We LOVE Greer and The Magician's Lie--have you read it yet? It's a breath of fresh air! We were lucky enough to snag Greer to answer a few hard-hitting Qs, and we have a copy to give away! Leave a comment to be entered--contest closes March 2nd at 8am PST.
The Magician's Lie by Greer Macallister
The Scoop: The Amazing Arden is the most famous female illusionist of her day, renowned for her notorious trick of sawing a man in half on stage. One night in Waterloo, Iowa, with young policeman Virgil Holt watching from the audience, she swaps her trademark saw for a fire ax. Is it a new version of the illusion, or an all-too-real murder? When Arden's husband is found lifeless beneath the stage later that night, the answer seems clear.
But when Virgil happens upon the fleeing magician and takes her into custody, she has a very different story to tell. Even handcuffed and alone, Arden is far from powerless-and what she reveals is as unbelievable as it is spellbinding. Over the course of one eerie night, Virgil must decide whether to turn Arden in or set her free... and it will take all he has to see through the smoke and mirrors.
Our thoughts: Magic! Intrigue! What more could you ask for! We LOVED.
Q&A with Greer Macallister
1. We loved THE MAGICIAN'S LIE! And not only is it a great story, the cover is amazing! What was your inspiration for the book?
Thank you so much! Yes, the cover totally blows me away too – I just love everything going on in that image. As for the inspiration, it kind of came out of nowhere: why do you always see a male magician cutting a woman in half, and never the other way around? Why isn’t it ever a female magician cutting her male assistant in half? So I decided I wanted to write that book, about that magician. Everything flowed from there.
2. We're so excited to share an agent with you (the fantastic Elisabeth Weed!). Can you tell us a little about your querying process? Any advice for aspiring authors?
Elisabeth is magical, isn’t she? We’re so lucky! My querying process put my left brain into overdrive – I was very logical about finding agents who represented similar books, and I put together a spreadsheet, and tracked responses, and all that. And slowly I made the progression from form rejections to encouraging rejections to, at last, acceptance! I definitely think aspiring authors should do their research. A bad agent is way worse than no agent at all. So find out who represents the kind of thing you write, and find out what you can about them, and then if you’re lucky enough to have someone offer you representation, ask questions before you say yes. It’s easy to run on pure emotion because we’re creative people, but you also need to be practical and business-like if you want to make writing a career. It’s all about balance.
3. THE MAGICIAN'S LIE is getting great buzz (People Magazine LOVED it!)--how surreal is that for you? What's the most important thing you've learned about the publishing process?
So surreal! On one of my book tour stops I treated myself to a massage, and I picked up a magazine in the spa waiting room – and it was that issue of People. It’s odd and wonderful to realize the book belongs to everyone now, when it was just mine for so long. Someone just sent me a picture of the book in the airport bookstore at LaGuardia, also a dream come true. The publishing process is totally nutty and not for the faint of heart. Also not for the impatient. It seems to move incredibly slowly, but in the end, the wait is worth it.
4. What are you reading now? What was your favorite book of 2014?
Right now I’m about halfway through Erika Robuck’s FALLEN BEAUTY, which is really intriguing. It’s partly about the poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, who was a truly shocking wild woman, and partly about another young woman who makes some questionable choices for love. It’s great. My favorite book of 2014 was without question Emily St. John Mandel’s STATION ELEVEN. The less you know about it going in the better, but trust me, it’s absolutely riveting.
5. What's up next for you? (We can't wait!)
I’m deep in the research for my next book. It’s also historical, but a slightly earlier period and a different place – Chicago. Thanks for the vote of confidence! I always find the earliest pages the hardest part, but I’m pushing through, and I’m so excited about where it’s going. This one’s more closely based on a true story, and sometimes, truth really is stranger than fiction.
Thanks, Greer!