an author I followed on Twitter if she'd review it for me. I didn't know her at all. I figured the worst she could do was ignore me. Turned out, she was feeling generous that day!

Jennifer: Were you confident all along that Lies Beneath would be published or was it a nail-biting experience?

Anne: Confidence? What's that? Truth is, whatever the project, all you can do is hope. I think it would take quite a bit of arrogance to have any for-sure expectations. Lies Beneath sold so quickly I didn't have time for confidence or hope or fear. I was excited to get the news, that's for sure!

Jennifer: Your book cover is captivating. Were you asked for your input when it was created?

Anne: Thank you! I love it, too. I can't wait to reveal the cover for the sequel, Deep Betrayal, which I think I like even more (if that's possible). Anyway, to answer your question, when it came to covers my contract allowed me "meaningful input." Which means that when my editor was finally shown a cover that she liked, she showed it to me and I got to tweak it. For example the original lettering was way too sweet for the tone of the book, so I asked that they change that.

Jennifer: Your publisher is Delacorte Books for Young Readers. Do you work with them directly or only through your agent?

Anne: When it comes to selling sequels and negotiating contracts, my agent does that. Thank God. In my day job, I work a lot with contracts, but these publishing contracts are doozies, and frankly very specialized. I was glad to have an expert in the field who knew what battles were worth fighting and whether I was being treated fairly. As for the editing process though, I work directly with my editor.

Jennifer: Lies Beneath would make a fantastic movie in my opinion, based on the plot and the setting. Have you sold the film rights yet?

Anne: Ooooo. There is a little movement on that front, but I don't think I'm allowed to talk about it. Suffice it to say, the producer who has picked it up (and is trying to get a studio on board) is someone I had a huge crush on when I was young.

Jennifer: How much and what sort of marketing will you be handling personally for Lies Beneath?

Anne: Excellent question. Here's the irony: One of the reasons I didn't want to self publish was because I wanted the backing of a publishing house; I didn't think I had the time or talent to pull of an Amanda Hocking-style self-marketing campaign. However, when it came down to it, I've done a lot of the marketing and publicity myself, including:
Bookmarks
Postcards
Swag
Book Trailer
Scheduled Book Signings
School Visits
Blog Tours
Interviews

Delacorte has done the more industry things--negotiating with Barnes & Noble, librarians, etc. Also, they did an amazing job packaging the book, from the cover to the commissioned map. Plus Random House Listening Library selected it for the Audio Book collection.

Jennifer: Where can fans connect with you online?

Anne: I have a website http://annegreenwoodbrown.com where I post updates on the book.
I'm on Facebook http://facebook.com/annegreenwoodbrown
I'm on Twitter: @AnneGBrown
I'm on Tumblr: http://annegreenwoodbrown.tumblr.com
Here's my email: annegreenwoodbrown@gmail.com

Jennifer: What do you do when you aren't writing?

Anne: I work full time, so that takes up most of my daytime hours, besides that I schlep my kids around to their various sporting and musical events, and read as much as I can! There's never enough time to read everything in my pile.

Jennifer: Please tell us about Deep Betrayal, the sequel to Lies Beneath.
 
Anne: Deep Betrayal is a continuation of the story. It involves a larger cast of characters and it delves into different levels of betrayal between family, friends, lovers, society . . . The big difference, however, is that where Lies Beneath is told from Calder's point of view, Deep Betrayal is told from Lily's. Because of that, they feel like very different books to me.

And now Deep Betrayal it's finally here,

Congratulations Anne!