The Grey Sister Blog Tour!

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I am so excited to be working with Penguin Random House Canada for the blog tour of The Grey Sisters by Jo Treggiari! The Grey Sisters is a psychological YA thriller (perfect for fans of Sadie and The Cheerleaders) about two friends, D and Spider, who return to the scene of a deadly plane crash that took the life of D's sister, after D comes across a photograph that makes her believe her sister is somehow still alive.

 I got to do a Q&A with Jo about The Grey Sisters, her writing process, and how much fun it is working at a bookstore!

 1. How would you pitch The Grey Sisters using only pop culture references?

 Little Women meets Deliverance.

 2. What was the inspiration behind The Grey Sisters?

 I was on a road trip with two friends and we were out in the middle of nowhere. It really began to feel as if the trees and mountains were encroaching on us. I made a joke about ‘how would we know if someone was watching our every move?’ and just like that, boom! Plus I’d been reading a lot of early 20th century history about remote communities.

 3. You own a bookstore (which is awesome, I work at one!); do your experiences as a bookseller ever influence your writing? Me personally, I’ve been told very interesting stories by customers.

 Booksellers are sort of like bartenders, right? We hear everything and we build close relationships with our customers. I’m sure there have been some subtle effects on my story-telling but my books are pretty out there and no one has confessed a murder yet to me. I’ve been thinking about setting a future mystery here in my small town but we’ll have to see if that transpires.

 4. The Grey Sisters is definitely a page-turning thriller- I had to know what was going to happen next!- what thriller/mystery novels have you loved that have inspired your own stories?

 I grew up reading all my mum’s mysteries. She had the classics: Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, Colin Dexter, P.D. James. And I was a huge horror fan, Clive Barker and Stephen King in particular. I guess the combination of the two makes for a love of rising dread, terrifying scenarios, and perplexing questions.

 5. Do you have any upcoming books? If so, what can you tell us about them?

 I am working on a new book right now. It’s a murder mystery but it also delves into what makes a family and where do we find it, buried secrets, girl gangs, kids who fall through the cracks, misleading appearances and death by screwdriver.

 Thank you so much to Jo for answering questions about The Grey Sisters, which is out NOW (pick it up at your local independent bookstore!), and to Penguin Random House Canada for including me on the blog tour!

 XOXO,

 Isabella

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