Anne Greenwood Brown will read from her new young adult novel, Lies Beneath, at 2 p.m. Saturday, June 30, in Prairie Lights Books and on a Writing University live stream from the University of Iowa.

The novel features Calder White, the only brother in a family of murderous mermaids, whose sisters recall him from the warm Caribbean to the chilly depths of Lake Superior.

To survive, Calder and his sisters prey on humans, killing them to absorb their energy. But this summer the underwater clan targets Jason Hancock out of pure revenge. They blame Hancock for their mother’s death and have been waiting a long time for him to return to his family’s homestead on the lake.

Hancock has a fear of water, so to lure him in, Calder—who can take human form on land—sets out to seduce Hancock’s daughter, Lily. Easy enough, except that Calder falls for Lily, just as she starts to suspect that there’s more to the monsters-in-the-lake legends than she ever imagined.

Gretchen McNeil, author of Possess, called the book, "Riveting! A cold-blooded tale of secrets, revenge, and forbidden love that will leave you terrified to go in the water."

Brown says, "I wanted to use my imagination and write a book that wasn't the Disney myth about sweet mermaids who hang out with singing crabs. Vampires have had their time," she says. "It's time for the mermaids, especially when they are the type that blows stereotypes out of the water.”

For accommodations at the live event, contact jan@prairielights.com.