Debut Author Interview: Amy Tern and Sneaks Giveaway

Happy Monday, Everyone! Today I’m excited to have debut author Amy Tern here to share about her MG mystery, Sneaks. It’s a mystery, which I love, and has memorable characters, so I’m looking forward to reading it. 

Here’s a blurb from Goodreads: 

A missing child and an apartment that should be empty spur two tweens to solve an increasingly tangled neighborhood mystery in this page-turning middle grade debut.

This hijinks-heavy mystery written in dual POV reads like Only Murders in the Building for tweens. Perfect for wannabe sleuths and nosy neighbors!

Valory has developed an unfortunate reputation as a thief—primarily because she steals things—though she has resolved to change her ways.

Rook is a total asparagus-eater (a.k.a. a good kid), but he likes to spy on his neighbors. Nobody’s perfect, right?

The twelve-year-olds form an unlikely alliance when they encounter suspicious behavior in an “empty” apartment across the alley from Rook’s house. While agoraphobia keeps home-schooled Rook trapped on his property, confident and street-smart Valory can roam the scene undetected. Their opposite personalities might, in fact, be key to their success.

But their amateur detective mission morphs into something more sinister when they realize the apartment next door could be connected to a recent kidnapping. When the sleuths realize they’re also being watched, the pressure is on to unmask the villain… before she snatches them, too. 

Hi Amy! Thanks so much for joining us. 

1. Tell us about yourself and how you became a writer. 

Hi! Thanks so much for having me! I’m a longtime fan of Literary Rambles and thrilled to do this interview. I worked for more than ten years to get published—so long I sometimes felt like it wasn’t going to happen, but my debut novel is finally out now from Holiday House. 

I was one of those kids who always wanted to write. I started stapling my own books together as soon as I was allowed to use the stapler. Then…what happened? Creative writing workshops in college were a bad fit for me and a blow to my confidence. Everyone was writing experimental short stories and metafiction, not the kidlit I loved. Then, in order to earn a living, I started working for international exchange programs and foreign policy think tanks. I found all of that very interesting, and I almost forgot about writing fiction. 

Reading to my own kids helped me reconnect with my childhood dream. The first thing I did, once my youngest started preschool, was to scribble out a 2,000-word rhyming picture book—blissfully unaware that the publishing industry is not exactly clamoring for those! Someone suggested I join the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), and I started going to conferences and reading craft books. I turned to writing novels, which is more natural to me than picture books. I learned about plot (the “p-word” never mentioned in those literary workshops) and how to construct a solid character arc. It wasn’t until my third novel that I finally found an agent and publisher. It’s been hard work but lots of fun. I’ve met wonderful people along the way. 

2. Thanks so much for being a fan. Where did you get the idea for Sneaks? 

I rewatched the classic movie Rear Window with my kids and thought it would be fun to try a middle grade version. Of course, I changed a lot in adapting it to a kid audience. In Hitchcock’s movie, the characters are investigating a murder, but in my book it’s a kidnapping. And instead of being ignored by the police, my young sleuths are dismissed by their parents, who accuse them of having overactive imaginations. In fact, they’re able to notice all kinds of clues the adults overlook. 

On a deeper level, the book is rooted in my own childhood experience. I loved Harriet the Spy, and my brothers and I took sneaking around very seriously. We were just insatiably curious. In those days, we were allowed a lot of freedom to explore. When I was eight, my family moved to Belgium for several months and lived in a five-story apartment building. It was very different from our life in Colorado, and my brothers and I had a lot of adventures in that place. There was an old rickety elevator and lots of people to spy on. We weren’t as purposeful or principled as the characters of Sneaks (who are trying to rescue someone), but I remember how big and interesting that world was to me, and I tried to capture that sense of excitement in my writing. 

3. How did you teach yourself how to write a mystery? What tips do you have on writing a mystery? 

Sneaks is more of a slow-burn thriller than a mystery, just like Rear Window—although in middle grade, the two categories are often lumped together. There’s a puzzle to solve, yes, but the narrative is forward-looking and the emphasis is on suspense. The characters aren’t trying to unravel “Who did the terrible thing?” so much as figure out “How can we keep the terrible thing from happening? And is it even happening at all?” For tips on writing mysteries and thrillers and combining them effectively, I recommend How to Write Killer Fiction by Carolyn Wheat. 

