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ENTRY TYPE: new
WORK TITLE: When the Bones Sing
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WEBSITE: https://www.ginnymyerssain.com/
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COUNTRY: United States
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PERSONAL
Born ca. 1972; children: one son.
EDUCATION:Earned a degree in theater.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Actress, director, educator, and writer. Worked in the theater in AR, including as an actress, director, and acting teacher.
MEMBER:Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI).
AWARDS:Crystal Kite, SCBWI, for Dark and Shallow Lies.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
[open new]Long immersed in the world of the theater, Ginny Myers Sain tapped her interests in unsettling stories and the supernatural in becoming a young-adult novelist. She was raised in a small Oklahoma town amongst a family of writers. Her mother published some twenty novels, primarily historical fiction for middle graders, while her father was a poet and essayist. Her little sister would become a high-school English composition teacher, while her little brother would one day be named Oklahoma’s poet laureate. Among Sain’s favorite books were spooky tales like Lois Duncan’s Down a Dark Hallway and Stranger with My Face. Enamored with the theater foremost, Sain attended college in Arkansas and earned a degree in theatrical arts. She remained in the state for a couple of decades altogether, developing a career that led from acting roles to directing plays and musicals and teaching acting to teens. Sain was obliged to redirect her creativity when the COVID-19 pandemic swept through the United States and shut down theaters nationwide. Having recently moved from Arkansas to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she began fraternizing with her mother’s author friends, Sain saw fit to try her hand at writing fiction.
About her decision to write for young adults—like the ones she taught acting to—Sain told Cynsations: “Those kids just really opened up their hearts and their lives to me, and I fell so in love with that age group. I was so inspired by their passion, their loyalty, their love for one another, their bravery, and the intensity of their creative energy. And I felt I knew them really well. I just heard their voices in my head so clearly. So there was never any question that, when I started writing, I wanted to write for YA readers.” Speaking with Kait Plus Books, Sain conceived: “I think that the arts are the best way we have of explaining to each other what it really means to be human.”
Sain made her debut with the supernatural thriller Dark and Shallow Lies, set in the bayous of Louisiana. One of ten children born in La Cachette in the same summer, Grey feels somewhat out of place in returning every summer to help her grandmother run her spiritualist bookstore. Psychic powers proliferate in the town, but mystery reigns when Elora, Grey’s spiritual mate among the Summer Children, goes missing. With potential threats including Dempsey Fontenot, who may have once murdered four-year-old twins; brooding Hart, Elora’s untrustworthy stepbrother; and an inquisitive blue-eyed stranger who triggers green-eyed Grey’s own psychic powers—not to mention a looming hurricane—the scene is ripe to turn deadly.
Sain modeled La Cachette after the real-life Florida town of Cassadaga, which she once happened upon and which bills itself as the “Psychic Capital of the World.” In School Library Journal, Talea Anderson deemed Dark and Shallow Lies “deeply absorbing with its swampy atmosphere and vivid characters that surface one by one.” Appreciating the infusions of Creole and Cajun culture, the Southern Gothic feel, and Sain’s “dreamy prose,” a Publishers Weekly reviewer proclaimed that “taut pacing builds sustained terror on the page with each successive suspect in this formidable debut.”
Drama engulfs a teen’s stay at a monthlong acting camp on Long Island Sound in Secrets So Deep, Sain’s second novel. Seventeen-year-old Avril was intent on attending the Whisper Cove camp because her mother drowned there twelve years ago, while Avril herself nearly died and woke up in the hospital unable to remember what happened. Seeking clues to her mother’s death while landing a role in a play written by her mother’s famous best friend, Willa Culver, Avril gets unexpected help in her increasingly nerve-wracking investigations from Willa’s heartthrob of a son, Cole. Observing that the “slow-bum romance is believable and sweeter than Avril’s witty cynicism would suggest,” School Library Journal reviewer Allie Stevens delighted in the plot-propelling “nocturnal wanderings,” the mystery’s “twists and turns,” and the “eerie, chilling suspense.” Affirming that Sain “deftly writes Avril’s confusion, desperation, and fear so that readers experience everything alongside her,” a Kirkus Reviews writer hailed Secrets So Deep as “sorrowful, haunting, and romantic; a true page-turner.”
In writing her next novel, One Last Breath, Sain took inspiration from her personal exposure to real-life crimes during her youth and teenage years. Taking place not far from where she was raised were the terrifying murders of three Girl Scouts while in their tent at a sleepaway camp—“literally the stuff of nightmares,” as she told Never Judge a Book by Its Cover. Later, when on the verge of leaving for college in 1990, she was shaken by murders at the University of Florida.
One Last Breath finds Trulee fresh out of high school in Mount Orange, Florida, and increasingly drawn to the depths of Hidden Glen Springs. Tru has become an avid free diver partly out of interest in uncovering clues to the murder of teens Bailey and Celeste, who had been camping in the area twenty years ago. She meets a like-minded soul in Rio, a fellow female free diver who feels the same compulsion. As they inch closer to identifying the killer, they begin to fear they may be the next targets. Their connection to the murdered teens turns out to be more intimate than they could have imagined. Booklist reviewer Donna Scanlon found One Last Breath to be “engrossing and fast-paced, with plenty of misdirection that only increases the tension,” as Sain “pulls no punches” in telling the tale. While enthralled by the “spine-tingling pining, lust, and love” of the queer sexual awakening, a Kirkus Reviews writer declared that “suspense drips from every scene, and the alarming and scary elements build expertly toward a thrilling climax.”
When the Bones Sing is set in Arkansas’ Ozark Mountains, the area where Sain lived for some twenty years. Seventeen-year-old Dovie possesses the same power as her forebears in Lucifer Creek, Arkansas: the ability to hear the singing of dead people’s bones after burial. When a backwoods hike by out-of-towners results in a slew of disappearances, Dovie is recruited to help find the bodies. The mystery becomes all the more urgent as Dovie’s lifelong friend Lowan Wilder, haunted by murdered souls, links the killings to both town history and Dovie’s own past. A Publishers Weekly reviewer remarked that “vividly descriptive text evokes an ethereal yet grounded setting” as “plot points offer shocking twists that feel appropriately earned.” The reviewer hailed the novel as “hauntingly ambitious.” With a “chilling reveal in the final act that skirts the edge of horror,” a Kirkus Reviews writer praised When the Bones Sing as “gripping and intensely atmospheric.”[close new]
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, February 15, 2024, Donna Scanlon, review of One Last Breath, p. 53.
Kirkus Reviews, August 1, 2022, review of Secrets So Deep; January 1, 2024, review of One Last Breath; January 1, 2025, review of When the Bones Sing.
Publishers Weekly, November 24, 2021, review of Dark and Shallow Lies, p. 101; December 9, 2024, review of When the Bones Sing, p. 125.
School Library Journal, August, 2021, Talea Anderson, review of Dark and Shallow Lies, p. 92; October, 2022, Allie Stevens, review of Secrets So Deep, p. 90.
ONLINE
Book Q&As with Deborah Kalb, https://deborahkalbbooks.blogspot.com/ (November 29, 2022), author Q&A.
Cynsations, https://cynthialeitichsmith.com/ (November 1, 2021), AJ Eversole and Gayleen Rabakukk, “New Voices: Casie Bazay & Ginny Myers Sain on Persistence.”
