Hello everyone! I’m really excited about today’s post! With us today is new author Megan Hand.
Hello Megan! Thank you for being with us today. I’m so excited to introduce you to everyone. Megan Hand is the author of Bitter Angel that was published on April 1st.
Me: Megan can you tell us a little bit about Bitter Angel? Give us a little background into this compelling storyline. It sounds amazing!
Megan: Hi, Jaime! And of course. Bitter Angel came to me as my stories usually do, in a half-awakened dream. I love when this happens. When my body is in that state between awake and asleep, scenes play beneath my eyelids like a movie.
In the beginning of the book, Lila, my main character is waking up, remembering two scenarios from the night before. One where she went with her friends, and they found themselves in a life-threatening situation, but Lila risks her life to save them. In the other scenario, she stays home with her boyfriend, Jay, falls asleep, and has a terrifying nightmare that they were murdered. Now, when she’s waking up the next morning, each of these scenarios were so real, she’s not sure which one she lived. But when she’s waking up is only the beginning of the story. You will have to read and find out 😉
Me: WOW that sounds really good! Where did the inspiration for this book come from? How’d you come up with this concept?
Megan: Well, as I mentioned earlier, it came to me in a dream. But it might surprise you to tell you that Bitter Angel was meant to be a short story. Lila lives the two scenarios and she’s waking up the next morning, not sure, then she discovers what happened. End of story. When I went to end it there, however, my heart was screaming NOOOOO!!! There were many reasons why I chose to play out this story, and readers will easily understand why I chose not to end it there.
Me: In the story Lila Spencer lives the same night twice. On Friday she goes out with her friends, but also she’s at home with her boyfriend. How hard was it to write that? Did it come easy?
Megan: It actually came very easy. I didn’t expect it to, but going between the scenes was quite effortless for me. I loved how it came out, too. There’s a flow. It’s not exact, like chapter 1 is scenario 1 and chapter 2 is scenario 2. But it’s easy to follow, and I was very pleased with the outcome.
Me: Have you always known you wanted to be a writer?
Megan: Kind of yes, kind of no, lol J I started writing obsessively when I was twelve. I wrote story chapters, not knowing where they were headed, and poems. I still have those hundreds of poems saved on notebook paper. They are very special to me. Then, one day I said to myself, “I’m going to write a novel.” A few weeks later, I had a few chapters—all hand-written, of course—that were filled with more red pen than writing, and I quit. But stories have fun rampant in my mind ever since. It wasn’t until I was in my twenties that I shared these stories with my sister. She persuaded me to write some of it down. I did, and what I didn’t expect was how FUN it would be. I finished my first not-so-great novel a few months later, and haven’t stopped writing since.
Me: So what’s next for you? Any other novels in the works?
Megan: Absolutely! Bitter Angel is a very plot-driven story. This next one is a deeply emotional character-driven story. To the point that the scenes are emotionally draining to write. But I cannot wait to share with you all!
Me: Who is your favorite author?
Megan: I have SO many, it’s extremely hard to choose. But I’d say the first that influenced me tremendously was Stephanie Meyer (cliché, I know), but I am in love with her book The Host. It was the catalyst that started my reading gluttony and still holds my heart today. I’ve also fallen in love with Suzanne Collins, author of The Hunger Games series, Lisa McMann, and her Wake series, Stephanie Perkins for Anna and the French Kiss, and Simone Elkeles for Perfect Chemisty and many others. I could go on all day with this list J
Me: Megan I’m so glad you stopped by today! Bitter Angel sounds amazing and I can’t wait to read more about Lila!
Megan: Thank you for having me, Jaime! It was a pleasure!!
Connect with Megan:
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BARNES AND NOBLE
JAIME GUERARD 