A.V. Geiger, author of TELL ME NO LIES, on deciding to make a standalone a duology

by Jocelyn Rish

TELL ME NO LIES is second book in the Follow Me Back series, and we’re excited to have A.V. Geiger stop by to chat about it.

A.V., what was your inspiration for writing TELL ME NO LIES?

TELL ME NO LIES is the second installment of a duology, and it was not a book I initially planned to write. When I first signed with my agent, Follow Me Back (Book 1) was intended as a standalone novel. However, when Follow Me Back went out on sub to publishers, I needed something to take my mind off of the grinding uncertainty of the submission process. I began spinning out a messy, somewhat ridiculous first draft of a sequel, purely as a distraction for myself. Little did I know that my editor at Sourcebooks would eventually suggest changing the end of Follow Me Back into a cliffhanger, with my weird little sequel serving as the basis for a published second book!

How long did you work on TELL ME NO LIES?

The first draft wrote itself in a matter of weeks, but it needed a lot of revision. I spent several months on the first round of structural editing, with substantial rewrites and plot changes. Then came several rounds of beta reads and more editing. When all was said and done, it took nearly three years from first draft to publication.

What’s your writing ritual like? Do you listen to music? Work at home or at a coffee shop or the library, etc?

For the most part, I need silence and solitude to write. I tend to whisper the words out loud to myself as I type them, and I’m too self-conscious to do that within earshot of another human being. I’ll completely freeze up in mid-sentence and lose my train of thought at the sound of anyone approaching. As you can imagine, coffee shops and libraries are out. I have a small home office, and I’ve trained my family to tiptoe outside the door whenever I’m under deadline or in the throes of a particularly difficult scene.

What are you working on now?

TELL ME NO LIES serves as the conclusion to the Follow Me Back duology, but I have one more book under contract with Sourcebooks. I’m currently putting the final touches on the first draft of a brand new standalone YA thriller. This is the first book that I’m writing start-to-finish as a published author, with both the encouragement from fans and the criticism from naysayers ringing in my ears. I’m finding it both challenging and refreshing to bring a totally new set of characters and voices to life.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Tell Me No Lies
by A.V. Geiger
Paperback
Sourcebooks Fire
Released 6/5/2018

No one knows what happened to pop icon Eric Thorn. His Twitter account? Frozen. His cell phone? Cracked and bloody, buried in the snow.

Agoraphobic fangirl Tessa Hart knows the truth, but she’s finally left her #EricThornObsessed days behind. She has no intention of ever touching her Twitter app again. But Snapchat… That’s safer, right?

After months of living under the radar, Tessa emerges from hiding, forced to face the deadly consequences of her past. But in the interrogation room, answers only lead to more questions in the jaw-dropping conclusion to the Follow Me Back duology.

Purchase Tell Me No Lies at Amazon
Purchase Tell Me No Lies at IndieBound
View Tell Me No Lies on Goodreads

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A.V. Geiger is an epidemiologist who spends far too much spare time on social media. By day, she studies women’s psychiatric and reproductive health. By night, she can be found fangirling, following people back, and photoshopping the heads of band members onto the bodies of unicorns. Her writing career began with celebrity fan fiction, and her work draws extensively on her own experiences with online fan culture. Her original teen fiction has received millions of hits on the story-sharing website Wattpad, ranking as high as #1 in the mystery-thriller genre. She lives in New Jersey with her husband and twin boys.

—

Have you had a chance to read TELL ME NO LIES yet? Do you distract yourself from waiting on publishing by writing a new book? Do you whisper out loud as you write? Share your thoughts about the interview in the comments!

Happy Reading,

Jocelyn, Halli, Martina, Charlotte, Anisaa, Erin, Susan, Shelly, Kelly, Laura, Emily, and Lori Ann

Jocelyn Rish

Jocelyn Rish is a writer and filmmaker who loves researching weird and wonderful animals and sharing what she learns. Her debut was BATTLE OF THE BUTTS, about ten animals that do weird things with their butts. Her latest book is BATTLE OF THE BRAINS, a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection about ten animals with mind-blowing brain abilities. When she’s not writing, she tutors kids to help them discover the magic of reading. Jocelyn has won numerous awards for her short stories, screenplays, films, and novels and lives in South Carolina with her adorable dog. Find out more at www.jocelynrish.com.

Post @ Jocelyn Rish and/or Adventures in YA Publishing. All rights reserved.

Posted: Jun 9, 2018

Category: Imported from AYAP

Tags: YA Author Interviews

Welcome to Transmedia Mutts

Yellow origami dog on a teal background

Unleash your creative bark!

Shout out to AYAP!

