I always enjoy it when I find a new to me author and when that author is in my own genre, that makes me even happier.  I recently discovered Anna Penrose’s murder mystery, The Body in the Wall which I enjoyed very much indeed.

Me

Welcome to my blog, Anna, and thank you for agreeing to answer my questions.  Let’s open with the one I always start with – and the one all writers are said to dread –  where do you get your ideas from?

Anna 

Ideas are everywhere. I’m always daydreaming and roleplaying scenarios and some of those mind scribbles make it into whole stories. For The Body in the Wall I wanted to write a murder mystery but I wanted it to be engage the reader rather than terrify them. 

I love psychological thrillers, but I wanted to spend time getting to know a location and a cast of characters over a period of time. I also wanted to write something positive. If you can class a whodunnit that way. By the same token I wasn’t interested in writing something funny or cute. I just wanted a good old fashioned, murder mystery, in a modern-day setting.

Me

You have certainly succeeded. Congratulations. The location is a delight and so beautifully drawn it makes me want to visit Cornwall again.  I’m delighted to discover that the book is the first in a series.  Which came first, the idea for the story or the setting? 

Anna

I started this book with a character and a location. Then I needed a plot and realised I had loads. It felt inevitable to me that it would be a series but only if readers enjoyed it. So far, so good. My only problem is that soon this area of Cornwall will be awash with dead bodies. 

Me

Books with a Cornish setting are always very popular.  Did this have an influence  on your choice of setting?

Anna.

They say write what you know and as I own a bookshop in a Cornish fishing village, I thought it would be a great location to place a whodunnit. I love reading crime books especially the ones where the location is a character.

So when I decided to write a crime novel it felt obvious that I was going to choose a location that I knew inside out. It was going to be Norfolk or Cornwall, I picked Cornwall as I have other plans for Norfolk.

Having worked out the location, I wanted a character that I would like to spend time with. Writing a book is a solitary task so you may as well enjoy the company of your made-up friends and Malachite (she’s the main character) was a hoot. I was definitely inspired by Joanna Lumley, Helen Mirren and Judi Dench.  I don’t know how she comes across to readers, but I hope no one sees her as a little old lady, she is no Miss Marple.

I wanted a character with bite and an interesting background. That meant I needed her to have lived a varied life and of course the older a character the more interesting things I can tuck away in their past.

Me.

I absolutely loved Malachite.  She’s a great character and certainly is no ‘little old lady‘. (*see rant below) The gradual revealing of her intriguing past makes the story zip along at a fair pace. 

Although this is your first crime novel, this is by no means your first novel as you have a very successful series under the name Liz Hurley.  What made you switch genres? And is  the change going to be a permanent one?

Anna

I find it very difficult to stay focussed so jumping between projects is something I do all the time. It means that whatever I am working on feels fresh and exciting to me. I write in several genres as well as writing walking guides, so it just feels natural to switch between genres. 

For me, it’s about telling a story, then I need to work out where to place it, crime, romance, historical, science fiction.

Me.

Tell us a little more about your murder mysteries. 

Anna

The Golden Murders are a modern day murder mystery series. There’s no psychological drama, or violent torture, just a good old puzzle to solve and some deaths along the way. The Body in the Wall is the first in what I hope will be a long running series, I have lots of plots and will only stop when the readers get bored or I run out of ideas.

The story starts with a woman in her sixties moving to Cornwall. She has a past that marks her as different and possibly the worst person to get involved in a police investigation. However, when the renovations begin in her bookshop and a body is found, she soon becomes a person of interest. 

I won’t say anymore but it all revolves around a very close-knit fishing community and her efforts not to get involved.

Me.

I’m delighted to hear you plan more in this series and can’t wait for the next one.  What inspires you most in your writing? Is it characters? Settings? Maybe even books you have read?

Anna

Inspirations comes normally from things I have read or places I have visited. I know a story is on the way when I start to hear a character talking in my head. From there I have to decide if I’m listening to the mumbling ravings of a half-wit or if I have a whole book on my hands.

Me.

I’m glad I’m not the only one who has characters chattering away inside my head. Tell us a bit about your writing journey. How did it start?

Anna

I try relentlessly to keep a diary but the tedium of daily life knocks the urge out of me.  I’ve always kept a travel journal though, but that makes sense, travel is about exploration and reflection.