Ginny Myers Sain website, https://www.ginnymyerssain.com (July 2, 2025).
Kait Plus Books, https://www.kaitgoodwin.com/ (September 4, 2021), “Blog Tour: Dark and Shallow Lies by Ginny Myers Sain (Interview!).”
Nerd Daily, https://thenerddaily.com/ (September 1, 2021), Elise Dumpleton, “Q&A: Ginny Myers Sain, Author of ‘Dark and Shallow Lies’”; (March 17, 2024), “Q&A: Ginny Myers Sain, Author of ‘One Last Breath.’”
Never Judge a Book by Its Cover, https://neverjudgeabookbyitscover.co.uk/ (August 30, 2024), “Under the Cover #11 with Ginny Myers Sain–Author of One Last Breath.”
Although I come from a line of writers, my first love has always been the theatre. When I was a kid, I spent a lot of time creating characters and plots for my little brother and sister to act out. (They loved it! Really. I promise.) I have a degree in theatre and I've spent most of my career up to this point teaching acting as well as directing plays and musicals. I didn't really learn to love writing until I realized how similar it is. When I write, I get to be the playwright, set designer, costume designer, lighting and sound designer, and director all rolled into one.
As a reader, I've always been drawn to the strange and the spooky. During my young adult years, I devoured books by Daphne du Maurier, Shirley Jackson, Lois Duncan, and Stephen King. But my very first creepy story experience, the one that really made me fall in love with reading about things that go bump in the night, was The Ghost Next Door by Wylly Folk St. John. Just looking at the cover--a ghost child standing in the moonlight at the edge of a lake--gave me she shivers. And I LOVED it.
Now, as a writer, I enjoy creating dark, tangled, mysterious stories that exist in the in-between spaces where magic feels most possible. I especially love writing for young adult readers because those years between childhood and adulthood are full of so much possibility...and so many big fears and questions. Literally anything can happen!
I grew up on Oklahoma, then I went to school in Arkansas and lived there for the next twenty years. I currently live in St. Cloud, Florida, with my college-age son and a wild goldendoodle named Magnolia.
I have a very cool "haunted writing room" where I like to hide away and write. When I'm not working in the theatre or writing, you're likely to find me listening to true crime podcasts, taking pictures of alligators, eating tacos, traveling to spooky places, or planning hanging out at Walt Disney World.
Under the Cover #11 with Ginny Myers Sain – author of One Last Breath
Posted August 30, 2024 by Emma in Bookish Post, Interview, Under the Cover, YA / 0 Comments
Under the Cover #11 with Ginny Myers Sain – author of One Last Breath
Hello my lovely bookworms, I am currently in my mystery era of YA books and I am excited to be bringing you a new to me author that I read recently, Ginny Myers Sain to my blog to talk about her twisty , supernatural YA mystery – One Last Breath. I recently reviewed this book which you can check out it here.
Under the Cover is where I interview some of favourite authors and authors I’ve recently read and discovered. I’m trying to refresh my blog and I love interviewing authors and getting an insight into their storytelling, hence Under the Cover was born.
INTERVIEW WITH GINNY MYERS SAIN
Can you share with us something about the book that isn’t in the blurb to introduce your brilliant new YA, One Last Breath?
There is a true crime element to this story, and that part of the book was inspired by a couple of real crimes that affected me deeply as a child and a young adult. First, I grew up in Oklahoma near the scene of the infamous Oklahoma Girl Scout murders, which was literally the stuff of nightmares. Three little girls murdered in their tent at sleepaway camp. It was this huge dark cloud that hung over our whole state at that time, and it became kind of a lifetime obsession for me, in the same way the Hidden Glen murders do for Tru in the book. The other true crime that inspired this story was what happened at the University of Florida in Gainesville in 1990, the murders committed by Danny Rolling, who was known as the Gainesville Ripper. As a young person about to graduate from hight school and head to college, those murders had a big impact on me. I was glued to the news. So when I started thinking about adding that true crime element into this story, I knew I had to include elements of those two stories that had affected me so much.
It’s a classic question, but one I love to ask authors, what started your love for writing?
I grew up in a family of writers, and I always did some writing. But I never really considered myself a writer until Covid hit and shut down the world. Theater had always been my art form, and for the first time ever in my life, that was taken away, which meant I was forced to find another way to tap into my creativity and search for connection. So I turned to writing.
I loved the supernatural connection with Tru and Rio and the murder case. What inspired this?
All of my stories have just a hint of the magical or supernatural running through them like a thread. Although I’m a pretty firm skeptic, that idea of magic hiding in our very real world has always fascinated me. In Tru and Rio’s case, I was particularly intrigued by the question of why we sometimes feel those instant, burning connections with people. What could cause us to be pulled so hard toward someone we’ve just met? This story is a supernatural exploration of that kind of instant connection and where it might come from.
Did you do any research behind the world building for your book? Was there anything you learnt or found interesting that inspired your story?
I’d fallen in love with the fresh water springs of central Florida decades before this book was written, and once I started writing, I knew I wanted to set a book in that beautiful and mysterious, but potentially deadly, environment. Because I’d spent a lot of time at the springs, I didn’t have to do a lot of research on the setting itself, but I did have to do a lot of research into the sport of freediving, which I found absolutely fascinating and completely terrifying.
This is your third YA book, what has been the highlight of your writing career so far?
Having so many readers say things like, “This is my favorite book,” or “You’re my favorite author.” Nothing prepares you for that. It’s such a gift and an honor, and it still blows my mind every single time. Other than that, when DARK AND SHALLOW LIES won a Crystal Kite award from the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, that was a huge moment for me because that award is voted on by the organization’s members. So it’s a peer awarded honor, which is a big deal. Plus, my mother has been very active in SCBWI for many, many years, and it’s an organization that’s been a part of my life for so long. It just felt like a tremendous, and very touching, honor.
I’m always curious about how authors write horror/mystery novels. How do you plan? Do you know who dunnit and work backwards or does it change whilst you’re writing?
I’m not a detailed plotter, but I do generally have a pretty basicoutline with six or eight major plot points before I begin, and I do always know the ending. So I know what A, B, C, and D are going to be in the story, but I don’t know how I’m getting from A to B or from B to C or from C to D. Those are the details I work out as I go, and sometimes it feels like magic how things just fall into place. Working backwards is very helpful to me when I’m writing mysteries. I tend to think, ok … this is where I need to be in the last scene. Now let me work backwards to figure out where to put those clues and red herrings so that we end up in the right place by the end of the story.
Who was your favourite character perspective to write?
This story is told only from Tru’s perspective, so I didn’t really get to write from anyone else’s point of view, but I did particularly enjoy creating and crafting the character of East. He has such a golden heart, and it’s been fun to see how much readers love him.
Were there any deleted scenes that you wished were in the book, but never made it in?
No, I don’t think so. I don’t really think any scenes ended up being deleted, although we did end up coming a few of the diving segments. I don’t think I’ve ever had a full scene that ended up being deleted in editing, although there are always things that need tightening and trimming, of course.
What’s your experience been like as a writer so far?
