Meagan Williamson is a special sort of human. I don’t remember how or when we connected, but it feels like we’ve been in each other’s (online) lives for a while. So when she announced her debut, If I Never Remember, I was so freaking excited for her. Her Instagram feed is so beautiful and aesthetic and all of her content has been really pretty.
I read her debut recently and let me just say, it was impossible to put down. The dual timeline and seeing Teddy at different stages, the relationships she builds at both ages and how everything evolves is so strong and beautiful. Not to mention the location of Bear Lake, which is also an important character in the story. I laughed and cried and felt emotionally compromised the whole way through—but I wouldn’t have it any other way!
Recently, she announced her second book, Where The Black Line Ends, which follows one of the characters in her debut. It needs to be October 29th already. PS. Make sure you preorder this one, because it sounds so good!
If I Never Remember is available in Kindle Unlimited!
BEING AN AUTHOR
Who or what inspired you to write?
Gosh, this question is so intricately woven throughout my life that I wouldn’t even know where to begin. But the crazy part is, I didn’t really realize it until about two years ago after having my last baby. I had spent 8 years of my life, pouring everything that I was into being a mother. I lost a bit of myself along the way. I lived with this very real fear that I’d get to my daughter’s first day of Kindergarten and have no idea what to do with myself after that. I came across The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron and that’s ultimately what inspired me to write.
What’s the best and worst part about being an indie author?
Best… the community! I say books are my love language, so the ability to talk about books all day every day with this amazing group of people who like to do the same is just the best!
The hardest part by far has been navigating social media. Daily content creation, networking, etc…. it’s so easy to get burnt out!
Why did you choose to self-publish instead of going the traditional route?
I am a creative at heart, so getting to dream up everything from my cover art down to the smallest details inside the pages and having full control over the process has been so fun for me. An unexpected perk… meeting some of the most creative and best people I’ve ever gotten the pleasure of working with (I’m looking at you, Britt & Nysha!).
When you’re not writing, what do you do to get the creative juices flowing?
I’m a big country music fan. There is also nothing better than long walks, hikes, runs, etc. outside in the sunshine!
If you were to recommend books to me (in any genre), what would they be?
If we’re talking fantasy… I’m a big fan of ACOTAR by Sarah J. Mass, but who isn’t?! I want to FEEL something when I read a book and Kelly Rimmer’s Before I Let You Go is that for me. Romance is my favorite genre so this list is long but Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren is up there along with Practice Makes Perfect by Sarah Adams, Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover, and Every Summer After by Carley Fortune, to name a few. I just devoured my first two C.W. Farnsworth books too and I am obsessed. I told you it’s my favorite genre… I could keep talking about it all day.
What are your top 5 tips or pieces of advice for aspiring authors?
Be YOU! There is no one else in the world just like you and we need your voice.
Don’t be afraid to fail because chances are, you probably will at some point. Some reels will flop, some literary agents will say no, some people won’t like what you write and leave a bad review. If you set yourself up with the expectation ahead of time that you don’t have to be perfect all the time, you’ll be okay.
NEVER. GIVE. UP. The only person who doesn’t succeed is the one who doesn’t keep going.
Keep learning, whatever that looks like for you. Is it craft books? Is it reading other author’s you admire and studying the way they raise the stakes or keep you turning the pages?
There is no one right way to do anything. FIgure out what works best for you and do that. If it stops working, try something else. There can be a lot of noise in this industry. The idea that you have to plot a novel for it to be a success or you have to write every single day to get good at it is simply not true.
ROMANCE AS A GENRE
Why did you choose romance as the genre to write in? What is your favorite thing about the genre?
I am a romantic at heart. Valentine’s Day? Love it. Nicholas Sparks movies? Seen them a hundred and one times. The idea that I get to dream up someone else’s meet cute, first kiss, and happy ending… well, there just isn’t anything better than that! It’s like living in the honeymoon phase forever. <3
If not romance/subgenres of romance, what genre would you like to write in?
