Megan Whitmer on Spiders and Pep Talks + GIVEAWAY

BETWEEN

We are so excited to welcome Megan Whitmer to the Ball this week! Her debut, BETWEEN, tells the story of seventeen-year-old Charlie, who finds out she’s protected by the Fellowship—the secret group in charge of keeping humans from knowing that mythical creatures actually exist. (Except Bigfoot. That attention whore is a total lost cause.) As Charlie uncovers the Fellowship’s secrets, she finds herself dealing with a power she never asked for, falling for a guy she can’t have, and being forced to choose between her destiny and her heart. And if she chooses wrong, she could destroy magic forever.

So here’s a little more about Megan, in her own words, including the importance of fuzzy slippers, and what she’s writing next:

What is your advice for aspiring writers?

Writing a book is hard. You have to really want to do it. There are going to be lots of reasons to quit—you won’t have time to write, you’ll have writers block, you’ll be discouraged by less-than-stellar feedback—but you have to keep going. Trust me. I rewrote Between three times from beginning to end, (and that was BEFORE I got a book deal and went through several major rounds of revisions with my editors). I promise you, it’s worth it when you finish the book. Someone, whether it’s a critique partner, an agent, an editor, or a fan, will read your story and love it, and you’ll forget all the times you hated it. Keep going. Every day. You can do it. (And I’m like, the queen of pep talks so if you need one, find me on twitter and ask for it. I LOVE PEP TALKS.)

What three things would you want with you if you were stranded on a desert island?

Peanut butter, a journal, and fuzzy house slippers. I can pretty much survive anything as long as I have fuzzy house slippers.

Do you have any phobias?

Spiders—any kind, any size. I don’t know the difference between types of spiders, so I basically just assume every spider is a jumping, poisonous spider that craves human blood. So. There’s a sweet peek into my brain for you. You’re welcome.

What’s your next big thing?

Right now I’m working on book two of the Between trilogy, as well as drafting a novella and outlining a YA contemporary. The novella and the contemporary are just side projects right now though. The big one is definitely Between’s sequel. Writing a sequel is pure torture, but it’s also fun to get to hang out in Charlie’s head and spend more time with those characters and that world.

Do you have a regular first reader?  If so, who is it and why that person?

I have two—my friends Josh and Samantha. Josh will always tell me when something doesn’t work. We’ve been friends long enough that he’s allowed to tell me when I suck, but he’s just as great at being my cheerleader. I wouldn’t have finished Between if he hadn’t constantly pushed me. As for Sam, I just love the way her brain works. She’s extremely good at reading my mind and knowing what I’m trying to accomplish, and she uses questions to make me dig deeper into the story and/or characters. Also, she keeps me sane when I have complete writer breakdowns, which is almost a full time job in itself.

Thank you, Megan, for stopping by!

GIVEAWAY: Comment on this post by Noon (EST) on Friday, October 3 to enter to win a signed copy of BETWEEN (US only). Follow The Debutante Ball on Facebook and Twitter for extra entries—just mention that you did so in your comments. We’ll choose and contact the winner on Friday. Good luck!

About Megan:

authorphoto2 croppedMegan lives in Kentucky with her family. She loves all things Southern, and has a soft spot for football, kissing scenes, and things that sparkle. In addition to writing YA novels, she’s also a contributing blogger for YAmisfits.com, allthewritenotes.com, and herkentucky.com. When she’s not writing, Megan spends her time looking for funny t-shirts and wishing someone would pay her to tweet.

 Follow Megan on TwitterFacebook, YouTube, and Instagram.

Author: Amy Reichert

Amy E. Reichert is the author of THE COINCIDENCE OF COCONUT CAKE (Simon & Schuster/Gallery, July 21 2015), about food, love, and second chances, and where serendipity comes in the form of a delicious coconut cake. Find out more at amyereichert.com.

6 Replies to “Megan Whitmer on Spiders and Pep Talks + GIVEAWAY”

  1. A fantastic book, I cannot wait to read the next one, two or ten. It was so unlike anything I have read, a world you can really see with amazing descriptions.

Comments are closed.