It’s been a lot of fun, and a bit of a wild ride! There are times I look back and I can’t quite believe I’ve had three books come out since 2021. It’s been such a dream to step into this life, and I’m so grateful to everyone who has made that possible, but especially to everyone who has read one of my books. Of course, there are times of stress and anxiety too. Lots of self-doubt and imposter syndrome and worry. But I try to remind myself in those moments what a gift it is to be able to do this full time.
Can you give us a sneak peek as to what’s next for you?
My fourth supernatural thriller, WHEN THE BONES SING, will be out in early 2025. This one is set in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas, and I spent twenty years living in that area, so it’s really special to me. It’s magical and dark and romantic, and I can’t wait for you all to read it!
Finally, if you could recommend 3 books to read, what would it be?
THE ACCIDENT SEASON by Moira Fowley Doyle (This was one of the books that helped me figure out what kinds of stories I wanted to tell. It was a real-world story, but with that hint of magic running thought it. I’d never read anything quite like it before, and DARK AND SHALLOW LIES probably wouldn’t exist if I’d never picked it up.)
WATCH OVER ME by Nina Lacour. (This is such a strange, but lovely little novel. It’s very ethereal and weird, and a little bit heartbreaking. It was one of the inspirations for parts of SECRETS SO DEEP, which was my second book.)
Anything by Erica Waters. I love her dark, atmospheric storytelling.
Blog Tour: Dark and Shallow Lies by Ginny Myers Sain (Interview!)
Posted September 4, 2021 by Kaity in Book Tours, Interviews / 0 Comments
Blog Tour: Dark and Shallow Lies by Ginny Myers Sain (Interview!)
Happy Saturday and welcome to my stop on the blog tour for DARK AND SHALLOW LIES! I’m so excited because today I have an interview with Ginny Myers Sain to share with you! This book is truly amazing and I’m so excited to for you to find out more about it!
Blog Tour: Dark and Shallow Lies by Ginny Myers Sain (Interview!)Dark and Shallow Lies by Ginny Myers Sain
Published on September 7, 2021 by Razorbill
Genres: Contemporary, Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller, YA
Pages: 432
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Author Links: Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Instagram
La Cachette, Louisiana, is the worst place to be if you have something to hide.
This tiny town, where seventeen-year-old Grey spends her summers, is the self-proclaimed Psychic Capital of the World--and the place where Elora Pellerin, Grey's best friend, disappeared six months earlier.
Grey can't believe that Elora vanished into thin air any more than she can believe that nobody in a town full of psychics knows what happened. But as she digs into the night that Elora went missing, she begins to realize that everybody in town is hiding something - her grandmother Honey; her childhood crush Hart; and even her late mother, whose secrets continue to call to Grey from beyond the grave.
When a mysterious stranger emerges from the bayou - a stormy-eyed boy with links to Elora and the town's bloody history - Grey realizes that La Cachette's past is far more present and dangerous than she'd ever understood. Suddenly, she doesn't know who she can trust. In a town where secrets lurk just below the surface, and where a murderer is on the loose, nobody can be presumed innocent--and La Cachette's dark and shallow lies may just rip the town apart.
What would you do if you spent the day with Grey? Where would you go to eat, hang out, relax, etc.?
Ohhhh! That’s a fun question. I think we’d probably spend the day in New Orleans, since we both love that city. We’d start out with breakfast at Cafe Du Monde and then just spend the day wandering the French Quarter. We’d check out the artists in Jackson Square and the shops at the French Market. Definitely a muffuletta for lunch from Central Grocery!
If Grey were to hang out with characters from other books, who would they be and why?
There is a character named Mila in Watch Over Me by Nina LaCour that, as soon as I read that book, I thought….she would make a great friend for Grey. Mila is a character who has a lot of heartache and grief and guilt…and those are all things that Grey is carrying as well. She’s also like Grey in that she tends to be very careful and guarded. But both of them end up being very open to magic and wonder and the possibility of healing. They’re two girls who walk through the fire and find a way to keep walking.
If there was one fictional place you could travel to for a day, where would it be and why?
Definitely Oz! I’ve been obsessed with the Wizard of Oz movie (sadly, I admit I never read the book) since I was a little kid. I used to pretend I was in Oz all the time. I loved the beauty of it, but also the danger!
If you could meet any fictional character, who would it be and what would you talk about?
Right now, I’d have to say the whole cast of Schitt’s Creek, since I’m in the middle of watching that series. Yes, I know I’m super late to the party! But, oh my gosh, I would kill to spend the afternoon with David and Moira. I feel like we would have all sorts of things to talk about! The trials and tribulations of small town life, for one. Oh! And Stevie. I’d love to meet Stevie. We have kind of the same sense of humor.
If you buried a time capsule with three items inside, what three items would you choose and why?
That’s a hard one! I think I’d definitely choose things related to the arts. I’ve always worked in the arts, primarily in the theatre, and writing of course. So the arts have been such a huge part of my life. I’d try to select three great works of art…maybe a painting or a sculpture, a musical recording, and a video of a really exquisite ballet. Or a beautiful book, a play script, and a particularly breathtaking poem. It would be hard to narrow it down! I think that the arts are the best way we have of explaining to each other what it really means to be human, so I think that’s worth preserving.
What was your favorite bit of research you ended up not using?
I really enjoyed researching all the folklore and legends. And the history! There is one brief line in the book about the infamous Casket Girls of New Orleans, but I would have loved to talk about that story more. It’s such a good one. The history of those women who were sent from France to help settle the brand new city of New Orleans is just really interesting. And the way so many wild stories and myths and legends have built up around that particular bit of history is absolutely fascinating.
What is your favorite quote, scene, or moment from Dark and Shallow Lies?
The scenes between Elora and Hart are my favorite. There is so much heartbreak and so much yearning between those two characters. They were just really fun to write. As for moments, there is a very short scene around a campfire that I just love. It’s so small, but there’s so much going on there. It was fun to pack as much as I could into the silences and the spaces between the lines.
Ginny: Thank you so much! These were fun questions!
Kait: You’re welcome! Thank you so much for answering them!
About Ginny Myers Sain
Ginny Myers Sain is the author of DARK AND SHALLOW LIES, her debut YA novel available 8-31-21 from Razorbill/Penguin. Although she comes from a long line of writers, her first love has always been the theatre. She has a degree in theatre and has spent most of her career teaching acting and directing plays and musicals. Ginny currently live in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with her teenage son and a very cowardly doberman named Shipley. When she is not working in the theatre or writing, you’re likely to find her listening to true crime podcasts, taking pictures of alligators, eating tacos, or planning a trip to Walt Disney World.
Book Q&As with Deborah Kalb
POSTING Q&As WITH AUTHORS AND ILLUSTRATORS SINCE 2012! Check back often for new Q&As, and for daily historical factoids about books. On Facebook at www.facebook.com/deborahkalbbooks. Follow me on Instagram @deborahskalb.
Tuesday, November 29, 2022
Q&A with Ginny Myers Sain
Photo by Resolusean
Ginny Myers Sain is the author of the new young adult novel Secrets So Deep. She also has written the YA novel Dark and Shallow Lies. She has worked with teens in a theater program for 20 years, and she lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Q: What inspired you to write Secrets So Deep, and how did you create your character Avril?
A: I've spent most of my life so far working in the theatre, first as an actress and then as a director and teacher, so I've always wanted to tell a theatre story. There's so much magic and mystery inherent in what happens in the theatre, it just seemed to lend itself perfectly to a supernatural mystery.