If I didn’t find world building so intimidating, Romantasy.
What are your most and least favorite tropes?
I’m a sucker for friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, and second chance. This isn’t a trope, but I can’t do books with any kind of rape in them. Consent is important to me in the romance genre.
What are some tropes you want to write in the future?
I’d love to write an enemies to lovers. In fact, I thought that would be book 2 at first but these characters suck at being mean to each other. Brother’s best friend/best friend’s brother and single dad are at the top of the list too.
What are some topics (sensitive and otherwise) that you think should exist more in romance?
Diversity in general whether that be LGBTQ+, race, size, ethnicity. I love to learn about different walks of life as I read, and I think there should be a wider range of representation. I’m hoping as I gain more experience as a writer it will feel less intimidating including diverse characters in my book. I’ve stuck fairly close to home writing what I know, but I think this is important, and I want to be brave enough to venture out of my box. Just afraid of doing it justice.
The other topic besides diversity is miscarriage. As someone who is part of that 1 in 4 statistic, the more it is talked about, the less alone you feel.
If you write open door romance, why did you choose that and what inspires your sex scenes?
I think intimacy is a really important part of a relationship. It’s hard for me to imagine writing two characters who don’t connect in that way at some point. In my first book, it was a “first time” scene so it didn’t come across as two really experienced people. More the build up and longing of waiting and the nerves that come when it finally happens. Tapping into the five senses is what inspires any scene for me. Particularly what it feels like when it comes to sex.
YOUR BOOKS
What inspired your published stories? How and when did you come up with these stories and plots?
The setting is what inspired me to write If I Never Remember. My husband’s grandparents built a cabin on Bear Lake that he would go to in the summers growing up. After we met, he took me there and it stole a piece of my heart. Now our little family has gone almost every summer and I just always pictured a coming-of-age romance there. <3
Can you briefly tell me about your books?
Told in six summers in the past and one summer in the present, If I Never Remember is a story about a nineteen year old girl named Teddy who, nine months after getting in a terrible accident in Bear Lake, is still suffering from amnesia. She’s tired of trying to remember the girl everyone else knows, so she vows to leave the small town at the end of the summer. Until two guys from her past show up for the summer and change everything.
Do you already have a favorite character from the stories you’ve written?
I have a soft spot for Teddy’s dad.
If you were to cast your book for a movie/television show, who would you cast in the lead roles?
This is so hard for me because I don’t typically picture celebrities when I write a character. I’m not sure about Reed and Miles but I can see Abigail Cowen as Teddy.
How much of yourself do you put into these characters?
I think little pieces of me are always going to find their way into my books. It makes them relatable to write. However, I’m learning to use enneagrams for my characters in book 2 and it’s making the ones I struggle to relate to a little easier knowing how they would act in certain situations based on their personality type.
What is a story/stories that you really want to tell?
I wrote a book before If I Never Remember that I still think about. Maybe I’ll share it with the world one day.
Is there one common element that readers can find in all your stories?
You’ll never not find a happy ending. <3
What’s next on the bookshelf for you? Anything you can tell us about a future project?
My second book, Where the Black Line Ends, releases this fall! It’s a forbidden romance about a wildland firefighter who finds love in the one place he never expected: the backcountry of the Payette National Forest with his superintendent’s daughter. It’s an interconnected standalone that picks up right where If I Never Remember left off.
When you write these stories, what are you hoping your readers will feel?
Is everything expecting too much? Haha That’s what I want to feel when I read so it’s what I try to write. I want the characters to stay with you long after the last page.
AUTHOR’S CHOICE
Paperbacks, hardbacks, ebooks or audiobooks
Contemporary, fantasy, historical or romantic suspense
Single or Dual POV
Standalones, series or standalones in a series
Open door, ajar door or closed door romances
Music or silence when writing
Plotter, pantser or plantser
Water, tea, coffee or….wine?
Cold or warm weather
Write better in the morning, afternoon or night?
Illustrated or photo cover?
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