"I convinced myself I was 'not good enough'...when I finally let go of 'not good enough'...the squashed down writing dream just came bubbling right up to the surface..."
My guest is romance writer, Megan Mulry. The USA Today best selling author had convinced herself she good enough to write story. Guest what? Megan can and writes fun, sexy romantic fiction. Intriguing, no?
Makes me wonder how many writers let the 'I'm not good enough' hold them back?
It's a pleasure to have Megan visiting with us Over Coffee and she was gracious enough to take the time to answer a few questions for me.
Thanks so much
for inviting me to hang out Over Coffee. I love to laugh and cry (as you can
see from my Twitter bio) and I love coffee. And glitches? I got ‘em. So, this
should be a match made in heaven.
- How much do current events play into your writing?
A ton! My
first manuscript (briefly self-published on a whim in 2010, then withdrawn, and
maybe one day—after copious revisions—to be properly published) was inspired by
the Lockerbie bombing and Pan Am #103. The entire book sprang from and revolved
around that event and how it affected those involved. Later, an obituary about
a British aristocrat caught my interest and became the seed that spawned the
four books in the Unruly Royals series.
- How often to you get your ideas from what you read or see in the news?
I don’t write
suspense very often, but when I weave a suspenseful subplot in (there’s a
pretty grisly kidnapping and near-rape in one of my future books) it’s
disheartening to realize that anything gruesome I try to invent has already
happened. Especially, where I live in Florida, in 2013 there were a spate of
horribly tragic domestic murder/suicides. So, I suppose it’s not that I get my
ideas from that, but rather that I
think, “Oh well, it’s not like I’m writing something preposterous.” (That whole
truth is stranger than fiction thing, I guess.)
How often do you see kernel something (via news, a
friend’s relaying an incident, the odd online story) and think, wow, that would
be cool to write about with xyz additions to make it even better…
Pretty much
all day, every day. For example, we moved recently, and of the eight-man-team
that moved us, I could probably write a book with each man as the hero. It didn't hurt that they were all super nice, super muscly, and sweating most of
the time. But I digress.
- What inspired this series of characters?
The Unruly
Royals series was originally inspired by a few articles I had read about the
Duke of Norfolk and extended family. Various women I’d met or read about over
the years inspired the heroines. Working in New York City and/or London for any
amount of time provides a lifetime of dynamic-female-character ideas!
- Have you always wanted to write or was there events that lead you to writing?
I can’t say I
always wanted to write, because I had done such a good job of talking myself
out of it—I convinced myself I was “not good enough”—but deep down, probably
yes, I always wanted to write. So when I finally let go of “not good enough”
(*kicks not-good-enough to the curb*) it was like the squashed down writing
dream just came bubbling right up to the surface, like, “Hey! Remember me? I’m
your dream. Let’s do this!”
- With the book’s release, as you look back, what was the biggest surprise that occurred while you were writing the story?
So many
surprises! I guess I had Abby pretty well sorted out (in that she was totally not sorted out and was going to be
struggling with her own view of herself and what she really wanted out of
life). But the real surprise was Eliot. I had no idea he would be so
tenderhearted…for some reason I thought he would be the stereotypical
billionaire hard-ass who would be transformed or won over by the heroine. But
the more I developed his character, the more it became clear that he had this
inner core of intense vulnerability and love. My editor really helped me delve
into his family background to reveal why he was the way
he was.
- Megan, thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to answer my questions and chat with us! Quite the inspiration. :-)
What fun
questions! Thanks so much for taking an interest in my writing and for inviting
me to visit!
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Being royal isn't all it's cracked up to be...
Abigail Heyworth, youngest daughter of the 18th Duke of Northrop, is not your typical British royal—she'll take a recycling drive over a charity ball any day. She can't stand hats and heels. Abby's not getting much sympathy, of course, because everyone thinks the life of royalty is so charmed.
But to Abigail, keeping up appearances is unbearable, while running away doesn't seem to work either. Just when she feels like she's getting whiplash from swinging between flat-out rebellion to miserable capitulation, Abigail meets an all-American self-made millionaire who challenges her on every level.
It may turn out that what Abigail is searching for kind of resembles the American Dream..
You can find Megan: Facebook – Goodreads - Twitter – Website – Pinterest
