Guest Post: Caroline B Cooney!

⋆ “Cooney’s knack for distinctive characterizations grounds the story firmly in the familiar world, while the third-person narration strikes an enticing balance between intimacy and cool detachment.” —Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

“Veteran author Cooney has written another cleverly plotted novel rooted in suspense—suspense that only escalates as more facts are revealed about the case. . . . Mystery fans will be delighted by Cooney’s latest.” —Booklist

“No one writes suspense like Cooney. . . . Haunting, harrowing, and hard to put down.” —Kirkus Reviews

From the author of the multimillion-copy bestseller The Face on the Milk Carton comes the riveting thriller NO SUCH PERSON (Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers| On sale July 14, 2015 | Ages 12 and up) by Caroline B. Cooney. Set against the backdrop of a bucolic summer town on the Connecticut River, NO SUCH PERSON will have readers guessing until the very last page, as a seemingly innocent sibling rivalry and newfound young love turn into something much more devastating than anyone could ever have imagined.

Miranda and Lander Allerdon are sisters. Miranda is younger, a dreamer, and floating her way through life. Lander is older, focused, and determined to succeed. As the girls and their parents begin another summer at their cottage on the Connecticut River, Miranda and Lander’s sibling rivalry is in high gear. Lander plans to start medical school in the fall, and Miranda feels cast in her shadow. When the Allerdons become entangled in an unimaginable tragedy, the playing field is suddenly leveled. As facts are revealed, the significance of what has happened weighs heavily on all. How can the family prepare for what the future may hold?

NO SUCH PERSON is a killer of a mystery: With unpredictable twists and turns, lyrical prose, and an unforgettable ending, bestselling, award-winning, and critically acclaimed author Caroline B. Cooney has outdone herself.

CAROLINE B. COONEY is the author of the Janie series, which includes the bestselling The Face on the Milk Carton. She has also written Code Orange and Diamonds in the Shadow, as well as hundreds of other mystery and thriller novels.

GUEST POST!

I like action.

A book needs some dialogue, some description, and of course good characters—but I like books where stuff happens. Give me a good car chase and I’m happy.

I had a little red cottage perched on a bluff over the Connecticut River. In the summer it was busy with motorboats, kayaks, sailboats, and tugs pushing or pulling oil barges. One day I saw a boy in a small speedboat playing chicken with a barge the size of half a football field. I thought, You could murder a water-skier that way. Tow him in front of the barge, ease up on your speed, drop him in the water, and here comes the barge. He’s cooked.

And then I thought, What if you are looking out on the river one beautiful day, and you and your sister both stand helplessly watching this terrifying event? But you are watching it from different heights and different perspectives. You know immediately that the driver of the boat planned and executed the death of his friend. But your sister doesn’t see it that way. She is filled with compassion for the driver, who is guilty only of carelessness. What if your sister now begins to date that young man? A man you believe to be a murderer?

No Such Person was very exciting to write. It’s a double narrative, with each sister in a separate but overlapping nightmare. I’ve written more than ninety books, but I don’t think I’ve written one in the present tense before, let alone two different first persons. It was very exciting but also very confining. It was work. It was also intense to find myself with sisters who don’t actually like each other. I mostly write about families where the kids get along pretty well. So there I was with an unexpected theme: Is sisterly love deeper and wider than passing judgments or scornful remarks?

I’m one of the lucky writers. I love writing. I usually wake up very early, ready to dash to my computer and start up again. Lots of what I write won’t be good enough to keep. It’s not unusual for me to write a dozen versions of a chapter, but I write fast and I enjoy it all, even the discards. Thanks for asking me to share on Krystal’s blog.

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