A bounty of riches! The women of the GCC (Girlfriend’s Cyber Circuit) just keep cranking out the successes! The latest is Megan Crane aka Caitlin Crews. Megan/Caitlin has not one but two books out this week. And she offered up both to her fellow GCC’ers stating we could pick which book to highlight. But I’m just not good at choices…onion rings or fries? I’ll have both. Red wine or white…a glass of each. Chocolate or…well chocolate…okay that one is easy. So I’ve decided to mention both books.
The first book is Pure Princess Bartered Bride a classic romance that she’s just written for the Harlequin Presents Line under her nom de plume Caitlin Crews.
Check out the cover:
and the second book is Everyone Else’s Girl:
Amazing really, two books publishing in the same week! Megan stopped by to answer some questions:
Which comes easier for you – beginnings or endings?
Definitely beginnings. I like to launch myself into the beginning and write until I hit a wall, then go back and figure out what I’m doing.
Favorite thing about being a writer?
I get to make up stories in my head, and then tell them, and make my living that way. It’s more than a dream come true. And I don’t, in fact, need algebra, as I told my math teacher in high school long ago!
Least favorite thing about being a writer?
The blank page is usually filled with all my doubts and fears, and that’s not a whole lot of fun to sift through to get to the words I need to write. And you can never really take a vacation, because the work is always in your head. And I become a little bit of a crazy person as a deadline approaches. But I wouldn’t give any of it up.
What is one thing you’ve learned about the publishing industry since getting your first book deal?
There is writing, and then there is publishing, and there is only one part of that I can control: the writing.
What is your advice for those who looking to get their novel published?
Just write. No one can tell your story the way you can, and no one will get to read it until you write it.
What’s your favorite food?
Chocolate. Seriously. I’m a complete addict. I like it dark, rich, and life-altering.
Do you have a muse, good luck charm, writing vice?
I am pretty sure my extremely fat and ill-behaved cats feel that they are both muses and charms; they are not. I don’t really have either, I don’t think. I have written all my books (I’m on number 15!) on the same desk, which I’m a little superstitious about it these days. It’s currently located in the office I share with my husband, overlooking a pretty sweep of trees and mountains and the Hollywood sign here in Los Angeles. It’s filled with books and pictures, and somehow, helps the words come.
How many drafts until the final draft?
I am one of those desperately linear writers, who can’t go forward if I know what’s behind me is a big mess. So I usually write the day’s words, then set it aside to pick up and read the next morning. I revise it before starting the next day’s writing. So when I have a full draft, it’s usually pretty tight, and then I go over that at least once or twice. So… three?
What’s your writing process/writing environment like?
I’m pretty fierce about my daily word quotas, which are really the only way I can write as much as I do. (I wrote five books last year and will write at least four this year.) I usually write 2,000 words a day–although at a certain point last fall I had to write 3000 a day to hit a particular deadline, and I found that dizzyingly difficult. The internet is my greatest time-waster. I’m starting to use Mac Freedom to turn it off for stretches here and there, because I can’t be trusted–and I will often look up to see that hours have passed and there I am reading Jezebel and hitting refresh on Twitter… Not good.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever gotten about writing?
Just do it. Just write. Everything else is smoke and mirrors.
What’s next for you?
I am currently working on my fifteenth novel, a romance, which should be out sometime next year!
Excellent job Megan! Now go buy one, or better yet, both of her books!