My first published piece was for a lifestyle column for my local newspaper about a decade ago. I wrote it every week for two years and then noticed that it was becoming cyclical and stopped. If I was bored I was sure others would be as well. There’s only so many times you can complain about traffic on the A30.

Me

As I said earlier, you have a very successful series of novels under your Liz Hurley name.  What made you change genres?

Anna

Boredom is an issue of mine, or not boredom as much as the inability to focus on something. It just works better for me if I can jump between things, and so many things interests me that writing in a different genre feels natural.  I have a few other stories in other genres just biding their time. Well, not biding as much as screaming for attention, but I need to focus on my current projects. I write in four genres currently and that’s enough to be going on with!

Me.

It certainly is.  Thank you so much, Anna/Liz for such a fascinating interview and for a great read.  I look forward very much to meeting Malachite and friends again.

*Afterthought.  If you read the interview I did with Anna in Writers’ Forum, there was a bit of editorial interference that has left me very uncomfortable.  I usually let them go as once the article is in print there is nothing I can do about. But this is one I feel quite strongly about.  I would never, ever use the expression ‘old maid’ which is what appeared in the magazine. For one reason, it is very dated and for another, I find it very distasteful.

Rant over and thank you for reading this far!

Social Media Links, blog, website etc.

www.annapenrose.co.uk

www.lizhurleywrites.com

Buy Here:

The Body in the Wall 

The Hiverton Sisters series

I am delighted to welcome author Val Penny back to my blog this week.  I first met Val when I joined the community of Crooked Cat authors (now Darkstroke) back in 2018.  (And I first interviewed her for my blog here.)

Crooked Cat/Darkstroke was (and still is) a great community of supportive and knowledgeable authors and I learnt so much from all of them, but Val was particularly helpful.  She has a wealth of knowledge, experience and sheer common sense and has been an inspiration and support throughout my time with Darkstroke.  (She also writes really good crime stories!)

I was very sad when I learned she was changing publishers and asked if she would like to come on to my blog and talk about it.  It is, after all, a very big step for an author to take.

So, welcome back Val.

Val

Thank you so much for inviting me along today, Paula. It is good to be able to sit and chat with you today

Me

I know authors often change publishers. I’m curious what might the reasons be for this?

Val

Each publisher offers something different to their authors but what the authors want, and need will change over time. Therefore, it is not unusual for authors to move from one publisher to another. This may be because the writer has chosen to write a book in a different genre not supported by their original publisher or simply that their support or distribution requirements change over time.

Me

What led to you wanting to change publishers?

Val

When I moved publishers, I had been with Crooked Cat and their crime imprint darkstroke for about seven years. The directors there work hard to develop a feeling of community amongst their authors and run in-house courses about, for example, editing, Amazon algorithms, or how to use social media. For a new author this tuition and information is gold-dust. As a new author I was very lucky to have been nurtured in this environment. 

However, after that period of time and with seven fiction titles under my belt, my professional needs began to change.

Me

How did you start the process?

Val

I began the process of moving publishers at the beginning of this year. It is a stressful thing to do. A bit like moving house, you know when you must do it and that the ultimate benefits will outweigh the temporary anxiety, but that does not take the anxiety away.

Darkstroke had begun to accept mainly first-time authors who needed a great deal of support, and a different kind of support to that I required going forward. The in-house courses the company offered were all familiar to me and it became clear that a move to a different publisher was called for.

Me

 One of the big issues when leaving a publisher is rights reversion. How did you get about getting your rights back from the publisher?

Val

Here, I firmly believe communication is the key. Most of my books were out of contract with darkstroke. They still published the first five books by agreement and, as I had been one of darkstroke’s best selling authors for the past five years, I thought the best thing to do was to speak to them and explain my dilemma. We quickly reached an amicable agreement about reversion of rights which required me to remain with them for a further three months and then the company agreed to a reversion of all my rights at no cost to me. 

This is unusual, a charge is often required, but in this case, a calm discussion about the need for a move was useful. This is a small industry, and it is sensible to remember that bad news or word that you are difficult to deal with travels fast. 

My grandmother always used to say, courtesy costs nothing. That is as true now as it was then.

Me

Once you have done that, it is then necessary to find a new publisher. How did you go about finding a new publisher?

Val

This is truly the most stressful part of the process!

