Interview With The Love Scientist
Before this week, there were two things I’d never tried: Interviewing someone or talking to a writer I looked up to.
Alright, I do have writer friends I adore—but none whose books are neatly aligned in my bookshelf.
My brain and hands did all the things for the assignment on their own without my consent.
First, they took me to my bookshelf where I eyed the names and pretty covers, weighing the chances of who would answer my emails.
My first choice—and the one that both replied and agreed to do the interview—was Anne Greenwood Brown, author of the Lies Beneath Trilogy and author of a total of 12 books.
(I also contacted the bestselling author that got me into reading in the first place—“go big or go home” is it? I went big; he went home by kindly saying no)
I was surprised by how quickly Brown replied and how willing she was to answer all my questions. Given how much I adore her books—and I made sure to let her know—it was difficult to stay on the subject or stop myself from fawning.
Every writer has their origin story. And Anne’s was just as whimsical as I hoped.
“How did you get into this work?” I asked.
“I was about five years old when I began making paper books that I would try to sell to neighbors to buy gum.”
One of those books was “Agatha the Witch” which her dad would print for her in his paper copier. Anne had an amused look, and I could picture the little kids today that did just that—who would ever think the stories might wind up on our bookshelf one day?
Before adulthood, Anne was convinced “real people” didn’t write and mostly used it as a hobby, never dreaming she could be a published author.
My origin story is quite similar—it was a paper book about a frog that ran away from home. I put the staples on the wrong side and wasn’t clever enough to try to sell it, but it was similar nonetheless.
When asked if she had any mentors, Anne stated she would learn from other writers. One of which we shared the same love for—Stephanie Meyer.
We agreed Meyer receives far too much hate when her way with words and the allure of her romance novels is worthy of the attention given. The way she is able to draw a reader into the scene using all of the five senses has always felt a bit like poetry—and Anne is a poet herself.
Justine Magazine compared Lies Beneath to Twilight stating, “If Twilight were written from Edward’s point of view and he were a merman instead of a vamp, that book would be Lies Beneath.”
(Just between us, I’m more fond of Calder White than I am of Edward Cullen, but both are lovable just the same)
While Anne might not have had a face-to-face mentor, she stated she has been a mentor to a few young writers—one being a young high school girl who was attempting to write a novel. Anne has visited schools to teach about the art of writing romance. I watched a few of her lessons on YouTube and found her teaching about the “meet-cute”—two characters meeting that will inevitably fall in love. The steps she mentioned to make a good love story sounded almost like a formula, which is perhaps why she calls the method the “science of love”.
Then I asked, “What was the first writing project you remember being really passionate about?”
“I would keep journals full of poetry in high school. There was something about the magic and rhythm of putting words together.”
Inside Lies Beneath, you can find bits and pieces of songs or poetry between the chapters relating to the plot or the overall mood of the scene.
When she filled those old notebooks with poems, she was around 17.
I then mentioned I, too, wrote in high school—filling notebooks with stories. Neither she nor I were exempt from hating our old, high school work. We both laughed thinking back on our old work and it was refreshing to see just how much I could relate to the writer whose books had been on my shelf since 2013.
“What do you like most about it—the line of work, I mean?”
The answer came quickly, “The sensation of completing a project. Especially the characters. They become very real, and they’ll talk to me at night. Also, being in a different world.”
I thought about that answer. “I wish my characters would talk to me—then maybe I could work their problems out faster.”
By talking, she also meant those odd 3 am ideas you think are brilliant at the moment—we both write them down only to wonder what they mean once we wake.
“What do you like least about it?”
This answer took a bit longer. I suppose there are more things to love about writing than there are to hate. “It’s very isolated and introverted. Rejection isn’t fun either.”
No argument there.
Finally, I got to a question about the trilogy I loved so much.
“What inspired Lies Beneath?” I asked, expecting some dream she’d had—a person she’d met, perhaps, or an odd boating trip on the lake where she happened to spot a shimmery tail or a whisper that sounded much like a mermaid’s choir in the distance.
“The first line of the book.”
“I hadn’t killed anyone all winter, and I have to say I felt pretty good about that,” (Brown, Lies Beneath 1).
I quoted it in my head, and Anne quoted it out loud. It was the highlight of the interview for me.
“And time on Lake Superior.”
Aha! I knew it. I certainly have to visit it someday. Instinctively, I pictured the watery scenery of the Lies Beneath trailer.
And on to the killer, final question:
“What advice do you have for young writers like myself trying to publish a book?”
“Realize you can do this,” Anne replied. “It’s an attainable goal. Read books like the one you want to write. You have to know what’s selling. Google how to query an agent. Prepare yourself for rejection. Query 100 hoping one says yes.”
Advice I’m sure some other writer had said once or twice, but this time, it stuck.
You can find Anne Greenwood Brown and purchase her fabulous books on her website http://annegreenwoodbrown.com/
Follow this wonderfull lady on her Instagram @annebrown