And Avril is one of my favorite characters I've ever written. Although she wasn't inspired by any one person in particular, there are pieces of so many amazingly talented, brave, and passionate students I've worked with over the years all blended together in her.
She's the best of a lot of different people, but she also has a skepticism and a wariness that's very much me.
Q: The Kirkus Review of the book says, in part, "The atmosphere of Whisper Cove is palpable, the fog-laden shore haunting and heavy at night." What do you think of that description, and how important is setting to you in your writing?
A: Setting is really everything to me, so I love that description! The setting is usually the first thing that comes to me when I sit down to tell a story.
I love "in between" worlds...like the swamp in Dark and Shallow Lies or the coastline in Secrets So Deep. Those places are in between the land and the water, and that makes it easy to also blur the lines between what's solid and what's not...what's real and what isn't.
Q: What do you see as the role of ghosts in the novel?
A: There are so many different kinds of ghosts in Secrets So Deep! At its heart, this is a book about people that are haunted by regrets and loss. It's as much about the ghosts that live at the edges of our memories as it is the ghosts that live at the edges of the ocean. There are definitely supernatural things that happen in the book, but it's not a traditional ghost story.
Q: Did you know how the story would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?
A: I had a good idea of what the main ending would be, but there were smaller aspects of it that I had to decide along the way. And, yes, lots of things changed!
I always start out with a plan, but I think about it like being on a road trip. If you have a route mapped out, but then you discover a better route as you're driving along, you don't stick with your original route just because you had it mapped out. You take the better route!
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I'm currently working on revisions for my third book, One Last Breath. It's another YA thriller/mystery that should be out from Razorbill/Penguin Teen in early 2024. I'm really excited about it!
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
Q&A: Ginny Myers Sain, Author of ‘One Last Breath’
Emily M·Writers Corner·March 17, 2024·5 min read
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We chat with author Ginny Myers Sain about One Last Breath, which is another chilling supernatural thriller from the New York Times bestselling author filled with murder, romance, and a decades long mystery that haunts a small Florida town.
Hi, Ginny! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
I grew up in a family of writers. My mom is a novelist with almost twenty traditionally published novels, mostly middle grade historical fiction, and my father was a poet. My little sister teaches grammar and writing to high school students and my little brother even grew up to be the poet laureate for the state of Oklahoma, where we grew up and he still lives. So we always had writers in and out of house and my mom was always going to writer’s meetings and conferences. But I was always drawn to the theatre. That was always my art form. I have a degree in theatre and I spent most of my career teaching acting and directing plays and musicals. So I came to writing later than most of my family, but I still got pulled in eventually. I live in Orlando now with my college-age son and our goldendoodle, Magnolia. We spend a lot of time exploring the springs and beaches, going to Disney World, and showing our friends around when they come to visit.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
Story is something that’s really important to my whole extended family. Even my grandparents on both sides, some of whom never went to school past eight grade, were born storytellers. So I grew up in that tradition. I loved sitting around on porches and in kitchens listening to that. I always wrote, from the time I was little. I won a lot of school contests over the years and even got selected to attend the Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute, which is a really prestigious program for Oklahoma high school students, in writing. But I never considered myself a writer. I was always an actress first, and then later in life a director and theatre teacher.
Then I had some life changes and I moved from Arkansas where I’d been working in the theatre for years back to Tulsa, OK, and I started hanging around with my mother’s writer friends because I just missed being around creative people. So really, I fell in with a bad crowd, as they say. Or that’s the joke I tell. I was making friends with all these writers, and they were asking what I was writing, so I started thinking about writing again, for the first time since high school really. And I kind of messed around with it for a few years. But then the pandemic hit and all theatre immediately shut down and I was left without any kind of real artistic outlet, and that’s when I really got super serious and set down and finished the book I’d been working on, which is the book that became DARK AND SHALLOW LIES.
Your latest novel, One Last Breath, is out now! What five words would you use to describe it?
Twisty, atmospheric, supernatural, chilling, wild
What can readers expect?
You can expect a dark and twisty story set in the dangerously beautiful Florida freshwater springs. It’s part thriller, part supernatural, part breathless romance, and part true crim case study.
Your books always interest me because of their tight plotting and excellent twists. What’s your plotting process like?
I always start by working out an interesting premise and focusing on a good, sharp hook. Then I sit down and come up with a basic flap copy description before I start to write. That’s the kind of description you might find on the back of a book. That helps me make sure I actually have a whole story. After that, I’m a pretty basic plotter. I always know the opening and the ending and the biggest moments in between. I only plot out the major stuff in advance. For a novel, I might have seven or eight major plot points jotted down on an index card before I sit down to write, and I kind of feel my way through everything else as I go. I always tell people that I know Point A and Point B and Point C from the beginning, but I don’t know how I ‘m going to get from A to B and from B to C, etc, until I sit down and start writing.
They also stand out as they usually have a speculative edge to them. What draws you to adding this to your mysteries?
It’s just something I’ve always loved as a reader. I grew up loving books by Lois Duncan, especially DOWN A DARK HALLWAY and STRANGER WITH MY FACE, so I always loved those dark, creep, spooky, slightly magical stories. I’m not really a fantasy reader, but I have always loved stories that are set in our real world with just a hint of the magical or supernatural running through them.
See also
Q&A: India Holton, Author of ‘The League of Gentlewomen Witches’
I love how atmospheric your books are and how much the setting or natural environment plays a part in the overall story. What influences this theme in your work?
I think that’s just kind of who I am as a person. I’ve always been really, really drawn to place. I love any kind of unusual, unique environment, and I love to visit places where big moments in history happened or where something momentous took place. It’s like I can feel that energy. I remember years ago visiting the Tower of London and standing on the very spot where Anne Boleyn was executed and just being completely caught up in that. I’m also just a sucker for atmospheric So that love of place comes through in my writing. It’s actually the element I start with when I start imagining a new story. I hit on a setting I want to use, and then I ask myself what characters might call that place home and what problems they might have.
What songs would form the soundtrack to One Last Breath for you?
That’s always a hard question for me to answer! I tend to mostly love songs I can scream in my car, so sometimes it’s hard for me to separate music that I like from music that would work for a particular book or character. But there’s a Paramore song, My Heart, that I listened to on repeat at certain points while I was writing this book. I love Hayley William’s voice so much, and I love the way that song grows and grows in intensity, and how it kind of crosses the lines back and forth between the joy of love and pain of love until you’re not really sure which one the song is about. Here’s a bit of trivia. The dedication to my second book, SECRETS SO DEEP, is actually a nod to a Paramore song, Franklin, that’s featured on the same album.
Can you give us any hints for what you are working on next?
I actually just finished edits on my fourth book, out in 2025. That one is called WHEN THE BONES SING and it’s another supernatural thriller, this time set in the Arkansas Ozarks. I’m really excited because it’s such a beautiful part of the world and it has such a rich history of mystery and magic. I lived there for 20 years, so I can’t wait to share it with readers!
Lastly, are there any releases that you’re looking forward to picking up this year?
So many, but particularly K.A. Cobell’s LOOKING FOR SMOKE and UNDER THE SURFACE by Dianah Urban.