I was fortunate in that when it became known that I was looking for a move with the rights to my whole back catalogue and various ideas for new books, several publishers expressed interest in signing me. I also investigated the possibility of setting up my own publishing house but, when I struck a deal with SpellBound Books, I was aware I could not replicate the expertise and vision of that company on my own. 

I am excited to be part of the SpellBound Books family now.

Me

 I know you don’t use an agent and prefer to approach publishers yourself. Why this choice?

Val

I have, briefly, had agents twice in the past and I am sure that if an author secures the services of a good agent who actively supports them and promotes their books this can be advantageous. However, my first agent had the audacity to get pregnant and leave the business without a thought for her authors. The next was more interested in promoting herself than working on my behalf.

I then spoke at length to a friend who worked as an agent with a large company for many years before changing careers and her view was that I didn’t need an agent. I have never had a problem getting publishers to accept my work, even when I was an unknown author. Her view was that I would just be paying an agent a percentage of my income to no good end. So, for the meantime, I will continue to work without an agent.

Me

Please tell us about your books

Val

I have two police procedural crime series, The DI Hunter Wilson Thrillers set in Edinburgh and The Jane Renwick Thrillers set in Scotland. 

SpellBound Books published the first book, Hunter’s Chase on August 20 while Hunter’s Revenge will be available from November.

Me

Hooray!  I’m looking forward to that very much indeed.  

So, finally, where can my readers go to find out more about you and your books?

Val

The easiest place to find out about me and my books is on my website at www.valpenny.com

Me

Thank you so much for a fascinating interview, Val.  I wish you every success in the world with your new publishers – and you are hugely missed at Darkstroke. Our zoom meetings aren’t the same without you!

Author bio

Val Penny’s crime novels, starting with Hunter’s Chase form the bestselling series of DI Hunter Wilson Thrillers. They are set in Edinburgh, Scotland and published by SpellBound Books (link here) Her first non-fiction book Let’s Get Published is also available from Amazon.

Val is an American author living in SW Scotland with her husband and their cat.

Book link. Hunter’s Chase. link here

I’m thrilled to welcome to my blog this week the hugely talented novelist, Wendy Clarke.  Like me, Wendy started her writing career writing short stories for women’s magazines and I’ve followed her transition from short story writer to novelist with admiration.

Wendy’s debut novel, What She Saw, was published earlier this year by Bookouture and this was swiftly followed by We Were Sisters which was published in August.  She is currently working on her third novel.

Me.

Hi Wendy and thank you for agreeing to answer my questions.  I’ll start with the one every writer is said to dread.

Where do you get your ideas from?

Wendy

Having had over three hundred stories published in women’s magazines, the question ‘where do you get your ideas from?’ is one I’m asked a lot. I usually say that my ideas come from everywhere: something I’ve overheard, a headline in a newspaper, a memory or maybe it’s an idea that’s just blossomed in my head while walking the dog.

That was in the days before I wrote novels. Before I needed a story plot that would entertain a reader for eighty thousand words and could be interwoven with subplots. It also had to be an idea strong enough to support a cast of several characters rather than the two or three needed for my short stories. Strangely, the idea for my debut psychological thriller, What She Saw, didn’t come to me in any of the ways I’ve mentioned above. It was the setting that came first rather than the plot, and this is how it happened.

My husband and I love walking and we love beautiful scenery, which is what first attracted us to the Lake District – especially the area around Ambleside which has become a favourite. It was while staying in a small miner’s cottage in the village of Chapel Stile and looking out at the fells from the living room window, that I had my lightbulb moment. As I watched the clouds move across the peaks, darkening the once-green slopes, it came to me that this was the perfect scenery for building suspense. The agent I had at the time had suggested I write a psychological thriller and slowly the ideas started to come. Who might be looking out at those everchanging fells? Were they worried… or maybe afraid? What if it was a mother and daughter who stood at a window in a miner’s cottage just this like one and what if they both had secrets?

As I thought about some of the places we’d visited – the pub at the end of a long walk near an old clapper bridge, the cairn where we’d sat and watched the sun go down, the disused slate quarry with its pool of dark water – more bits of the puzzle began to fall into place. Even the little village supermarket has its mention in the novel. It’s the place where my protagonist, Leona, first thinks she sees Ria – the woman who once ruined her life. It’s where she realises this beautiful place where she’s always felt safe, might not be after all.

