Todays author interview hits us all the way from rural Tennessee, and highlights the incredible talent of author Megan Stockton, author of Ethic, and Quiet, Pretty Things. I am a personal fan other work and cannot praise her highly enough. Heres what she had to say;
Something Wicked This Way Comes - When did you know you wanted to be an author?
MS - I don’t know at what point I decided I wanted to be an author, but I have always wanted to be a storyteller, a writer. When I was very young I remember reading fantasy novels and being amazed at these sprawling fictional worlds, and the realization that I could also become this kind of creator hit… the rest is history.
SW - Where are you from and where are you now?
MS - I’m from a little town called Grimsley in central Tennessee. It’s a little farming community, doesn’t even have an intersection or red light. I moved away during college, but four years ago we moved back to live on my family’s farm.
SW - What other jobs have you had?
MS - I was a licensed veterinary technician / nurse almost my entire working life. Until recently I was juggling being a tech, being a winemaker for my state’s oldest winery, bartending at a brewery, and waiting tables at my family’s cafe. I needed to settle down and stop being spread so thin, so now I am working at home as a hospitalist medical coder. Really boring work, but I have more time and energy for my family and writing now.
SW - Does writing energize or exhaust you?
MS - Both. I compare it to an addiction. I do it because I feel like I have to or I’d fall apart, not really because I want to. I do it all for me, chasing a little bit of relief at a time. It absolutely consumes my thoughts all of the time. If I’m not writing, I am thinking about writing.
SW - What are common traps for aspiring writers?
MS - Trying to please everyone. Don’t worry about what everyone thinks! There’s always going to be someone who hates your book. There’s always going to be someone who wants to put you down. Just write what you love, the way you love it, and you’ll draw in the right people. Don’t let anyone tell you that you have to write a certain way, or in a certain voice or style. There’s no right way to be a writer.
SW - What is your writing Kryptonite?
MS - I’m my own worst enemy. I can’t stand to read my own work most days. I have to just keep going forward or I’ll talk myself into a dark place and then I have trouble getting back into my rhythm.
SW - Have you ever gotten reader’s block?
MS - Oh, yeah. I’ve picked up plenty of books, good books, and had to put it down until I was in a different mindset. Sometimes you’re just not ready. If I ever get in a bad slump I read John Dies at the End. It is my comfort novel, I am always in the mood for that or Hold the Dark.
SW - Did you ever consider writing under a pseudonym?
MS - I love a lot of different genres, so I have considered using pseudonyms to kind of keep them separate, but decided against it for now.
SW - What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better
writer?
MS - This year I was added, just by chance, to this small writing group with Peter Marsh, Joshua MacMillan, Jae Mazer, Gage Greenwood, and Nick Gray. It has been huge for me. They are all so talented and I consider myself so lucky to be able to ‘hang out’ with them, and be able to discuss our shared passion for writing. We hold each other accountable and I have found myself way more productive by having a support system like this. I have also become friends with a western horror author who is fairly local to me: B.L. Blankenship. It’s tough to find writer friends, especially locally, so I’m really thankful for everyone I am able to connect with… it’s even harder to find those who are active in the same genres.
SW - What’s your favorite under-appreciated novel?
MS - 99% of indie horror! There is so much talent there.
SW - What authors did you dislike at first but grew into?
MS - Don’t shoot me, but Jonathan Butcher. I read What Good Girls Do, and it just didn’t do it for me. I picked up a few of his other books though and I really enjoyed those. I try to always try a couple of books before I decide I like or don’t like someone.
SW - As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal?
MS - A cat. I like sleep, food, and (playful) murder and mutilation. My self-pub mascot is the ‘bad luck cat’. As an easter egg, there’s always an orange cat named Regret that makes an appearance in all of my novels. Look for him!
SW - How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?
MS - I currently have sixteen novels in various stages of completeness that I have shelved either for later or for good.
SW - What does literary success look like to you?
MS - Being happy with your creative process and final product is all that matters to me. Being able to share my work with people is a bonus, and if they like it then it makes my day!
SW - What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before
beginning a book?
MS - I’m a pantster, i.e. fly by the seat of my pants. I rarely research at all and I don’t have any kind of organization set up going into a novel.
SW - What’s the most difficult thing about writing characters from the opposite sex?
MS - Just hoping that I’m not unbelievable with character thought processes and rationale, especially since most of my main characters are male.
SW - How do you select the names of your characters?
MS - Sometimes it’s names I’ve encountered in life, other times it is people I know. I do name drops for beta readers and people who have helped me in my writing process too. Sometimes it’s a character name, sometimes it’s a street name or something else. I also occasionally will give a character a name with a meaning that gives subtle clues about what may be going on in the story (other times it’s a red herring LOL).
SW - Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?
MS - I obsessively read reviews. Good reviews absolutely make my day. If anyone has anything negative to say, as long as it isn’t just mean to be mean.. I don’t mind. No book is everyone’s jam and that’s just fine. I can hopefully learn from whatever they didn’t enjoy, and if it is something I can improve upon I’d be thankful for that information.
SW - Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?
MS - I love easter eggs, name drops, and crossovers so they’re there!
SW - What was your hardest scene to write?
MS - In my debut novel, Ethic, I felt guilty about a character’s death for like two weeks after I had finished it. I would be standing in my kitchen feeling like shit and then I would realize why.
SW - Do you Google yourself?
MS - Of course lol.
SW - What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?
MS - The self-doubt and imposter syndrome, 100%.
SW - Does your family support your career as a writer?
MS - That’s a hard question. Everyone wants to say they support your writing, but no one wants you to take the time and energy to write or listen to you talk about writing all the time. My sister has always been a huge supporter of my writing and literally reads as I write and gives me feedback and encouragement. I am so thankful for her.
SW - Do you believe in writer’s block?
MS - Absolutely. Why and when it happens is different for everyone, but it is definitely real.
SW - What are you planning next?
MS - I have two projects I hope to have finished this year.
…And Nobody Knows it But Me is a slow-burn novel about a wildlife biologist named Lakin Douglas who specializes in 'problem animals' in settings where habitats and human dwellings overlap. He's called into a small town where a rogue wolf has been killing livestock and causing other issues. Lakin goes to the town anticipating that it is actually a pack of dogs behind everything, but when human bodies start turning up he starts to become concerned that it may not be an animal at all... A little bit mystery, a little bit horror, a little bit supernatural, a little bit monster.
Bluejay is an extreme horror novella about three best friends who collect horror memorabilia and have a running competition to see who can find and share the most over-the-top movie, book etc... When one of the friends gets the opportunity to steal tickets to an exclusive club that touts offering a realistic, immersive torture simulation, he jumps on the opportunity. Once they arrive they quickly realize that it isn't a simulation at all, and they have to uphold their stolen identities while trying to escape and not die (or kill anyone else) in the process.
SW; Thank you again for the opportunity to do this interview
Quiet, Pretty Things https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09KWKTLB9/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0
