Sunday, April 28, 2013

Five Questions with Megan Hand


Five Questions with Megan Hand

 
1.     When you think of your favorite books, what is it that draws you to them and makes you want to read them over and over again?

I am very drawn to emotions. If I don’t connect with a character right away in a story, I will struggle throughout and sometimes set the book aside. But when I’m attached, I feel everything that character is feeling. And I’d say my favorites were very emotionally impactful stories. Something drastic, usually sad, happened and these characters dragged me along their journey with them. Stories like that, I will read many times over.

 

2.     Did you consciously decide to write the genre you write, or did it choose you?

Kind of both. I wrote random stuff as a kid, short stories, poems, etc. But even before I started writing seriously as an adult, I always daydreamed these stories about kids in college. This was probably because, at the time, there was a serious shortage of college-age fiction. Because of this, when I started writing these stories, my passion to write them grew from that shortage, which is now very full, and I couldn’t be happier about that!

 

3.     If you could sit down for a drink and a chat with any writer, who would it be, and why?

Hmm *taps chin with a smile on her face* This is sooo hard. Mostly because I have sooo many favorites, there isn’t just one that sticks out farther than the rest. Answering this question today, I’d have to say C.S. Lewis, because he’s a master. If you asked me tomorrow, I may say Stephanie Meyer. The day after that, I may say Tammara Webber. Basically, any book that I’ve loved, I would be ecstatic to chat up the author.

 

4.     When you are not writing (or reading) what is your favorite pastime?

Not reading or writing? WHA??? *gasp* Kidding J Outside of my book life, I am also a piano teacher, and I have a little guy that’s three. Both of these keep me very busy. We love getting outside, taking walks, or watching movies. I love movies almost as much as I love books. There is something about the way music brings life to a scene that is so powerful. And when I get a few spare minutes outside of all of that I also like to sit at my piano and play simply for myself. Those are rare moments indeed.

 

5.     At what point were you sure that your book was ready to be published, and how did you go about making it happen?

Bitter Angel was the third novel that I wrote. The first two I have now deemed learning manuscripts and are collecting dust in a drawer, which is absolutely fine with me. I’m a severe perfectionist and absolutely refuse to put out anything that is not ready. Although, I could probably tweak a story for the rest of my life, there is always a stopping point. Bitter Angel took three months to write, several rounds of edits that weren’t too bad, but original plan was not to go Indie. This past January, I was going to start querying agents when I really dug deep inside myself and looked at the pros and cons and decided Indie was more for me.

Once I decided this, the first step was to find a cover artist. Check. Then editor. Check. The rest of it really fell into place. I learned as I went, found a formatter, etc, and next thing I knew I had a BOOK ONLINE! I haven’t been in this pool for very long, but it’s been a fun rollercoaster so far.

Website: http://meganhandwrites.blogspot.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meganhandauthorTwitter: https://twitter.com/MeganHandWrites

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