My second psychological thriller, We Were Sisters, was published in August. This time the idea came to me while walking in a meadow at the base of the downs behind the village where I live. It reminded me of a children’s book I’d read as a child called Marianne Dreams, about a girl who was confined to bed with an illness. Out of boredom, she would draw pictures with a pencil belonging to her grandmother, then at night would dream about the lonely house she’d drawn… the one that stood in the middle of an expanse of waving grass. It might have been a children’s book, but it was the first to give me goose bumps.

As the wind started to blow, whipping the seed heads against my legs, I knew the meadow of rippling grass I was walking through could play a part in my next thriller. And when my path through the meadow led me to a disused rifle range, its brick walls covered in graffiti, that possibility became a certainty.

So, this is my advice. If you’re stuck for ideas, get your coat on, take a walk and have your senses on high alert. It worked for me!

The Books’ Blurbs

What She Saw (a standalone psychological thriller)

How far would you go to keep your daughter safe?

Everyone knows Leona would do anything for her daughter, Beth: she moved to Church Langdon to send Beth to the best school, built a business to support them and found the perfect little cottage to call home. They hike together, shop together, share their hopes and fears. It’s the relationship every mother dreams of.

But Leona never talks about why they moved to the Lake District.

She’s never told Beth anything about her father.

She says Beth should never speak to strangers. She says Beth doesn’t need friends.

She’s only trying to protect her daughter.

When Leona answers the phone one morning, her heart stops as she hears a voice from her past.

She’s given her daughter everything, but now she must tell her the truth. And once it’s out, can she keep her little girl safe?

We Were Sisters. (a standalone psychological thriller)

I turn to where I left my baby in his pushchair and pull up short. With a racing heart, I look around wildly, fear gripping my stomach. I only looked away for a moment. The pushchair and my baby are gone.

Kelly is taking her twin daughters to their first day of school, ushering them into the classroom, her heart breaking to think they might not need her anymore, when she turns around and sees her newborn baby is gone.

As a desperate search ensues, baby Noah is quickly found – parked in front of a different classroom. But when Kelly reaches forward to comfort him, she finds something tucked in the side of his blanket. A locket that belonged to her sister Freya. A locket Kelly hasn’t seen since the day Freya died.

And then Kelly’s perfectly-ordered life begins to unravel…

Me

Thank you, Wendy.  I can’t wait to read We Were Sisters.  I absolutely loved What She Saw.  It was set in a part of the Lake District I know and love, so that was an additional bonus.  My next question was going to be ‘what inspires you most?  Characters? Settings? Books you’ve read?’ But I guess you’re already answered that!

Wendy

Definitely the setting – the characters and plot ideas come after.

Me.

So, how did your writing journey start?  Have you always written?  What was your first published piece?

Wendy

I’d love to say I’m one of those writers who was born with a pen in their hand, but it wouldn’t be true. In fact, I took up writing quite late in life. Despite loving creative writing at school, it had never occurred to me that I might one day make it my career.

It was eight years ago, just after the February half term holidays, when my life changed. I remember it as though it was yesterday. I had just been told that the small primary school in Hove, where I taught English, was closing and all the staff were to be made redundant. I felt numb but it didn’t really sink in until the following Monday when, instead of going into class to teach, I remained at home contemplating an uncertain future.

As luck would have it, my brother had just completed an online creative writing course which he thought I might enjoy. With nothing better to do, I took his advice and enrolled. I hadn’t expected to enjoy it so much, and when it ended, I felt bereft. That was when I knew I’d caught the writing bug. 

It was my course tutor who suggested I try writing stories for one of the women’s magazines. Missing the challenge of writing, I decided to give it a go. At first, I had the expected rejections, but I didn’t let it put me off. I carried on writing and submitting and my patience paid off when, three months later, I had a letter from the People’s Friend saying they liked one of my stories. Hurray!

Me

And what are you future plans?

Wendy

A few years ago, my writing changed direction again. With the magazine market for short stories shrinking, I turned my thoughts to writing a novel. My first attempt was a romantic mystery which bagged me an agent, but what they really wanted me to write was a suspense.

Did I think I could do it? My degree was in psychology and I’d always had an interest in how the human mind can affect behaviour, so I decided it might be interesting to explore a darker side to my writing. 

