Liar Society Love

We all know these fabulous sisters and they were sweet enough to accept an interview here on my blog!!! So sit back and relax as we take a wild ride with the lovely Lisa & Laura!

1. So for those who currently live under rocks and are unaware of what your book Liar Society (due in 2011) is all about will you give us the rundown?

LIAR SOCIETY features Kate Lowry whose best friend Grace died the year before. On the
anniversary of Grace’s death, Kate receives the following email from her:

Kate,
I'm here…
sort of.
Find Cameron.
He knows.
I shouldn't be writing.
Don't tell.
They'll hurt you.

Kate has no choice but to play detective and prove once and for all that Grace’s death was more than just a tragic accident. The emails continue and Kate is forced to confront the school's resident druggie, a sketchy administrator and even her own demons.

As she moves closer and closer to the truth, she teams up with a couple of knights-in-(not so)shining armor--the dangerously attractive, bad boy, Liam and her love-struck neighbor, Seth.

The three uncover an ancient secret lurking in the halls of their elite private school with the power to destroy them all.

But the truth doesn’t always set you free. Sometimes it’s only the beginning.

2. I hear that you are working on Liar Society 2... And are very close to being finished, care to give us a few secrets??

We have just completed our first (very rough) draft of book 2. We’ve got amnesia, love triangles, sketchy new girls and one missing Queen Bee. It’s probably a hot mess right now, but we promise it will be in tip-top shape sometime soon!

3. Are there any ideas for after you are finished with Liar Society 2?

We have an idea for a new series that we’re itching to get started on. We also have an entire Idea Whore file devoted to all things Kate.

4. Are you terrified for THE END? What will you do when the series is complete? Cry, scream, ask a hobo for help?

We go back and forth. When we first began Book 2, we wanted to pull our collective hair out. No one told us sequels were so hard! But once we got in the rhythm, elements began to fall into place. Now I think we have the confidence to pull off an entire series. There may be a few tears once this is all over! But hopefully we’ll be working on our other series idea, so there will be no hard feelings.

5. How do you both deal with one another while writing? I have two sisters and we would never be able to write with one another… is there a secret power that you two have to handle it all?

It’s funny because while we’re writing, we’re distracted and busy. We don’t have time to fight. If we ever disagree about the direction of a chapter, we just change it. Usually, whatever the other one comes up with is better anyways. But watching a book come together before your eyes is so much more fun than arguing about it. When we’re not writing? All bets are off.

6. Are you a pansters or outliners?

Definitely outliners, although our final product looks nothing like the initial outline. We appreciate having direction as we write—it makes Lisa feel more in control of the process—control freak that she is.

7. Do you find the revision process a total nightmare or are you a fan?

Lisa HATES revising—probably because she’s the one who always takes first stab at the
document as Laura follows behind. Revising mysteries is really confusing because you lose track of where you’re supposed to drop clues, when you did and what they were. Not to mention who the reader should be suspecting and when! It all gets very complicated as we’re trying to revise.

8. What’s your favorite part of the writing process?

The first draft. This is the time when we get to be both readers and writers. It’s so much fun to get a shiny new chapter in your inbox.

9. How did you go about deciding who to query? How many queries did you send out? About how long did it take to get the call? Do you remember what you were both doing when you got the call/email/facebook message?

For our first (doomed) manuscript, we sent out a query to every young adult agent in the industry. We’re not kidding. While we received some encouraging feedback about our voice, the book was beyond repair. That’s when we decided to write another. When we were ready to query LIAR SOCIETY, we identified 15 dream agents, figuring we’d start at the top. We ended up with three offers for representation a week later. Lisa intercepted the call from Catherine while Laura was in Baltimore—there was a whole lot of screaming involved—from both her kids and us.

10. Do you have a critique group or beta readers that you adore?

We have a few very trusted beta readers who help us whip our work into shape. We
appreciate ruthlessness. Plus, Catherine applies what she calls the “mean agent treatment” to the manuscript, which helps too.

11. Are you currently living the dream of being full-time writers are do you have other less exciting day jobs?

Since Lisa was laid off last year, we are both full-time writers (and moms). Balancing the two is very interesting. We do the bulk of our writing at night (or I guess I should say, in the wee hours of the morning). Yeah, we don’t sleep.

12. What does the day in the life of Lisa & Laura look like?

Daytime is full of kid-wrangling. But we’ve learned how to sneak in a few words during the day—thank you Nick Jr., gym childcare and naptime. At night we try to catch up on blogs, write our own posts and complete at least a chapter a day while we’re writing. When we’re really motivated to complete a manuscript, we commit to a strict two chapter a day schedule. It’s insane.

13. Any advice for aspiring writers?

This business is SO subjective, ridiculously so. Books that we love, others hate. NEVER give up. Writers say it all the time, but it’s so true: It only takes one. This goes for agents and editors. The best part about writing is that there is always another manuscript to be written, another agent to be queried, another editor to send work to. The only thing you have to lose is time.

14. If you could live anywhere in the world where would you be? Curve ball - you only get to bring two things with you… what would they be… and why?

Laura would live on Daydream Island in the Great Barrier Reef. The sand seriously feels like you’re stepping on a cloud.

Lisa would live in Cleveland. [Editorial Note: When I asked Lisa this question, she asked a million in return. Can I bring my family? What about extended? She was very concerned at having to leave everyone. Then she said Cleveland and I said
that had to be her final answer.] We’re assuming we could bring our husbands and children, right? Right. In that case, our two items would be our laptops, which are really just an extension of our arms, and our Kindles.

Fun & Random Questions
Favorite restaurant – Lemongrass in Coventry
Favorite book series – Hunger Games Trilogy
Favorite tv series - Glee
Favorite reality show (I know you both have one!) – Anything on Bravo
Current read – INCARCERON by Catherine Fisher
Snow or rain - Rain
Chick flick or horror – Chick flick
Sweet or salty - Sweet
Lion or Kangaroo - Kangaroo
Favorite writing spot - Couch
Favorite writing snack - Twizzlers

Thank you so much to these awesome chicks!!! If you have to follow them you must do it now! They are one seriously does of awesomeness not to be missed!!! Go check them out now! :)