In almost any good story, suspense is key. Hitchcock famously distinguished between suspense and surprise: the audience has to know the bomb is under the table, even if the characters don’t. Sneaks is a dual narrative, which allowed me to make use of cliff-hangers and the old “Meanwhile back at the ranch…” technique. That is, I would leave one character hanging in a precarious situation (hanging literally, in one instance) before switching to the other’s perspective. This sort of trick can be annoying if used too much, but fun if used sparingly. It’s crucial to keep both stories lively and interesting. 

4. Thanks for the great tips. There’s a trend in middle grade to make stories shorter. You were able to tell your story in Sneaks in 240 pages. Did you make the word count shorter on purpose? Did you have any challenges in telling this story in fewer words? 

Back in the 20th century, novels for kids tended to be shorter than today. Many of the great classics were fewer than 200 pages. Examples include The Westing Game, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, Hatchet, and most of Judy Blume’s novels. Those books prove that you don’t need physical heft to make an impact. 

Some people blame J.K. Rowling for making longer books popular. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with that—there are plenty of children who love long books, of course. Others, though, are intimidated or bored by them. Shorter books can entice less proficient readers. Unfortunately, the share of nine-year-olds in America who say they read for pleasure has fallen from nearly 60 percent in the 1990s to 37 percent now. We have to reach these kids. So I set out to keep Sneaks to an approachable length. Actually, I think that helped discipline my writing and ensure the story was tight and engaging. 

5. I agree we need to reach all those kids who don’t like to read. Your story is also about Valory and Rook, two very different characters. Share a bit about how you developed them as characters and how you made them so memorable. 

Readers may come for the premise, but they stay for the characters. Sneaks is ultimately a friendship story between two very different individuals—Rook is quiet and introspective while Valory is bold and adventurous. They come from different economic backgrounds and see the world in different ways. As a musician, Rook takes in the world through his ears, while Valory is more visual. They combine their various strengths to solve the mystery. 

I found it more comfortable to write from Rook’s perspective because, as a writer, I tend to be an observer myself. To write Valory was more challenging, but also exhilarating. She has all the confidence I wanted to have, but mostly lacked, at age twelve. She can be judgmental (she teases Rook for his good-kid ways), but she’s never afraid to take action and do what must be done. 

Of course, characters must grow and change to be truly compelling. In my writing, I am drawn again and again to that pivotal moment when children realize adults are fallible and start to make their own independent decisions. They must learn to challenge the authorities in their lives and say, “That’s not right,” or “That’s not right for me.” As a parent, I want to continue to guide my kids—it’s alarming how quickly they outgrow us!—but I recognize that a certain amount of rebeliousness is healthy. I guess that’s what middle grade is all about. 

6. What was your road to getting your publishing contract for Sneaks like? 

I wrote two books before Sneaks, but failed to find an agent for them. I had become convinced that a compelling premise is necessary to stand out in a crowded marketplace, yet I was struggling to come up with a winning idea. 

Everyone in my critique group was between projects, and one member suggested we use the month of December (when busy moms find it hard to find time to write) to do a “Premise Palooza.” Every day for fifteen minutes, we brainstormed ideas. At the end of the month, we chose our 10 favorites and wrote a pitch paragraph for each. You can read more about our Premise Palooza here. 

Now, I’m not very good at coming up with premises for novels, but to my amazement, I had hundreds to choose from by the end of the month! Most of them were terrible, of course. A kids’ version of Rear Window was one of my favorites. It’s just such a great story—if you’re going to steal, do it from the best, right? 

I had already racked up more than 200 rejections for various projects. This time I got 21 rejections from agents before one offer of representation. The offer from Holiday House came after six months on submission. My editor is Sally Morgridge, who is wonderful. Unfortunately, the agent who sold my book has left the business, so I’m back in the querying trenches. The challenges never end! 

7. Your Premise Palooza sounds so cool. I’m sorry that your agent left egenting. How did working with your editor make your story stronger? 