A year later, I’d written What She Saw, a psychological thriller set in the Lake District. It didn’t work out with the agent, but last year I was thrilled when my novel won first prize in a competition and was picked up by digital publisher Bookouture. My second thriller, We Were Sisters was published in August and I’m about to start writing my third.

Me

Tell me some things we might not know about you.

Wendy

1. I try to embrace the days when I find I can’t write

There could be all manner of reasons why this could be: I’m feeling under the weather, it’s sunny and I want to be in the garden, I’ve promised to go to the garden centre with my mum, I’m stuck on the particular piece I’m working on… or I just simply don’t feel like it. In the early days, I used to feel really guilty if I wasn’t spending my free time writing and would make myself sit at my computer. I am much kinder to myself now. Unless I have a deadline, if the words won’t flow and there’s something I’d rather be doing, then I do it. I can guarantee my writing will be all the better for it.

2. I am a good loser and a bad winner

As a child, I was always a good person with whom to play games. Unlike other children, if I lost, I would never sulk, and I’d be the first to congratulate the winner. It didn’t change when I became an adult. When writing for magazines, it was par for the course to have stories rejected but when this happened, I’d get over it and write and submit something else. It was the same when I moved on to writing novels and started submitting to agents. When an email arrived with those hated words, I’m sorry but we didn’t feel passionately enough… I’d take it on the chin and make sure I had somewhere else to send it. But, unfortunately, being a good loser comes at a price… I am a terrible winner. If I have good news, I’m compelled to share it with someone straight away – I just can’t help myself! I post it on social media and tell all my friends. When I’ve had a story published in a magazine, I’ve even been known to tell the newsagent as I’m paying for it. Yes, I really am that annoying!

3. I’m constantly surprised and delighted by life

That’s because I have this thing where I’m convinced life puts an assault course of hazards in my way before I can reach any goal. I constantly overthink things and am always working out worst case scenarios. For example, if I’m planning a trip to London, my thought process will go like this: What if I miss the train? What if there’s a rail strike? What if I can’t get a seat? What if my ticket won’t let me through the barrier? What if I get lost? I tell you, it’s exhausting! The upside of having these anxieties is that when things are easier or better than I imagine (as they invariably are) and I find that nothing is as bad as my imagination paints it to be, I am constantly delighted by life.

Me.

Wow! Wendy, you are an inspiration.  And your books (like your short stories) are fabulous.  No wonder they are flying off the shelves as we speak.

I wish you the very best of luck with them.  You deserve it.

Social Media Links, blog, website etc.

The all important buy link.

What She Saw Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/What-She-Saw-psychological-heart-pounding-ebook/dp/B07N8YGN5B

We were Sisters Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/We-Were-Sisters-absolutely-psychological-ebook/dp/B07RSB413T

Website: http://www.wendyclarke.uk/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WendyClarkeAuthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/wendyclarke99

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wendyclarke99/

Author Bio

Wendy Clarke started her career writing short fiction and serials for national women’s magazines. After having over three hundred short stories published, she progressed to writing novels. With a degree in psychology, and intrigued with how the human mind can affect behaviour, it was inevitable that she would eventually want to explore her darker side.

What She Saw is her debut psychological thriller, published by Bookouture. Her second, We Were Sisters, came out in August 2019.

In her previous life, Wendy has published three collections of short stories and has been a short story judge for the Chiltern Writers Group, Nottingham Writers Group and The Society of Women Writers and journalists.

Wendy lives with her husband and step-dog in Sussex and when not writing is usually dancing, singing or watching any programme that involves food!

I am delighted to welcome Australian writer, Megan Mayfair to my blog this week.  A few months ago I read Megan’s debut novel, The Things We Left Unsaid, which I enjoyed very much and invited Megan to appear on my blog, by which time her second novel, Tangled Vines, was published.  It is on my DTBR (Definitely To Be Read) pile and  I’m looking forward to it very much indeed.  

Her third novel, The Problem with Perfect is due out in 2019.

The interview

Welcome to my blog, Megan.  So, what is it that gets your creative juices flowing and acts as a starting point for your writing?  Which is just another way of disguising the question all writers are said to dread – namely,  where do you get the ideas for your books from?

(Every time I write that sentence, I always feel it’s grammatically incorrect – but who on earth says ‘From where do you get your ideas?’ these days?  If you do, then my apologies to you – and deep respect.)