Q&A: Ginny Myers Sain, Author of ‘Dark and Shallow Lies’
Elise Dumpleton·Writers Corner·September 1, 2021·6 min read
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A teen girl disappears from her small town deep in the bayou, where magic festers beneath the surface of the swamp like water rot, in this chilling debut supernatural thriller for fans of Natasha Preston, Karen McManus, and Rory Power.
We chat with author Ginny Myers Sain about her debut novel Dark and Shallow Lies, along with book recommendations, writing, and more!
Hi, Ginny! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hello! I grew up in rural Oklahoma, a small town of about 3,000 people, and I’m the oldest of three kids. I went to college in Arkansas and I have a degree in theatre. Now I live in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with my teenage son and the world’s most cowardly doberman. I’m a huge Disney World fan (we visit every January) and I have this weird obsession with alligators..
When did you first discover your love for writing?
Not until pretty recently, actually. I come from a family of writers. My mother has 20 traditionally published novels, mostly middle grade historical fiction, and my father was a poet and non-fiction writer. Even my brother is a past Poet Laureate for the state of Oklahoma! So writing is in my DNA. I actually didn’t start out as a writer, though. The theatre has always been my true love. I’ve spent my whole adult life, right up until now, working in the theatre. I lived and worked in Arkansas for a long time after college, and I only started writing when I moved back to Oklahoma. I needed some new direction, and my mother convinced me to become involved in SCBWI, which was an organization very close to her heart. Because I had spent years working with teens in the theatre, and I loved that age group so much, I knew they were the group I wanted to write for and about.
Quick lightning round! Tell us the first book you ever remember reading, the one that made you want to become an author, and one that you can’t stop thinking about!
First- THE MONSTER AT THE END OF THIS BOOK. It’s about Grover from Sesame Street. I was OBSESSED. And what a twist ending!
Made me Want to Become an Author – THE ACCIDENT SEASON by Moira Fowley-Doyle. I knew I wanted to write something like that. I loved the blending of reality with something just slightly magical.
Can’t Stop Thinking About – WATCH OVER ME by Nia Lacour. It was so beautifully written, and not at all what I expected it to be.
Your debut novel Dark and Shallow Lies is out September 2nd in the UK and September 7th in the US! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Dark, Twisty, Magical, Atmospheric, and Tense!
What can readers expect?
I think readers are in for a pretty wild ride! This story takes a missing girl mystery and kind of twists into something a little more unusual. It’s a story about the depths of grief, the destructive power of generational secrets, and how we are all capable of beautiful AND terrible things. And, of course, it features a really great cast of characters, the Summer Children. They’re this group of kids all born the same year, and all with different psychic abilities. The story is sort of about how the main character, Grey, finds her own place in all of that. She has to discover her own magic, in a figurative sense, but also in a very literal sense.
Where did the inspiration for Dark and Shallow Lies come from?
La Cachette is not a real place, of course, but the town was very loosely inspired by two actual places. The first is the tiny town of Cassadaga, Florida, which I was lucky enough to stumble upon during a road trip across the sunshine state. Cassadaga really does bill itself as the “Psychic Capital of the World” and its tiny town square is lined with palm readers, tarot card readers, and mystics of all kinds. I was standing on the front porch of the psychic bookstore there when the idea for DARK AND SHALLOW LIES came to me in the form of this question….How do you keep a secret in a town full of psychics? I didn’t know what the secret would be yet, or even who was trying to keep it. All that came later. The setting came first. However, Cassadaga was a bit too accessible for what I had in mind. I needed a place that was more cut-off from the world. Somewhere a little harder to get to…and to escape from. I had spent a lot of time in Louisiana over the years and had fallen so deeply in love with the swampy landscapes, the culture, and the people, and my mind went back to a little place called Pilottstown, which served for years as a home to riverboat pilots on the Mississippi River, so that became the inspiration for the geographical location. And that’s where the story began.
Can you tell us about any challenges you faced while writing and how you were able to overcome them?
The biggest challenge for me with this particular story was that it’s a pretty complicated mystery with lots of twists and turns. It was really a complex thing to sit down and figure out what bits of information needed to come out when, and then to walk that tightrope between giving enough away to keep forward momentum in the story….without giving TOO much away and letting the reader guess where things are going. Mysteries are just hard like that! The only way I was able to do it was by plotting it backwards. I figured out the end, what all the resolutions were, and then I moved backwards through the story to scatter those clues and revelations in the right places
Were there any favourite moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
Hart is the first character that came to me, and he’s always been my favorite. He was just one of those characters who showed up fully formed and breathing. I just felt like I knew him so well. He was 100% alive and real in my head, and I loved him from the beginning. I came to know and love them all, of course, but Hart was special to me.
As for moments, there is a very short scene around a campfire that I just love. It’s so small, but there’s so much going on there. It was fun to pack as much as I could into the silences and the spaces between the lines of dialogue.
What’s the best and the worst writing advice you have received?
Honestly, I haven’t really gotten any bad writing advice. I’ve heard some things that don’t really resonate with me, but they might be helpful for another writer, so it’s not that they were bad advice….they were just bad advice for me. Most of those are little things like the old advice to write every day. That’ doesn’t work for me. I need days off! But maybe it’s good advice for someone else.
See also
Q&A: W. Michael Gear, Author of ‘Adrift’
My best writing advice is something I heard at a conference, and I can’t even tell you who said it or what the exact quote was…but it was something along the lines of, “Don’t write to answer questions. Write to ask questions.” And that’s something I try to keep in mind, especially writing for teens. They don’t need or want to be told what the answers are. Our job as writers is to ask big, complicated, messy questions with our stories, and then let the readers answer them.
What’s next for you?
I had a two-book contract, so I’m working on book two, which should be out in the fall of 2022. I can’t say a lot about it, but it is also a standalone YA mystery/thriller with some magical/paranormal elements. Think waves, lighthouses, salt in the air. It’s actually set in the world of the theatre, so I’m excited to bring my love of theatre and my love of writing together for this project!
Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for our readers?
A couple of things I’ve read and loved in the last few months –
WHAT BEAUTY THERE IS by Cory Anderson
THE FOREST OF STOLEN GIRLS by Jun Hur
IN THE SAME BOAT by Holly Green
You can find Ginny on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, along with at her website.
New Voices: Casie Bazay & Ginny Myers Sain on Persistence
Home » New Voices: Casie Bazay & Ginny Myers Sain on Persistence
By AJ Eversole & Gayleen Rabakukk
We’re happy to welcome two debut Oklahoma YA authors to Cynsations today! Casie Bazay’s novel, Not Our Summer (Running Press Kids) released on May 11, 2021 and is a #1 Oklahoma Bestseller. Ginny Myers Sain‘s novel, Dark and Shallow Lies was published by Razorbill/Penguin on September 7, 2021.
When you look back on your writing journey, what are the changes that stand out?
I began writing with the intent of getting traditionally published shortly after leaving the teaching profession to stay home with my kids in 2010. I’ve loved to write for as long as I can remember, but when I first started writing a book, I had very little confidence in myself as a storyteller. All I knew was that I had this very big goal and I wanted to do my best to achieve it. I didn’t tell many people I was writing a book at first because I was afraid of what they might think or that I might never succeed. However, one of the biggest changes in my journey began when I made the decision to put myself out there and connect with other writers. I started attending conferences and soon joined an in-person critique group in my area. Seeking learning opportunities and sharing my work with others was not only validating, but also hugely instrumental in helping me grow as a writer.
