I have to admit that I am super excited about this next author interview, Megan Crewe! Crewe’s The Way We Fall was given five stars by both Lauren and I. I know we’re both super excited for the sequel, The Lives We Lost, due out in 
February of 2013. I loved how Crewe built her dystopian world around a virus, how she 
used the diary format to get Kaelyn’s story out there. I loved that she wasn’t afraid to kill off her characters either. In a world where dystopian novels are becoming tedious, overblown, and too-similar, this one really stuck out to me. It was also one of the first ARCs I received from NetGalley, so I have some affection for it there, too!
So now, onto the questions!
- How long does it take you to write a book? That depends on what you consider the start of the “writing.” To get from beginning the first draft to polishing a draft I’m comfortable showing to my editor usually takes me 5-8 months, depending on how many other things I’m working on in between drafts. But before I can even start writing that first draft, I might spend months or even years slowly pulling the pieces of an idea together, until I know the story well enough to outline and draft it.
- What is your favorite Sherlock? RDJ or Cumberbatch? I am fond of RDJ, but for that particular character, I love Cumberbatch’s portrayal and his approach to Sherlock’s personality.
- A random fact people may not know about you? Even though I enjoy writing scary stuff, I generally avoid reading horror novels because the images stick in my head and keep me up at night.
- Favorite 80s/90s tv show? It only lasted one season, but My So-Called Life pretty much defined the ’90s and my teen years for me.
- Has the use of twitter helped your relationship with readers? It’s hard to say how the readers feel about it, but I do like being accessible if people want to ask questions or share thoughts with me online.
- What are your plans post your current series? Well, there’s nothing definite that I can talk about just yet. But I do have other books written that I hope to share after the trilogy is over, both stand-alones and possibly a new series. I’ll be certain to announce any news on my blog as it happens!
- What made you gear towards YA writing? I think the teen years are a fascinating and important time in people’s lives, and I like writing about characters during that time. There are so many firsts that happen, and so many decisions made about what sort of person you are and want to be. It’s incredibly intense.
- What made you choose such a different post-apoc setting? I set THE WAY WE FALL on an island because I wanted to be able to cut the characters off from the rest of the world, to give a complete sense of isolation. There really aren’t many places you could effectively quarantine in the modern world other than a small island. And I decided to put that island in Canada because I could, and as a Canadian I like to give my country a little representation now and then. ;)
- What is your writing soundtrack?I have a different soundtrack for each of my books, made up of songs that relate to the story in some way. The playlists for each of my books are available on my website–the one for TWWF is here: http://megancrewe.com/twwf/soundtrack.html
Thanks so much for your time, Megan, and we can’t wait for your next book!