Megan.

Secrets make for a great starting point for my writing. I’m particularly interested in family secrets. Those little decisions made or information kept from others that can have serious ramifications down the line. It’s a common theme in all my books, particularly the unravelling of each secret and finally understanding how it impacted on everyone’s lives. 

The idea for my book, The Things We Leave Unsaid, came from my own family history research. While I didn’t find any mysteries as deep as Clare did when she started to look into her own family tree, I realised how many secrets and mysteries in our pasts that we don’t even realise may exist. 

Me.

And are your books standalone, or part of a series?

Megan

The Things We Leave Unsaid is a standalone novel. I love my characters, Clare and Tessa dearly but I feel they have told their stories. 

Tangled Vines is a romance and family saga. It too is a standalone novel, however, we will see the characters again in The Problem with Perfect set for release in 2019.

The Books Blurbs

The Things We Left Unsaid

Is it the things we don’t say that haunt us the most?

Clare is anxious to start a family with adoring husband, Pete. When she takes on the seemingly simple task of obtaining her late mother’s birth certificate, she finds herself in a family history search that will challenge everything she thought she knew about her life.

Scarred by her parents’ ill-fated marriage, Tessa lives by three rules – dating unavailable men, building her café into a food empire, and avoiding her father. However, when her carefully planned life is thrown into chaos, Tessa is forced to decide which of these rules she’s willing to break.

As Clare and Tessa’s paths cross and their friendship grows, can they both finally unlock their family secrets in order to realise their futures?

Tangled Vines

Amelia O’Sullivan is a photographer who has always viewed herself through the wrong lens. When her marriage publicly crashes around her, she flees to the safety of her aunt’s country property to pick up the pieces. Can she adjust her focus to what she really wants from her life?

Born into a wealthy and powerful family, Frederick Doyle may seem like a man who has it all, but behind the scenes, a bitter business feud threatens an irrevocable family split. As he fights for control of the winery he’d built from the ground up, he finds a supportive ally in Amelia and becomes increasingly beguiled by her creative spirit.

Jill McMahon is a successful novelist suffering from writer’s block over her latest manuscript. Finding her niece, Amelia, at her door, reminds her of the bonds of family, but in seeing Amelia and Frederick’s relationship grow, a long-forgotten and painful secret threatens to re-surface.

Can Amelia, Frederick and Jill untangle themselves from their pasts or will history simply repeat itself?

Me. 

Thanks.  I really enjoyed Clare and Tessa’s stories  and can’t wait to meet Amelia, Frederick and Jill.  So now, let’s talk about your writing in general. What inspires you most when you set out to write?  Is it characters?  Or maybe settings? Or something else entirely?

Megan

I find characters really inspire me. Sometimes they appear fully-formed and I’m desperate to tell their story. I like flawed characters in particular – people who aren’t perfect but have redeeming qualities. 

Me.

And how did your writing journey start?  Have you always written?

Megan. 

I always wrote as a child and teenager, and then after that, I guess life got in the way with university, work etc. I worked in public relations so as part of my work I did a lot of writing – media releases, articles etc but not so much creative writing. I came back to creative writing a few years ago and The Things We Leave Unsaid was my debut novel.  

Me.

And your future plans?

Megan

My third novel, The Problem with Perfect is due out in 2019. 

Me.

That’s wonderful.  Something else to look forward to.   And thank you, Megan,  for being such a lovely guest.

The Important Bits!

You can buy Megan’s books by clicking on the links below.

The Things We Leave Unsaid: https://mybook.to/leaveunsaid

Tangled Vines: https://mybook.to/tangledvines

Megan’s Social media links are

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meganmayfairauthor

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/MayfairMegan

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meganmayfairwrites

Author Bio

Megan Mayfair writes about families, intrigue and love. Every book contains a bit of humour and a lot of heart. She lives in Melbourne, Australia with her husband and three young children, and has a background in public relations and higher education.

Megan drinks far too much coffee and has an addiction to buying scarves. She interviews other authors her blog series, Espresso Tales, and loves a bit of #bookstagram.

Her debut novel, The Things We Leave Unsaid, and second novel, Tangled Vines, were both published by Crooked Cat Books in 2018. Her third book, The Problem with Perfect, will be published in 2019 by Crooked Cat Books.