Friday, February 18, 2011

Fangirl Friday

Double the Authors, Double the Fun with Lisa and Laura Roecker



Lisa and Laura Roecker are sisters-turned-writing-partners with a love of all things Young Adult. Some call it arrested development, but the sisters claim it keeps them young. Plus, its cheaper than Botox. Lisa and Laura live in Cleveland, Ohio in separate residences. Their husbands wouldn't agree to a duplex. THE LIAR SOCIETY is their first novel.

The Fangirl heard about the Roeckers from reading the lovely Jill Hathaway's blog.  So she contacted them and they were very excited to be a part of Fangirl Friday.  Then they decided to REALLY rope in the Fangirl and now she has been pinkified for THE LIAR SOCIETY.

Fangirl:   For those who haven’t heard about your debut novel THE LIAR SOCIETY can you tell them what it’s about?


L&L:  The Liar Society features Kate Lowry whose best friend Grace died mysteriously the year before. Kate receives an email from Grace on the year anniversary of her death and launches an investigation to determine what really happened to her friend. As the emails continue, Kate uncovers all sorts of secrets lurking around her school that people would do anything to protect.

Fangirl:   What inspired the two of you to write this novel and come up with the concept?

L&L:  Lisa lost someone very tragically a few years ago. From time to time she emails his account sharing updates about life. In The Liar Society, Kate does the same thing after Grace dies. The only difference is Grace writes back. The Liar Society tells the story about what might happen after.

Fangirl:  Besides being authors you both are also involved with Bookanistas and WriteOnCon. How did you get involved with these projects and how has it helped you as writers?

L&L:  Honestly, the blog has connected us to most of the projects we're involved with. We have met incredible people while blogging. The Bookinistas formed as a way to consistently review books we love and to also spread the word about debut books that might be coming out. It's also great because ARCs are shared and spread around as opposed to only hitting up one blog or network. The idea for WriteOnCon came from being poor and busy writers. The team thought it would be amazing if writers could attend a free conference without having to travel from their homes. We were blown away by the response! These projects have helped connect us with all different types of writers and publishing professionals. We've had so much fun thinking creatively with people all over the United States and beyond!

Fangirl:   What should writers know about collaborating with another writer to compose a novel? Is there anything they should be weary of or really need to work at?

L&L:  The biggest challenge is creating a unified voice. We work really hard to make sure that our writing is cohesive and consistent. But this doesn't happen until we edit and edit and edit some more, which because there are two of us, is a challenge in and of itself. One of us always owns part or all of the document so we know changes won't get lost. And for the most part, it works!

Fangirl:   Did you all find it harder to query with a joint project or did it make things easier with a built-in critique partner/ support system?

L&L:  The built-in critique partner and support system is the BEST part about writing together. We honestly don't know how people write alone. We can obsess to each other about reviews or being on submission or emails to agents/editors without having to bore everyone else in our lives to tears. We also can ship off the document if we come down with writer's block. We're constantly saying, "Here. Fix this." But because there are two of us, some people might go into the book looking for discrepancies in our voice or plot, which if we had written under a pen name, might not have been focused on. We wouldn't change anything though. For the most part, we've been able to create one identity out of two writers, which is super-fun and efficient too!

Fangirl:  I see, on your website, that there will be a sequel, but should we expect more than just two books and can you give us any hints to where the story is going?

L&L:  Yes, The Liar Society is the first book in a series. Hopefully there will be many more Liar Society books in our future! A hint for book two...there's a bit of a love triangle angle (because, really, who doesn't love a love triangle?) featuring Bradley Farrow, Kate's first year crush. We're going to make Liam work for it! And Seth too, of course.

Fangirl:   Did you have a playlist for this novel? If so what were some of the titles and did they inspire any scenes you can give us hints to (without spoilers!)

L&L:  Vindicated by Dashboard Confessionals is definitely on our list, even though we're making it difficult for poor Kate to ever be truly vidicated.

Also, That's Not My Name by the Ting Tings and They by Jem.

Fangirl:   If LIAR SOCIETY was to be made into a movie who would you all cast in the lead roles?

L&L:  Emma Roberts (if she'd be willing to dye her hair pink, of course) as Kate Lowry.

Kristin Kreuk as Grace Lee.

Jesse Eisenberg as Seth Allen.

Jordan Catalano as Liam Gilmore. Ha!

Dianna Agron as Taylor Wright.

Michelle Trachtenberg as Bethany Giordano.

Fangirl:   Favorite(s) book, movie, TV show?

Lisa:

Book: The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson, The Stand by Stephen King and Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver are some of my favorites.

Movie: 16 Candles, 10 Things I Hate About You, Amélie, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Away We Go

TV Show: Friday Night Lights, My So-Called Life, Modern Family

Laura:

Book: Beach Music by Pat Conroy is one of my all-time faves as well as The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson.

Movie: I love any of Will Farrel's movies--especially Anchorman, Old School and Blades of Glory.

TV Show: Modern Family or Parenthood

Fangirl:   Words to live by?

L&L:  Don't be afraid to just start over.

8 comments:

  1. I do like your interviews Magan and I'm definitely interested in reading this...

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  2. THANKS for fangirling us Magan! Hope you enjoy the book!

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  3. Love me some Lila. Great interview:)

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  4. Great Interview! This book is totally on my to-read list! :)

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  5. Thanks for the interview, ladies! Go LiLa! ;)

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  6. Great interview, and I love those wigs! They're like frosting.
    :)

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  7. AMAZING interview!! Can't wait for The Liar Society!! *sobs*

    Oh, and I WANT PINK HAIR. :)

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  8. Awesome! They be the girls! And I'm so proud of them! Woot woot!

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