With each book I’ve completed (I’ve written five now), I’ve gained more confidence in myself as a writer, and since getting a book deal and an agent (yes, in that order!), I now enjoy giving back to the writing community by sharing about my journey, offering writing tips (often in blog posts or tweets), and hosting the occasional query critique giveaway. This past year, I was also a mentor in Author Mentor Match. I think one of the most significant changes throughout this whole journey to publication has been learning to see myself as a writer. I definitely own that title now.
Could you tell us about your new release?
Not Our Summer released May 11, 2021 from Running Press Teen/Hachette. It’s a young adult contemporary novel about two estranged cousins, who, upon the death of their grandfather, are asked to travel to several specific locations around the U.S. in order to receive their inheritance. Recent high school graduates, Becka and K.J., had their own ideas about how to spend the summer, but now are left to deal with these trips, each other, and the repercussions of a decades-old feud between their mothers.
The amazing locations the girls travel to, including the Grand Canyon and Key West, serve as a backdrop to the family drama and swiftly changing relationship between K.J. and Becka. Their contrasting personalities and the fact that they’ve grown up very differently make each trip a struggle. K.J. lives in a trailer park with a single mom (who isn’t the best of parents), while Becka has a little more financial and familial stability.
Casie in Key West.
As the trips progress over the course of the summer, they begin to better understand each other and even get along. However, when Grandpa drops a bombshell in one of the letters he’s left for his granddaughters, everything changes. It’s now up to the girls on how to proceed: continue the precedent set by their mothers or take the necessary steps to change the family dynamic and begin to heal the divide they’ve lived with for their entire lives.
Not Our Summer has feisty girls, fun destinations, and plenty of family drama. Readers often describe it as both humorous and heartwarming and have also said that it has inspired them to travel to some of the locations in the book or come up with their own bucket list of places to travel.
A pool at Yellowstone.
Fun fact: I have traveled to most of the locations that K.J. and Becka travel to in the books!
Reflecting on your personal journey (creatively, career-wise, and your writer’s heart), what bumps did you encounter and how have you managed to defy the odds to achieve continued success?
Writing for publication is definitely not for the faint of heart. Over my ten year journey, I’ve dealt with rejection time and time again, multiple doses of Imposter Syndrome, and plenty of frustration.
With the first book I wrote and queried, I received over 150 rejections from agents and editors. I could have quit after that, but I didn’t. Even though it took me three years to finish that first book, once I did, I realized I could do it again. So I wrote another. And then another. And then another. Not Our Summer was my fourth completed novel.
In all, I received over 350 rejections while querying all four of those books. But I pressed on because I’d heard the stories of other writers who had done the same and eventually found success. Joy McCullough, whom I’ve followed on Twitter for some time, is one such writer. I knew that timing and a little luck were definitely part of the recipe, but I also believed that luck favors those who keep writing, continue improving their craft, and continually put their work out there through querying and contests.
Eventually, I found my “yes” through the #pitmad Twitter pitch contest. My editor, Britny Brooks-Perilli favorited my pitch in September of 2019 and the rest is history!
What are you working on next?
Right now, I’m working on my sixth book, a YA thriller which takes place at a ranch camp for troubled teens. When a camper turns up dead at Birchwood Ranch, everyone is a suspect. It’s set in the mountains of southeastern Oklahoma (a place that happens to be very special to me) and it’s told through four (somewhat unreliable) POVs. I’m only about a third of the way through the first draft, but so far, it’s been a lot of fun to write!
Ginny Myers Sain
Ginny Myers Sain with Mississippi River in the background, about 30 miles from where her book is set.
What first inspired you to write for young readers?
I come from a family of writers, but I’ve spent most of my career working as an acting teacher and director with high school students who are intent on pursuing careers in the professional theatre. Working in the theatre, you really get to know each other on a deeper level.
Those kids just really opened up their hearts and their lives to me, and I fell so in love with that age group. I was so inspired by their passion, their loyalty, their love for one another, their bravery, and the intensity of their creative energy. And I felt I knew them really well. I just heard their voices in my head so clearly. So there was never any question that, when I started writing, I wanted to write for YA readers.
Please describe your pre-publication craft apprenticeship. How did you take your writing from a beginner level to publishable?
As soon as I started thinking seriously about writing, I joined SCBWI, and that was one of the best decisions I made. Not only was I able to attend so many incredible regional and national conferences where I had the opportunity to learn from some of the best writers, agents, and editors in the business, I also met an amazing and supportive group of writer friends that have encouraged me every step of the way.
Left to right: Tiffany Thomason, Ginny, Valerie Lawson, Catren Lamb, and Brenda Maier.
For me, working with a wonderful critique group has been instrumental in keeping me focused and inspired, and I’m so grateful to those writer friends who have been there for this whole journey. But, really, the main way I improved my craft was by reading widely and writing. Before Dark and Shallow Lies, I wrote two other books, and even though neither of those was picked up by an agent, I learned so much about story structure and character development just by working on those projects to completion.
What was your initial inspiration for writing this book?
La Cachette itself is not a real place, of course, but the town was very loosely inspired by two actual places. The first is the tiny town of Cassadaga, Florida, which I was lucky enough to stumble upon during a road trip. Cassadaga really does bill itself as the “Psychic Capital of the World.”
Cassadaga, Florida
I was standing there in the little town square on the steps of the Cassadaga Camp Bookstore when a question popped into my head…”How do you keep a secret in a town full of psychics?” So that question became the seed of the story. However, Cassadaga was a bit too accessible for what I had in mind.
I needed a place that was more cut-off from the world. Somewhere a little harder to get to and to escape from. So my mind went back to a little place in far south Louisiana called Pilotttown, which served for more than a hundred years as a home to riverboat pilots on the Mississippi River. I’d seen the remains of it once, from the water, back before Hurricane Katrina destroyed what was left of it. It was built on stilts along the edge of the river, and you could only get there by boat. No roads. So that became the inspiration for the geographical location.
In terms of publishing, how did you navigate the process of finding an agent and, with his or her representation, connecting your manuscript to a publisher?
I was lucky enough to find my amazing agent through a slush pile submission. I was in the middle of querying lots of agents, and although I’d been through the same process with two previous books without any luck, I was feeling pretty optimistic because my full request rate for this book was very high, right off the bat. I actually had another agent express interest first, but at that point I had the full out with about seven agents, so I asked for a week or so to let them all know I had someone who was interested.
One of those agents who had the full was my agent, Pete Knapp at Park and Fine. He’d only had the full a week or so when I emailed him to let him know I had another agent interested. He promised to read the manuscript that very weekend and get back to me ASAP. But it was 4th of July weekend (2020), so I didn’t really believe him. He was true to his word, though, and got back in touch to set up a phone call that next week.
In the end, I think I had four agents that were interested. I spoke to them all on the phone and then was able to choose the one I felt would be the best fit. Right from the start, Pete’s enthusiasm, his extraordinary vision for the book, and his very clear submission strategy put him over the top. From there, I really just left it in his very capable hands. We did one very quick round of revision together and then it went right out on sub. The book was out on sub less than a week and was published less than a year later. So, it took a while to land that agent, but once that happened, things moved very, very quickly.
