Pretty Little Liars author Sara Shepard answered some of our questions about the end of the show and her new book series, The Amateurs.
The Amateurs is a fun, new mystery series written by Sara Shepard, who is the author responsible for the The Pretty Little Liars books, The Lying Game, The Heiresses and The Perfectionists. Shepard was kind enough to answer some of our questions about the first book in the new series, as well as the quickly approaching finale of Pretty Little Liars.
Related: The Amateurs book review: A must read for Pretty Little Liars fans
Where did you get the idea for the Case Not Closed website? Is it something you would be interested in using?
Sara Shepard (SS): Well, I know that these websites do actually exist. I feel like I was watching a Dateline years ago and they were talking about such websites, and I was intrigued. In researching the book, I found a similar website, which is where I got a lot of the inspiration. It was fascinating to sift through the various cases and hear what people thought about things. People get very passionate!
Do you prefer reading mystery stories, or do you like to escape into a different genre?
SS: I enjoy mystery/thrillers — especially psychological thrillers. One of my favorite books currently is The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware. Another great one from a while back is The Basic Eight by Daniel Handler, and of course the inimitable The Secret History by Donna Tartt. But I will read any fiction — contemporary fiction, historical fiction, romances, middle grade — I’m all over the map.
One of my favorite parts of The Amateurs was getting to know each character through their respective chapters. Did you have a favorite character voice to write?
SS: It’s fun starting a new series because you essentially “meet” new characters. Yes, you’re shaping them, but after a while, their personality dictates their actions, so it almost feels like they’re shaping the book instead of you. Each of the characters in The Amateurs is very distinct, and I enjoyed walking around in their different shoes. Seneca is tough and clever but also damaged. Aerin is reckless but secretly very sensitive and sentimental. Brett is trying so hard to win people over. Maddox is the cool guy who has a whole lot more going on underneath. I’ve always wanted to write from the male perspective, so it was fun to delve into that.
Did you know who the murderer was from the very beginning, or did they surprise you?
SS: I feel like in a very, very early draft the murderer was someone else, but for the most part I knew who it was. It’s important to have an idea when writing a mystery — otherwise you can go down a lot of wrong paths. I’m developing another book at the moment and it’s all about going backwards — figuring out what the crime was, who did it, and why — and how my investigator is going to slowly uncover that. The Amateurs was exactly the same way — I started at the end and worked back.
The gang seemed to go their separate ways at the end of the book. Will they continue to work on cases together online? Will they all meet up again in future books?
SS: Absolutely. The series is three books, and there is an incident at the beginning of book 2 that forces the group together again. I just finished the draft — believe it or not, book 2 is even darker than book 1.
You mentioned in your acknowledgements that you got some “real world insight on police records and blood stains.” How extensive was your research on crime scene investigation for the book?
SS: My father-in-law is a retired police officer and worked in private investigation and security. My brother-in-law used to work as an undercover cop in Texas. So I have some people I can reach out to for reality checks. I do a lot of research online, too. You’d be astonished what sort of information is out there.
That twist at the end of the book was crazy! I didn’t see it coming. Will this part of the story continue into the next book in the series?
SS: It is definitely part of the story, and a huge part of book 2. I’m happy you didn’t see it coming! So far I haven’t met a reader who has.
I loved Seneca and Maddox’s candy game. A lot of our readers are big Pretty Little Liars fans, so could you tell us what candies you see each of the Liars as?
SS: The candy game was something I did as a teenager — I literally have a journal entry that breaks down my classmates according to whether they were Kit Kats, Smarties, etc. I see Spencer as black licorice — complex, maybe not for everyone. Hanna is really, really good Swiss chocolate that comes in an elegant wrapper. Emily is something accessible and yummy but also sort of sporty/healthy– maybe pretzel M&Ms. And Aria’s something exotic and a little vintage — like maybe violet candies. Alison is Sour Patch Kids Extreme –ridiculously sour, but then irresistible.
Speaking of Pretty Little Liars, we’re devastated that the show is ending! Will it be difficult for you to say goodbye to the onscreen versions of your characters, as well?
SS: It will. I really hope PLL comes back in some sort of way — as a spinoff, as a movie, something. (I have no knowledge that it will, but fingers crossed.) I do plan on writing some PLL fan-fiction, so look for that on Kindle Worlds.