About the Book
About the Book
Secrets So Deep by Ginny Myers Sain
Genre: YA Thriller
Release Date: Sept. 27, 2022
Synopsis
From the bestselling author of Dark and Shallow Lies comes a moody and atmospheric paranormal thriller about a seventeen-year-old girl returning to an exclusive theater camp to uncover the truth of what really happened there twelve years ago, the night her mother drowned.
Twelve years ago, Avril’s mother drowned at Whisper Cove theater, just off the rocky Connecticut coastline. It was ruled an accident, but Avril’s never been totally convinced. Local legend claims that the women in the waves—ghosts from old whaling stories—called her mother into the ocean with their whispering. Because, as they say at Whisper Cove, what the sea wants, the sea will have.
While Avril doesn’t believe in ghosts, she knows there are lots of different ways for places, and people, to be haunted. She’s spent the past twelve years trying to make sense of the strange bits and pieces she does remember from the night she lost her mother. Stars falling into the sea. A blinding light. A tight grip on her wrist. The odd sensation of flying. Now, at seventeen, she’s returning to Whisper Cove for the first time, and she might finally unravel the mystery of what really happened.
As Avril becomes more involved with camp director Willa and her mysterious son Cole, Whisper Cove reveals itself to her. Distances seem to shift in the strange fog. Echoes of long-past moments bounce off the marsh. And Avril keeps meeting herself—and her dead mother—late at night, at the edge of the ocean.
The truth Avril seeks is ready to be discovered. But it will come at a terrible cost.
"I tend to set my books in places I really, really love. And I make an effort to really make sure that those settings are more than backdrops, they are integral to the story. If the plot could happen almost anywhere, I know my setting isn’t woven through enough."
An Interview with author Ginny Myers Sain
What drew you to writing YA?
I worked for years teaching and directing theatre with high school students, and when you work in the theatre together you just naturally form a bond that’s a little different and closer than most other kinds of student/teacher relationships. You have to be really open and vulnerable with each other. I just fell so in love with those kids. I adored their enthusiasm, their passion for their art, their deep love for each other. And I felt like I just really knew them. Theirs were the voices I heard in my head. So when I decided to write, I knew that was the age group I wanted to write for.
Your settings are so vivid and unique. What do you do to build your characters’ world?
I tend to set my books in places I really, really love. And I make an effort to really make sure that those settings are more than backdrops, they are integral to the story. If the plot could happen almost anywhere, I know my setting isn’t woven through enough. It isn’t just about where the character is, it’s about what impact that setting has on everything. How are characters affected by the heat? What do they do when it rains? When they breathe in, what scents flood their noses and what kind of air fills up their lungs? What elements of the setting are they battling against? How are they helped…or hindered…by the setting they are moving through? How does it change who they are?
What comes first for you, the plot or the characters, and why?
Actually, so far, the setting has come first! I’ve had places I want to tell stories, and I let those rich settings impact the development of the plot and characters. I ask myself, “If this is where we are, what could happen here? And what could go really wrong?”
Can you tell us three fun facts about yourself?
- I love Disney World. I’ve probably visited at least a hundred times. But I’ve only been to Disneyland once!
- Back in the 90s, I spilled a whole tray of drinks all over Ray Bradbury.
- Orange is my favorite flavor in everything. But I don’t like oranges.
What’s a book you’ve read this year that you’d recommend?
For YA, I loved GO HUNT ME by Kelly DeVoss. Because vampires
An adult I loved was QUEERLY BELOVED by Susie Dumond. Because cupcakes and love. And bonus points because it’s set in Tulsa!
Connect with Ginny
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