Logo for Adventures in YA Publishing

Thank you to the women who started Adventures in YA Publishing and ran it for years. AYAP and TMM have merged to form Adventures in PUPlishing, and the legacy AYAP posts are now part of TMM. Click here to learn more about the earlier AYAP team.

Click to Join our Facebook Group

Share advice, practice pitching, celebrate successes, and support each other through writing and publishing adventures.

← Previous: Kristina Pérez, author of SWEET BLACK WAVES, on drawing on medieval legends Next: Andrew Shvarts, author of CITY OF BASTARDS, on tying himself into plot knots →

The first slide is an animation of a science/magic room in a castle. A cartoon character of a mad-scientist looking man in in the foreground says: “Hello! Dr. Frankenstein here to say, Well Done on kid lit zombie week! I’m an expert at reviving the dead, and let me assure you, with a little spark, you can bring dead projects to life. Especially if you dig up parts from other dead things. I’ll even let you have a sneak peek at my laboratory’s store room to consider potential parts for your dead project. If you see something with a yellow glow, that means you should click it. Have fun!”

He points to the right side of the screen and a new scene slides in of a castle science/magic storage room. There are various cartoon Frankenstein body parts scattered around. Some of them have a yellow glow. If you click on them, the images below appear (I’ve added alt text to them, so I hope it works).

The Heart of your story is the main character. The protagonist is the beating core that truly brings your story to life. If your MC doesn't make kids (and their grown-ups) care within the first few pages, your story will flatline. </p>
<p>Your main character needs to be:<br />
• Relatable enough for kids to see themselves<br />
• Unique enough to stand out in the slush pile<br />
• Active enough to drive the story<br />
• Memorable enough to survive multiple readings at bedtime</p>
<p>Where do you find this amazing donor heart? It might be the very thing you loved so much about the manuscript you want to revive. It might be the younger sister from your shelved YA novel. Or maybe it’s the hilarious kid you blogged about meeting at a school visit. Find a character beating with potential and place it in the center of your story.<br />

The Brain of your story is the theme or central message. The theme is the big idea that controls everything else. Picture books are more than stories - they're tiny life lessons disguised with humor and heart.</p>
<p>But your theme needs to be:<br />
• Subtle enough not to trigger the dreaded "didactic" rejection<br />
• Clear enough for a four-year-old to grasp<br />
• Universal enough to speak to both kids and adults<br />
• Fresh enough to prevent agents and editors from responding with "Not another sharing/bedtime/first-day story!"</p>
<p>Check your other dead manuscripts to see if there is a recurring theme, something that really seems to be speaking to you. Find the bit of poetry you scribbled on the back of a receipt to see what theme inspired it. Reread the pep talk you texted your critique partner at 1am. Pick the theme that will drive your story, giving it purpose, direction, and deeper meaning.<br />

The Legs of your story is the plot. Not to be confused with a grave plot.🤪 The plot is what keeps everything upright and moving, as well as providing support for all the other elements. You have very few words to use in a picture book, so you need to do a lot with each plot point.</p>
<p>In general, your plot should:<br />
• Hook readers fast<br />
• Build tension that a child can follow<br />
• Create page turns that feel natural<br />
• Wrap up in a way that satisfies</p>
<p>You can borrow a plot twist (a leg) from one manuscript and the opening (the other leg) from a different manuscript. Consider if the subplot of the middle grade novel you trunked would work better as a picture book. Or maybe your Facebook post about a disastrous camping trip could become a story for kids. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other until you have your storyline.

The Arms of your story are the side characters.

The Torso of your story is the setting. Setting helps a story breathe and connects all the elements of the story. It isn't just where your story lives, it's what makes your story ALIVE. It's the difference between "this happened in a park" and "this happened in that park, the one with the twisty slide that burns your legs and the creaky swing that sounds like a baby crying.”</p>
<p>Your setting should:<br />
• Make your character's world feel real<br />
• Contain your story in a way that makes sense to young readers<br />
• Connect different scenes and moments organically<br />
• Give your illustrator enough room to add visual subplots</p>
<p>Half-finished manuscripts are a great place to dig up settings, since you worked out the place details before the plot petered out. Or maybe you had to cut a second fantastic location from your chapter book. You can also revisit the detailed caption from your Instagram carousel documenting your tour of that delish candy shop. Disinter a robust setting that can house all of your story's vital organs.

After you press the Click When Done circle button, the lights flash with the sound of electricity buzzing. Then the screen goes black and lightning zaps across the screen with the sound of thunder.

The screen then lights up to show the storage room, and all the Frankenstein pieces have been assembled into the whole monster. An upbeat song plays in the background. Then a speech bubble pops up with the words, “I’m alive! I’M ALIVE!” Then the screen goes to black.

Dog holding a sign that says Pupdates!

Sign up for our newsletter for pupdates and publishing advice