What advice do you have for beginning children’s-YA writers?
Finish the book! I know so many writers who have so many wonderful projects that they’ve literally been working on for years and years. Or they have a half dozen manuscripts in various stages scattered across eight million folders on their desktop. But the thing is, you can’t publish a book that isn’t finished. Finish the novel. Even if it’s rough. Even if it starts to feel like a slog. Even if you know it’s not great. Just finish it! Then you can go back and clean it up and make it brilliant. But you can’t polish something that doesn’t exist. Just finish something. I promise you will learn so much just by taking a project all the way to the finish line. And it feels so good!
I guess that’s really advice for any writer, but for children’s-YA writers specifically, I’d add to read what you’re trying to write. I had a zoom meeting with a new writer last week, and she was working on what she thought was a middle grade novel. I asked her if she’d read a lot of middle grade and she said, “No. I don’t really like kids’ books.” And I had to stop and ask her how on earth she thought she was going to write one. I can’t imagine trying to write something I didn’t truly love to read.
Cynsational Notes
Casie Bazay was born and raised in Oklahoma where she continues to live with her husband and two children today. As a child, she participated in many sports and activities but developed a strong love for animals, the outdoors, and writing, in particular. She attended Oklahoma State University, earning a degree in elementary education with middle school endorsements.
After teaching 6th, 7th, and 8th grade science, math, and English for ten years, she switched gears in order to begin writing professionally–freelancing for mostly equine publications and also working as a freelance editor. However, her primary writing passion is creating heartfelt stories for young adults.
When she is not writing, reading, or transporting her two children to various activities, Casie enjoys being out in nature as much as possible. She also has a fondness for chocolate, sappy movies, and a hot cup of tea and considers a combination of the three to be an evening well spent.
Casie is represented by Janna Bonikowski at The Knight Agency.
Ginny Myers Sain is the author of Dark And Shallow Lies, her debut YA novel from Razorbill/Penguin. Although she comes from a long line of writers, her first love has always been the theatre. She has a degree in theatre and has spent most of her career teaching acting and directing plays and musicals.
Ginny currently live in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with her teenage son and a very cowardly doberman named Shipley. When she is not working in the theatre or writing, you’re likely to find her listening to true crime podcasts, taking pictures of alligators, eating tacos, or planning a trip to Walt Disney World.
AJ Eversole covers children’s-YA writing, illustration, publishing and other book news from indigenous authors and illustrators for Cynsations. She grew up in rural Oklahoma, a place removed from city life and full of opportunities to nurture the imagination. She is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and writes primarily Young Adult fiction. She currently resides in Fort Worth, Texas with her husband. Follow her on Instagram @ajeversole or Twitter @amjoyeversole.
Gayleen Rabakukk teaches creative writing classes for the Austin Public Library Foundation, is an active member of the children’s literature community and former assistant regional advisor for Austin SCBWI. She holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts.
SAIN, Ginny Myers. Dark and Shallow Lies. 432p. Penguin/Razorbill. Aug. 2021. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9780593403969.
Gr 9 Up--A debut novel that will draw readers into a darkly atmospheric mystery set in the bayous of Louisiana. Seventeen-year-old Grey spends every summer in La Cachette, Psychic Capital of the World, where everyone has a gift ranging from prophetic insight to bilocation. With her chestnut hair and green eyes, Grey doesn't match her longtime companions in La Cachette--the Summer Children who were born in the same six-month stretch--and yet all of them are like her siblings. Grey usually relishes her time on the bayou but this summer is different because Elora, her twin flame born on the same day and hour, has gone missing under menacing circumstances. Now La Cachette is torn apart by old and new rifts, and nobody is safe from the coming storm. Sain's supernatural thriller is deeply absorbing with its swampy atmosphere and vivid characters that surface one by one to engage teens deeper into Grey's mystery. The eccentric psychics and looming atmosphere of La Cachette lend this book a creepy edge that readers of supernatural mysteries will no doubt appreciate. VERDICT Recommended for readers of paranormal mystery--especially those who are drawn to atmospheric settings and well-developed characters.--Talea Anderson, Washington State Univ., Pullman, WA
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2021 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
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Anderson, Talea. "SAIN, Ginny Myers. Dark and Shallow Lies." School Library Journal, vol. 67, no. 8, Aug. 2021, p. 92. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A670398005/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=eae5c648. Accessed 7 June 2025.
Ginny Myers Sain. Razorbill, $17.99 (432p) ISBN 978-0-5934-0396-9
Green-eyed Grey, 17, returns every summer to La Cachette, La., the "Psychic Capital of the World," to help run her grandmother's spiritualist bookstore. One of 10 Summer Children born in one year, most assumed white, Grey is determined to uncover what happened to best friend and fellow Summer Child Elora, who's been missing for several months. Though many suspect Dempsey Fontenot, believed to have killed four-year-old twins and Summer Children Ember and Orli years ago, others think a rougarou, or werewolf, is to blame. When a mysterious blue-eyed stranger begins asking questions about the twins' suspected killer, Grey's latent psychic abilities activate--but though she experiences flashes through Elora's eyes, she cannot decode them, or understand why the other Summer Children want her to leave. With a hurricane barreling toward La Cachette, Grey's investigation into Elora's disappearance soon turns deadly. Infused with Creole and Cajun legends and language, Myers Sain's dreamy prose conjures a mythical Southern Gothic atmosphere, mixing violence with a Byronic characterization of Elora's stepbrother Hart. Taut pacing builds sustained terror on the page with each successive suspect in this formidable debut. Ages 14-up.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2021 PWxyz, LLC
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"Dark and Shallow Lies." Publishers Weekly, vol. 268, no. 48, 24 Nov. 2021, pp. 101+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A686559765/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=91ff6b8e. Accessed 7 June 2025.
Sain, Ginny Myers SECRETS SO DEEP Razorbill/Penguin (Teen None) $18.99 9, 27 ISBN: 978-0-593-40399-0
A teen returns to the site of her mother's drowning looking for clues and memories.
Seventeen-year-old Avril is in Whisper Cove on the Long Island Sound for a prestigious one-month acting camp. It's no coincidence that she sought out this particular location, where her mother drowned 12 years ago and Avril herself nearly died. All she remembers is waking up in the hospital. Whisper Cove proves to be a place unlike any other, its thick fog enveloping the night and swirling through Avril's clouded memories of her past. When she meets Cole Culver, the son of her mother's college friend Willa, their connection is instant and electric. The pair become inseparable, eventually untangling the terrifying truth about what happened to Avril's mother. The atmosphere of Whisper Cove is palpable, the fog-laden shore haunting and heavy at night. Sain deftly writes Avril's confusion, desperation, and fear so that readers experience everything alongside her. Her friendships with fellow campers Val and Lex in particular are close in that way that only short-term shared experiences provide, and their connections are incredibly touching. What truly anchors the story, however, is the intense chemistry between Avril and Cole: Some of Sain's best writing comes from their charged interactions. Most characters are presumed White; some cast members are queer.
Sorrowful, haunting, and romantic; a true page-turner. (Mystery. 14-18)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2022 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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"Sain, Ginny Myers: SECRETS SO DEEP." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Aug. 2022. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A711906543/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=aa410c4f. Accessed 7 June 2025.
