Author Interview: daynight by Megan Thomason

Little Blurb about yourself:

I’m a happily married mother of five. Our family moved to San Diego from the Seattle area a few years back to escape the less desirable weather there :). I had a successful stint in the software industry, which I left after becoming pregnant with child #4. I thrive on hard work, drive too fast, eat too much sugar, and have a severe allergy to housework and paperwork (a non issue, due to my excellent prioritization skills that moves those things to the bottom of the list).
1. Who or what inspired you to become a writer?

I wrote endless stories as a child, was one of the few who loved to write essays in college, and had a post-college career in the software industry where I wrote business, marketing and product plans. But it wasn’t until my husband decided to write a middle grade fantasy novel, Max Xylander and the Island of Zumuruudthat I considered writing my own book. I helped my husband with plotting and editing and loved being absorbed in the characters and story. Afterwards, I came up with an idea for a teen romantic comedy and my daughters begged me to write the story, which ended up as the trilogy: the thin veil, the thin line, andthin skin. From there, I decided to take on the much more ambitious project of daynight and have been absorbed in the world of Thera and lives of Kira, Blake and Ethan ever since.

2. How long did it take you to write daynight?

Daynight took about 6 months to write and 6 months to edit. But it didn’t sit right and so I tabled it for a couple years while I focused on other things. Inspiration finally hit this past fall and I re-wrote, edited, (and re-wrote and edited), proofread and released!

3. While writing how many times do you go back and rewrite a plot?

As many times as it takes to get it right (so for me, a lot)! To me, a story is like a living, breathing organism that needs constant nourishment and adjustment. I plot out the whole book ahead of time and then continually revise it as often as I have better ideas, so all the time.

4. You run into a bookstore, where do you go first?

It’s been a while since I’ve been in a bookstore (do all ebooks), but definitely young adult. Since I write for it, I read for it… in abundance (more than 600 young adult/new adult books in the last year).

5. How many books in a month do you tend to read?

This past year, 50. I needed the constant distraction. In a typical year, where I’m hard at work writing or doing other time-intensive projects, more like 10-20.

6. In all the books you've read. Who is your most favorite character and why?

That’s a tough one. But I’m going to go with ‘the boy with the bread’ Peeta Mellark. Peeta’s willing to sacrifice everything, including his life, for the woman he loves. And the associated plot twist with him in book 3 is brilliant (even if I may or may not have had some choice words for Ms. Collins at the time).

7. State 5 random facts about yourself.

- Graduated high school at 16; college at 20
- Won a regional hula hooping contest when I was ten
- Have been to a couple of Bill Gates’ birthday parties
- My children all have beautiful singing voices, but I suck… really suck
- As a child, and in an effort to ‘help’, I filled my parent’s gas tank with sand

8. Your favorite Genre?

- Young adult (sub-genres: dystopia, romance and fantasy)

9. What are you currently reading?

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. I read it a long time ago, but am enjoying re-reading. I’m also reading Moon Dwellers by David Estes, and have at least 25 samples and 50 other books (mostly sequels) loaded on my phone and ready to go when I have time.

10. What is the best book you've read?

Maybe because I’m coming off a fresh read of it, but Brave New World is simply brilliant. Funny, clever, perfect dystopia, nice twists, killer ending.

11. Any new projects coming up?

I’m targeting a summer release for the sequel to daynight, arbitrate. In addition to the daynight series, I’m working on B*Lies, a story about a girl who makes the decision to run from her abusive father. If time permits, I’ll also do a re-write on the romantic comedy trilogy I wrote prior to daynight: the thin veil, the thin line, and thin skin. Although I love the stories and characters, I’d want to get the writing up to my current standards before publishing.