Welcome to SCBWI-MI's Book Birthday Blog!

Where we celebrate new books from Michigan's authors and illustrators.

Congratulations to Andrea Contos on the release of Tell Me No Lies

How did you come up with the idea for your book?

Inspiration usually comes in a single scene for me, and Tell Me No Lies was no different. I had an image of a girl on a shore, a brutal storm shoving waves onto the sand, her hands and knees gouged with cuts from shells and rocks and maybe even something else. And her first words were: “This is my confession.”

From there it grew to the story of two sisters who are both directly tied to the main mystery of the book. They’re both such different characters, and they both brought such a unique perspective to the plot—their personalities shaped so much of how the book unraveled, and really did give a new twist to the idea that there are two sides to every story.

What is something you hope your readers will take away from your book?

Any time you write a mystery, you want readers to love the surprises and twists you’ve set up for them, and feel like they’ve enjoyed the ride you’ve taken them on. But for me, it always comes down to characters. I hope readers fall in love with these sisters, and that I’ve managed to capture the beautiful, complicated phenomenon that is sibling relationships.

What inspires you to write?

So many things! Reading another really well-written book is always inspiring to me, but it’s certainly not limited to books. I get inspiration from anything that makes me feel or think or surprises me. But I also just love the rush of writing—that feeling that comes with figuring out exactly what a book is supposed to be, or how part of the plot fit together perfectly, or when characters really start to come alive on the page. Those are the things that keep me writing even when it feels like maybe it’s all not worth it.

What are your marketing plans for the book?

This is such an interesting question because I feel like it’s such a contested issue in publishing recently (and not so recently.) There’s always the question of just how much of marketing is an author’s responsibility, and just how much any author can do to “move the needle” when it comes to actual book sales. So I’m excited to lead up to launch day for Tell Me No Lies, but I also recognize there are limits to what any author can do when it comes to marketing!

What's next for you?

I'm actually writing another book, but this one is an adult mystery. I don't want to give away too much, since the book is still very much a work in progress, but I'm so excited to see where this one takes me!

A little bit about the book . . .

Riverdale meets Gone Girl in a shocking thriller about two sisters whose bond is tested when one girl's boyfriend goes missing... and her sister is the primary suspect.

Nora and Sophie Linden may be sisters, but they're not friends. Not since the party last month. Not since the night Sophie's boyfriend, Garrett, disappeared. Half the town thinks Garrett is dead, the other half believes he ran away, but Sophie knows something no one else does -- Garrett left that party with Nora. And straight-A, Ivy-league-bound Nora had never been to a single party before that night.

Then Nora withdraws, barely coming home anymore, right when Sophie starts receiving messages from someone who claims to be Garrett, promising revenge -- for what happened to him that night, and for the lies both girls told to the police about it.

With the sisters' futures -- and lives -- in jeopardy, they'll have to decide whether to trust each other again, or risk their secrets leading them to their graves.

A little bit about the author . . .

Andrea Contos is an award-winning writer of young adult mysteries and thrillers. She’s the author of Tell Me No Lies, Out of the Fire, and Throwaway Girls. She’s an ITW award winner for Best Young Adult Novel and her debut was named a Kirkus Best Books of 2020. She grew up in Detroit, and thanks to the tours given by her policeman father, she can tell you exactly where the morgue is. She currently lives outside the city with her family and her very fluffy dog.

Twitter: @Andrea_Contos

Insta: @andreaacontos

Website: www.andreacontos.com