SAIN, Ginny Myers. Secrets So Deep. 400p. Razorbill. Sept. 2022. Tr $18.99. ISBN 9780593403990.
Gr 9 Up--Sain's sophomore effort follows white 17-year-old Avril Vincent as she returns to Whisper Cove in Connecticut, the summer theater where her mother (and technically Avril, too) drowned 12 years ago. Avril is determined to use the opportunity to answer her questions about who her mother was and what happened to her; getting to perform in the play her mother's famous best friend Willa Culver wrote (especially in the lead role opposite Willa's brilliant, gorgeous son Cole) is icing on the cake. But Avril didn't count on falling in love with Cole or on how deeply buried the answers to her questions would be, and how some secrets don't want to be found. The main characters' slow-bum romance is believable and sweeter than Avril's witty cynicism would suggest; side characters are diverse, unique, and not overly numerous. Nocturnal wanderings and paranormal events add an extra layer of mystery to the twists and turns, and this atmospheric, thoroughly engrossing, and spooky tale is far from the average theater camp story. Content warning for self-harm, though gore and gruesome events are kept to a minimum. There is some cursing and smoking by characters as well. VERDICT An exploration of many different ways to be haunted wrapped in eerie, chilling suspense; highly recommended for many readers.--Allie Stevens
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2022 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
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Stevens, Allie. "SAIN, Ginny Myers. Secrets So Deep." School Library Journal, vol. 68, no. 10, Oct. 2022, p. 90. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A720065742/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=34aa2198. Accessed 7 June 2025.
Sain, Ginny Myers ONE LAST BREATH Razorbill/Penguin (Teen None) $19.99 3, 5 ISBN: 9780593625453
Trulee and Rio, who's new to town, find themselves engrossed in unraveling a pair of unsolved 20-year-old murders.
It's late May in sweltering Mount Orange, Florida, and recent high school grad Trulee plans on spending the summer with her boyfriend, East, working her summer job at the local newspaper, and free diving at Hidden Glen Springs. While she's diving one day, Tru meets Rio, and the two girls feel an instant connection and simmering spark. Both skilled divers, they're drawn to the water's depths--and the missing evidence that could be hiding there from the gruesome murders of Bailey and Celeste, two teen girls who were attacked while camping in the area decades prior. Tru and Rio are obsessively focused on solving the crime when they slowly realize they could be the killer's next targets. The page-turning mystery sustains readers' interest, and amid red herrings galore, they'll be desperate to solve the whodunit. Suspense drips from every scene, and the alarming and scary elements build expertly toward a thrilling climax that will surprise even devoted fans of the genre, although some may find the resolution slightly too convenient. The well-rounded characters are carefully crafted and believably express a range of emotions. A natural queer sexual awakening unfolds that's full of spine-tingling pining, lust, and love. All main characters read white.
Fast paced and thrilling. (Mystery. 14-18)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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"Sain, Ginny Myers: ONE LAST BREATH." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Jan. 2024. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A777736635/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=d06252f0. Accessed 7 June 2025.
One Last Breath. By Ginny Myers Sain. Mar. 2024. 384p. Razorbill, $19.99 (9780593625453). Gr. 9-12.
Murder, suspense, and reincarnation blend together in Sain's latest psychological thriller. Tru is spending the summer after graduation working at the tiny local newspaper, free diving at the local springs, and pursuing her obsession with the 20-year-old unsolved murder of two young women, Bailey and Celeste. The murders inexplicably haunt Tru, whether she's asleep or awake. Enter Rio, another free diver from the north part of the state, who is drawn strongly to Tru, as well as to the murders. The two girls find they have a very personal connection to Bailey and Celeste: in their past lives, Tru and Rio were the murder victims. The two start to piece together fragmented memories to finally identify the murderer. The plot is engrossing and fast-paced, with plenty of misdirection that only increases the tension, although the paranormal twist of reincarnation, while a nifty concept, is occasionally too convenient or else inconsistent. Still, the reader is kept guessing, and Sain pulls no punches in telling her story. --Donna Scanlon
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 American Library Association
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Scanlon, Donna. "One Last Breath." Booklist, vol. 120, no. 12, 15 Feb. 2024, p. 53. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A783436462/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=e7841ef4. Accessed 7 June 2025.
* When the Bones Sing
Ginny Myers Sain. Putnam, $19.99 (352p) ISBN 978-0-593-62548-4
Sain (One Last Breath) combines supernatural terror with sweltering Ozark atmosphere in this hauntingly ambitious paranormal romance. Seventeen-year-old Dovie is part of a long line of women in Lucifer Creek, Ark., who are able to hear the bones of the deceased sing after burial, though she spends most of her time annoyed by the constant demands of the dead. When a staggering number of out-of-towners vanish during a hike on the Aux Arc trail, authorities increasingly rely on Dovie's abilities to help unearth their whereabouts and give closure to the victims' families. Then Dovie's lifelong best friend Lo returns to town. Still plagued by the spirits whose haunting drove him from Lucifer Creek in the first place, Lo, along with Dovie, begins to unravel the mystery behind the disappearances--one that connects not only to Dovie's past but to the labyrinthine history of the town itself. Sain's lyrical prose expertly makes the largely white characters of Lucifer Creek--and their punchy exchanges--jump off the page, while vividly descriptive text evokes an ethereal yet grounded setting. Plot points offer shocking twists that feel appropriately earned in a rural Southern gothic horror novel that will stay with readers well beyond the last page. Ages 14-up. (Mar.)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 PWxyz, LLC
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"When the Bones Sing." Publishers Weekly, vol. 271, no. 47, 9 Dec. 2024, p. 125. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A820017370/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=184af5d4. Accessed 7 June 2025.
Sain, Ginny Myers WHEN THE BONES SING Putnam (Teen None) $19.99 3, 4 ISBN: 9780593625484
As people vanish in the mountains surrounding her remote Arkansas town, a teen with the ability to locate the dead tries to find the killer.
Seventeen-year-old Dove Warner can hear the song of the dead. It resonates through her body, a bone-deep thrum that propels her towards a victim's burial place. This grim talent is useful in Dove's hometown, Lucifer's Creek, where the sheriff has relied on her in recent years to find the remains of people who have died under mysterious circumstances while hiking the Aux-Arc Trail. Oddly enough, the rising body count hardly disturbs the locals--except, that is, for Dove's best friend, Lowan Wilder, who believes he's being haunted by the restless spirits of the murdered hikers. Dove is, ironically, very skeptical about the paranormal, but it's clear to her that Lo's fear is genuine, as is his insistence that putting an end to the killings will appease the spirits. Folk magic, a family curse, and the specter of an ominous regional cryptid combine with vivid descriptions of the Ozark Mountains setting to give this story a distinct sense of the Southern gothic. Like the sulfurous stream that gives Lucifer's Creek its name, the central mystery twists and turns in unexpected ways, building up to a chilling reveal in the final act that skirts the edge of horror. Main characters read white.
Gripping and intensely atmospheric.(Paranormal thriller. 14-18)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2025 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Sain, Ginny Myers: WHEN THE BONES SING." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Jan. 2025. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A821608365/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=95a8c6b7. Accessed 7 June 2025.