A Deadly Christmas: Paula Stokes

A Deadly Christmas is a series of 2014 debut author features (quick interviews, reviews and giveaways) hosted by Deadly Darlings. Check out the full schedule here.

I’ve talked to Paula lots of times, and this woman’s fantastic and sweet! Let’s give her a warm welcome, shall we? *applause* But instead of talking about her debut, The Art of Lainey, Paula’s here chat about her upcoming release, Liars, Inc!

Liars, Inc. by Paula Stokes

published on March 24th 2015 by HarperTeen
young adult | contemporary | mystery

find the book on
Goodreads

pre-order the book on
Book Depository | Amazon

It all starts with one little lie…

Max Cantrell has never been a big fan of the truth, so when the opportunity arises to sell lies to his classmates, it sounds like a good way to make a little money and liven up a boring senior year. With the help of his friends Preston and Parvati, Max starts a business providing forged permission slips and cover stories for the students of Vista Palisades High. Liars, Inc. they call it. Suddenly everybody needs something and the cash starts pouring in. Who knew lying could be so lucrative?

When Preston wants his own cover story to go visit a girl he met online, Max doesn’t think twice about hooking him up. Until Preston never comes home. Then the evidence starts to pile up—terrifying clues that lead the cops to Preston’s body. Terrifying clues that point to Max as the murderer.

Can Max find the real killer before he goes to prison for a crime he didn’t commit?

Recommend your book!

I would recommend my book to fans of I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga, White Cat by Holly Black, Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn and Get Even by Gretchen McNeil. I also think fans of the TV show How to Get Away With Murder would like it because it has a similar group of conniving students plotting things and getting in way over their heads.

 Why will readers enjoy your book?

You guys will definitely enjoy my book because Max and Parvati start out flawed but go through major character development throughout the novel. Also, the romance doesn’t overshadow the plot and Max doesn’t fall into the trap of obsessing about his girlfriend issues when there are more important concerns at hand–like not going to prison for murder.

You’ve decided you want to become a super secret agent/spy. What would your alias be? (And just because I’m sure we’re all curious–what do you think your first assignment would be?)

My alias would be Siren, because I’d be super manipulative and because I love the ocean. And my first assignment would be to infiltrate an evil ring of book piraters and use my powers of persuasion to convince them to shut down their sites and start new ones promoting legal book buying and borrowing. :)

If your main character could pick one superpower to have, what would it be and why?

Max is so not about saving the world. I’d say his power of choice would be invisibility, but as that average boy dozing off in the back of the classroom, he already feels invisible for the most part. I guess because he’s in trouble with the FBI, his superpower would be super-intelligence so he can figure out who set him up. Either that or time travel so he could go back to when his dad was alive and see him again.

Compare your book to any dessert.

Liars, Inc. is like Devil’s Food Cake. It’s dark, delicious, and a little bit evil.

Can you guess which of these facts about Lori is actually a lie?

1. I have a shark’s tooth pendant that I bought after a surfing lesson in Hawaii, when our instructor made us leave the water because he saw a tiger shark.
2. I used to daydream about being a CIA operative, just like Parvati does.
3. One of Max’s Korean baby sisters is named after my real life cousin…and I haven’t told her yet.

Answer (highlight): #3 was a joke! Did you believe it? xD

Paula Stokes

stalk Paula through her social media accounts!
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Goodreads | Website

When she’s not working (rare), she’s kayaking, hiking, reading, or seeking out new adventures in faraway lands. She’s petted tigers, snuggled snakes, snorkeled with stingrays, and once enjoyed the suction-cuppy feel of a baby elephant’s trunk as it ate peanuts from her palm. Her future goals include diving with Great White sharks, learning Krav Maga, and writing a whole slew of novels, not necessarily in that order.

You guys can win an ARC of Liars, Inc.! Fabulous right? And yes, this giveaway is open internationally!

Have you read/added Liars, Inc. to your TBR? Did you guess Paula’s fib correctly? Thoughts on the interview? Feeling lucky for the giveaway?

About Aimee

Aimee loves being a little bookworm (okay–she doesn’t like being little). She also loves chocolates and sweets but is freaked out by the thought of possibly getting diabetes.

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