Lisa Ann Chickos (LisaAnn on QT) has recently signed with agent Jamie Brenner of Movable Type Management. Lisa Ann, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Congratulations and good luck.



QueryTracker: Can you tell us a little bit about the book for which you’ve found representation? What inspired you to write it?

Lisa Ann ChickosWhen seventeen year old aspiring marine researcher Kai Murphy is invited to join a beluga whale study in Alaska, she expects freezing salt spray, cramped Zodiac vessels and elusive white whales to be the extent of her first real research project.

According to an ancient arctic legend, a mysterious creature also inhabits Cook Inlet’s icy waters. Kai remains a skeptic—until her late-night sighting of a silvery, speckled tail. Teamed up with flirtatious twin deckhands Noah and Aidan Fischer, she decides to investigate.

My YA paranormal mystery, BELOW THE SURFACE, combines the romance and fantasy of Aimee Friedman’s SEA CHANGE with the science, suspense and descriptive settings of Nevada Barr’s “Anna Pigeon” mysteries. I was inspired to write BELOW THE SURFACE by the time I spent working as a zookeeper and environmental educator at facilities like Gulf World Marine Park of Florida and the Alaska Zoo of Anchorage.

 

QT: How long have you been writing?

LAC: My mother would tell you I’ve been “writing” since before I could write: scrawling complicated picture books and reciting them verbatim to anyone and everyone who would listen. I wrote recreationally through elementary and middle school, but I put writing on the back burner until I completed college.

In the meantime, I pursued a variety of other random careers, including Disney animator, apprentice chef, wanna-be surfer, science camp counselor, rock climbing instructor and kayak guide. I moved to Florida to work at a dolphin rehabilitation center in 2006, and I relocated to Alaska to work as a zookeeper in 2007. During the fall of 2008, I finally returned to my writing roots figured out a way to combine everything I love into one passion.

 

QT: How long have you been working on this book?

LAC: I started the first draft of BELOW THE SURFACE during the summer of 2009 and finished it almost exactly one year later. I spent the next six months editing and revising it.

 

QT: Was there ever a time you felt like giving up, and what helped you to stay on course?

LAC: I often joke that if I had known how difficult this process was going to be, I would have never written BELOW THE SURFACE in the first place. That being said, I am so happy I didn’t know, because I was already invested in the process by the time I figured it out.

I often compare the agent search to the movie SWINGERS. You sit around and wait and obsess over it, but I almost feel like you have to reach the point where decide to move on to your next project before anything actually happens for you. This certainly happened to me, and my agent literally appeared one week later!

 

QT: Is this your first book?

LAC: Yes. Mostly. Spurred on by one too many made-for-TV movies, I grew up with the overwhelming and unnatural fear that I would someday develop amnesia. To combat this, I kept painstaking records of my life—complete with dialogue, blocking and scenery—and I actually spent three or four months transcribing these journals into a “memoir” a few years ago.

Inspired by the success of Bridget Jones’ Diary and ignoring all practical advice (i.e., no one cares how old you were the first time you went scuba diving), I actually sent two query letters to big-time agents in New York City as soon as I finished. My queries were met by immediate rejections, and I’m sure both agents laughed quite a bit at my expense.

 

QT: Do you have any formal writing training?

LAC: I received a minor in Magazine Journalism from the University of Central Florida, but I derived most of my novel-writing guidance by devouring almost every how-to book I could find—sometimes to my own detriment! I’m also an avid reader, and I generally read two to three novels at a time.

 

QT: Do you follow a writing “routine” or schedule?

LAC: I am not a morning person, so BELOW THE SURFACE was mostly scrawled late at night when I finished my shift at the zoo. I’m also a little obsessive-compulsive by nature, so I holed up in our cabin many weekends, and I sacrificed eating, bathing and sleeping in favor of obsessively plotting, editing and revising.

 

QT: How many times did you re-write/edit your book?

