Author Interview: Sarah Lyu on I Will Find You Again, Star Wars, Thrilling Mysteries, and More!3/9/2023
Happy Thursday bookworms, and welcome back to another author interview! I had so much fun chatting with Sarah Lyu all about her upcoming release, I Will Find You Again! With mystery, plot twists, and an unreliable narrator, how can you go wrong? This book comes out March 14th, be sure to preorder your copy here!
Synopsis: Welcome to Meadowlark, Long Island-expensive homes and good schools, ambition and loneliness. Meet Chase Ohara and Lia Vestiano: the driven overachiever and the impulsive wanderer, the future CEO and the free spirit. Best friends for years-weekend trips to Montauk, sleepovers on a yacht-and then, first love. True love.
But when Lia disappears, Chase's life turns into a series of grim snapshots. Anger. Grief. Running. Pink pills in an Altoids tin. A cheating ring at school. Heartbreak and lies. A catastrophic secret. And the shocking truth that will change everything about the way Chase sees Lia-and herself.
Hello Sarah! Welcome to Page by Paige Books! I am so excited to chat with you today. To get things started I'd love to get to know you a bit more. Could you share 3 fun facts about yourself?
Thanks so much for having me! My next novel, I Will Find You Again, is a love story starring Chase Ohara and Lia Vestiano, two childhood best friends turned girlfriends turned ex-girlfriends. When Lia goes missing, Chase tries to make sense of what happened by piecing together the last weeks before Lia's disappearance, but what she finds shocks her. Not everything is as it seems and not everyone is who they appear to be. But if Chase can't make sense of the past, she might not get a future. Here are three facts about me: My favorite color is cerulean blue. I'm obsessed with my two pups, Naga and Mako. I know how to construct a flamethrower.
Congratulations on the upcoming publication of I Will Find You Again! Would you say that your writing process has changed since your debut? If so, in what ways?
At the end of writing my first book, I thought I had a good grasp on how to make a book, but what I'd actually figured out was how to write that particular book. Each story is different and needs a totally different process. I rewrote the first book whole cloth several times, while the first draft of I Will Find You Again has largely made it to the final book with a few cuts and many additions. I think what works best for me is spending a lot (and I mean a lot) of time getting a sense of the story, the characters, and the voice/tone before I start.
Your first book, The Best Lies, is also a psychological thriller. What do you think the characters from that book would think of Chase and Lia? Would they get along?
Remy from The Best Lies is the kind of character who wants to be liked and to belong so badly she'll mold herself to fit the shape someone else cut out for her, and in the book, that someone was Elise. Remy would follow Chase and Lia into the cheating ring they run at their elite school without a doubt. But Elise-all fire and pain and vengeance-she'd hate them. She'd see Chase as a threat, and ironically, she'd be jealous of Lia's seemingly perfect life, which is how Chase feels. This is such a fun question-I've never thought of characters from separate stories interacting!
Along with your author account, you also have an art account on Instagram. Your oil paintings are beautiful! I love the way you capture nature scenes. Are there any other art mediums you'd like to try in the future?
I'm a dabbler for sure. Before I started painting, I got really into crochet and I'd like to go back to that. There's something so soothing about that repetitive motion, almost meditative.
You were recently featured on the podcast Raise Your Words where you mentioned that you're a fan of Star Wars! I'm a big fan of the franchise too, especially the new TV shows! Which Star Wars character (from any of the movies and shows) do you relate to the most?
I love Ezra from Rebels and I feel like he's such an underrated character! Maybe it's because I love YA, but his journey is so quintessentially young adult. Big emotions and huge growth. I love the journey he takes us on, how much of a lone wolf he is at the beginning and how much he cares about his found family at the end of the show. I'm excited to see him appear in live action and see where his story goes.
Creating a complex mystery takes a lot of planning and effort, what advice would you give to young writers hoping to delve into the genre?
Read and watch a lot of mysteries. Read books on plot and structure and work from structure down. Sometimes I'll know what kind of plot point I'll need but not exactly what will happen. It can take months to find the specific event that's the right fit, but it helps to know what kind of effect I'm hoping it'll have on the characters and story and use that as a placeholder in the meantime.
The premise of I Will Find You Again was so intriguing! I knew I had to add it to my tbr immediately! What inspired you to write this thrilling story?
So many things. I was drawn to the idea of telling a love story through the lens of loss and nostalgia-the way we watch Chase and Lia fall in love only after Chase has lost her. That was partly inspired by Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which opens on the aftermath of a breakup and works its way back to how they fell in love. I also wrote this book in part for the person I was in high school, a girl with big dreams and control issues, ha, and in part for the recovering perfectionist I am today.
You're also a fan of Taylor Swift! Which songs from Taylor's newest album 'Midnights' do you think Chase and Lia would enjoy the most?
Love this question! Chase: "You're On Your Own, Kid" and "Midnight Rain." The first because it matches her belief that she has only herself and the latter because it matches her perspective on her relationship with Lia-she thinks she's all ambition and Lia's only interested in staying comfortable, but that's not quite true. Lia: "Anti-Hero" and "Dear Reader." The first because she often feels like the problem in all of her loved ones' lives and the latter because it's about someone who seems like she has a perfect life on the outside, but she's really falling apart inside.
I Will Find You Again is a story that addresses important topics such as depression and the "academic pressure cooker". What is the main message that you want readers to take away from this book?
I want readers to know that choosing happiness is a valid choice. That where you go to college doesn't matter 99.99% of the time. That status and power games only offer empty prizes. That failure is never a permanent state of being-that it's not a state of being at all but an indication that you put yourself out there, and that should be celebrated. That to succeed means to try and to care and to love.
Along with I Will Find You Again, there are so many exciting books coming out in 2023. Do you have any other releases coming out this year that you'd recommend?
I'm so excited for Trang Thanh Tran's She's a Haunting, Mark Oshiro's Into the Light, Tess Sharpe's 6 Times We Almost Kissed (And One Time We Did), Jenna Miller's Out of Character, and Julian Winter's As You Walk on By!
Be sure to check out Sarah's tour where she'll be doing in person and virtual events to celebrate I Will Find You Again's release!
Author Information
You guys know I love a good YA thriller, and I had so much fun talking to Sarah about I Will Find You Again! Don't forget to preorder your copy, and follow Sarah along on her celebratory tour! Stay tuned for my review of this book coming soon. What's your favourite Star Wars movie or tv show? Let me know in the comments below!
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AuthorPaige is a bookstagrammer and blogger who loves all things bookish. From fantasy to mystery she can’t get enough! She’s always ready to recommend you a book and she can talk about her favourites all day. When she’s not reading, you can find her watching Marvel movies, playing video games, and taking bookstagram photos. Visit her on Instagram and Twitter for more updates. Categories
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