Sally made some great suggestions. She urged me to expand a minor character and give him a greater role in the story. She also came up with some funny ideas for making my villain, already pretty wacky, even wackier. 

I was amazed by how much Sally was able to condense the manuscript. I tend to revise a lot—unlike many authors, I actually enjoy revising—and I think of myself as a pretty tight writer. My kids, who are tired of my constant harping on the evils of “unnecessary words,” were delighted to see me get a dose of my own medicine.  

8. I like revising too. This is your debut book. How has it been being a debut author? What tips do you have for other writers who have a debut book coming out? 

My main advice is to not let your agent leave the business! (Just kidding, obviously.) It can be challenging to navigate the debut waters. There’s so much to learn, and it can be confusing. Luckily, Holiday House has been great, and writer friends have been generous with their advice. In addition to my online critique group, I started a coffee club for women writers, and we meet once a month to trade advice and offer support. It’s important to me that we meet in person—sometimes I get tired of online interaction. Writing can be lonely, and it’s wonderful to find people who are dealing with the same struggles. 

The other tip I would offer is: It’s important to get out there and promote your work, but you also have to keep focused on your main job, which is writing. I find that social media, especially, sucks up a lot of time that would better be spent on my next project. In a way, it’s easier (if less sustaining) to chase “likes” on Instagram. Writing is slow. It requires quiet and patience, which is at odds with the noisy, competitive world of book promotion. 

9. I’m glad Holiday House has been helpful. I’ve always really liked them. How are you planning to promote Sneaks? 

As I mentioned, I’m somewhat fatigued with social media, but I’m looking forward to school visits and interacting with middle grade book clubs. Where were all these middle grade book clubs when I was a kid? I would have loved belonging to one of those! 

It’s meant a lot to me that indie booksellers have embraced Sneaks, which was chosen for the Indies Introduce program (for debut authors) and the Kids' Indie Next List. I was able to attend the Children’s Institute conference in Chicago in June and talk directly to booksellers from all over the country. They were incredibly warm and welcoming. I hope to find a way to connect to school librarians, perhaps through the Virginia Association of School Librarians and similar organizations. 

10. What are you working on now? 

I still believe in my first two novels—the ones that never got picked up. I have thoroughly revised the second one, which is about a rescue swimmer’s daughter who has her own heroic aspirations. Of course, the story involves a mystery and plenty of action and danger. I’m also working on a new project, which I don’t want to talk about too much because it’s still in the delicate, fragile stage. I’ll just mention it involves a spooky mansion, secret passageways, snow, and ravens. 

Thanks for sharing all your advice, Amy. You can find Amy at amytern.com and amyternbooks on Instagram. 

Giveaway Details

Amy is generously offering a hardback of Sneaks for a giveaway. To enter, all you need to do is be a follower of my blog (via the follower gadget, email, or bloglovin’ on the right sidebar) and leave a comment by July 25th. If I do not have your email (I can no longer get it from your Google Profile), you must leave it in the comments to enter the contest. Please be sure I have your email address.

If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or other social media sites and/or follow me on Twitter or Bluesky or follow Amy on her social media sites, mention this in the comments, and I'll give you an extra entry for each. You must be 13 years old or older to enter. This book giveaway is US.

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday is hosted by Greg Pattridge. You can find the participating blogs on his blog. 

Upcoming Interviews, Guest Posts, and Blog Hops

 
Thursday, July 16th, I’m participating in the Sip Sip Hooray Giveaway Hop
 
Monday, July 20th, I have an interview with Emma Otherguy and a giveaway of her MG Adventure in the City of Stories
 
Wednesday, July 22nd, I have an agent spotlight interview with Sam Farkas and a query critique giveaway
 
Saturday, August 1st, I’m participating in the Apple a Day Giveaway Hop
 
Wednesday, August 5th, I have an interview with Lindsey Olsson and a giveaway of her YA To Drown a Witch and my IWSG post
 
Monday, August 10th, I have an agent spotlight interview with Riley Jay Davis and a query critique giveaway
 
Sunday, August 16th, I’m participating in the Old School Giveaway Hop
 
I hope to see you on Thursday!