Buckle up, Pretty Little Liars fans: Sara Shepard, the author of the books that spawned the wildly popular Freeform television show, has a new book series in the works, and it sounds like one wild ride.
The author revealed the enormously exciting news during a takeover on the Pretty Little Liars stream in the Bustle app on Wednesday, March 16. The first book in the series — called The Amateurs — will hit shelves in Nov. 2016.
In true Sara Shepard form, the new book will be chock full of steamy romances, dangerous secrets and, naturally, unsolved murders. No word yet on how many novels Shepard plans to write in The Amateurs series, but the Pretty Little Liars book series boasts 16 — !!! — novels. Fingers crossed that we get even half that many books in the new series, because, personally, we can never get enough Sara Shepard.
Like us, the author is also a devoted fan of the Freeform series based on her books. On Tuesday night, she live-tweeted the dramatic finale of season six, and on Thursday, she shared some final thoughts with Bustle about her fave couples, who A.D. could be, and more. She even offered up some incredible writing advice for aspiring novelists.
Here are the highlights from the two-hour Bustle app takeover with Sara Shepard:
She's Been Writing Since She Was A Child
We have just one thing to say to this: keep making up stories, characters and worlds, Sara!
She Has The Best Advice Ever For Aspiring Novelists
Read as much as you can? Don't mind if we do!
To Be A Writer, You Have To Learn To Deal With The Haters
"Success doesn't come overnight," she says. "Sometimes it doesn't come at all. But write because you love it."
Pretty Little Liars Came To Life In A Pre-Texting World
"I was in Ireland, though, and texting was everywhere," Shepard reveals. "I thought it would be interesting to have a stalker anonymously torture a group of ex-friends through note in lockers (which was how I would have done it, in my high school days) - but also by using more modern methods like email, instant message, and texts."
The Finale Shocked Her Just As Much As It Shocked You
Her favorite part? That big Rollins reveals.
She Also Has A Pretty Little Liars OTP
Sara, like us, will never, ever give up on Hanna and Caleb.
She Hopes To See Another Couple In Season 7
We ship Alison and Emily so hard.
She Has An Interesting Theory On Who A.D. Might Be
No one knows quite what to make of A.D., but we think Sara Shepard's theory has some serious merit.
Her New Book Series Has A Fascinating Premise
According to Shepard, The Amateurs series will be a mix between Serial and Pretty Little Liars, aka everything we've always dreamed about reading. The story follows a group of people tracking a murdered girl.
"It's juicy, funny, romantic, scary, and sometimes dark — and, true to form, everyone has secrets," Shepard says.
Check out the Pretty Little Liars stream in the Bustle app to see Sara Shepard's takeover in its entirety and get up-to-the-minute updates on all things Pretty Little Liars.
Images: Freeform; Giphy; Bustle (9)