LAC: BELOW THE SURFACE has undergone two plot-based revisions and two length-based revisions. (During my length-based revisions, I managed to cut nearly 16,500 words of excess description without sacrificing a single scene! Apparently, I am THAT long-winded!)

 

QT: Did you have beta readers for your book?

LAC: BELOW THE SURFACE had three beta readers during its first draft: my mother, my sister and one of my childhood friends. My mother Tammy was my biggest fan, my sister Shana was my target audience, and my friend Allen Walker was the most brilliant and amazing editor I’ve ever met. Additionally, my husband Mike was an amazing supporter, my dad Kevin was my science go-to, and this book literally would not have been completed without everyone’s support and guidance.

 

QT: Did you outline your book, or do you write from the hip?

LAC: BELOW THE SURFACE was mostly plotted, but many of its twists and turns surprised me more than anyone. (They also annoyed me more than anyone, and I think I will fully embrace my inner-plotter from here on out!)

 

QT: On what criteria did you select the agents you queried?

LAC: Querying was a little tricky, because BELOW THE SURFACE is a YA paranormal mystery combined with an eco-thriller, and it combines elements of science fiction, fantasy and romance. I initially tried to find agents who expressed an interest in all those genres, but that turned out to be harder than anticipated. And ironically, neither Jamie Brenner nor Brianne Mulligan (who both picked me up as a Movable Type Management tag team) expressed an interest in anything other than “YA novels.”

 

QT: Did you tailor each query to the specific agent, and if so, how?

LAC: I tried to tailor each query somewhat, although I stuck to the same outline for each one. I simply read each agent’s interviews and bios, and I added in a line that said something like, “With your interest in ______ and ______, I am very excited to submit my manuscript for your review.” I figured this was an easy and practical way to show them I was paying attention.

 

QT: What advice would you give other writers seeking agents?

LAC: USE QUERYTRACKER!! And don’t be too shy or too guarded to get engaged with the other writers here. I have met countless amazing writerly friends through QueryTracker and the QueryTracker forums, and those friendships have helped me immensely and have transcended the purpose of this website. I will forever shout QueryTracker’s praises to anyone and everyone who will listen!

 

QT: Would you be willing to share your query with us?

LAC: Absolutely! I’ve already posted a few versions of my query on the QueryTracker Forum, and the feedback I received is what made my letter so effective. Thanks again to EVERYONE who helped, and here is a version very similar to the one I sent Jamie:

Dear Agent:

Arctic sea serpents and shadowy poachers are the last things seventeen year-old Kai Murphy expects to glimpse when she joins a beluga whale research team in Alaska.

An aspiring scientist, Kai dismisses Anchorage’s sea serpent myths until the late-night sighting of a silvery, speckled tail threatens her convictions. Teamed up with flirtatious twin deckhands Noah and Aidan Fischer, she decides to investigate.

Turns out a peculiar sighting isn’t her research team’s only mystery. There are also secret closets filled with hunting rifles, blood-filled plastic bins and shadowy poachers haunting Cook Inlet’s icy waters.

As Kai searches for answers and begins falling for Noah, she realizes even he isn’t above suspicion. The fate of the research team, her beloved belugas and the mysterious creature in the inlet just may rest in her hands.

BELOW THE SURFACE is a YA paranormal mystery, complete at 82,000 words. It combines the romance and fantasy of Aimee Friedman’s SEA CHANGE with the science, suspense and descriptive settings of Nevada Barr’s “Anna Pigeon” mysteries.

I have worked as a zookeeper and educator at many facilities, including the Alaska Zoo of Anchorage, and The Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks & Aquariums published my article “The Dangers of Human Interactions with Marine Mammals” in its 2007 Ocean Literacy and Marine Mammals: An Easy Reference Guide.

Thank you for your time and consideration. With your interest in YA novels and books with crossover potential, I am excited to submit BELOW THE SURFACE for your review.

Sincerely,
Lisa Ann Chickos
http://lisachickos.blogspot.com

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