Tennessee native Megan Stockton is an indie author who primarily writes dystopian, horror, thriller, and science fiction/fantasy. Last month, she released Lovely, Dark & Deep and I’ve heard some pretty great things about it so far! Let’s get to know the author behind this book, and other great works like Bluejay, …and Nobody Knows It But Me, and Quiet, Pretty Things.
Q: Who has been your biggest supporter(s) throughout your writing career?
A: My sister has been my most constant and reliable supporter for my writing career. From the beginning, I have always been able to rely on her as a reader, confidant, critic, and sounding board. I am so thankful for her. My editor, who I met early on in my self-publishing journey, has also been there for anything I have ever needed. I am so lucky to have these two ladies in my life.
Q: Where do you draw inspiration from in your work?
A: Everywhere! I get inspiration from day-to-day life, experiences, other media (books, movies, games, music, art) and everything in between.
Q: What does it mean to you to be an author?
A: Connecting with readers and other authors is the biggest payoff for me. At the end of the day, I write for me…but the people I meet are the absolute greatest prize and make everything worth it.
Q: What is your writing process like? Do you listen to certain music, snack, make loads of phone notes when inspiration randomly strikes?
A: I take lots of random, sporadic notes when I have little ideas. My writing process is really chaotic because I have a really busy lifestyle, and I just have to write whenever I have time and motivation. Sometimes it looks really refined and organized with lots of progress, sometimes it’s vegging out and sleeping at my laptop because I can’t think of anything.
Q: Is there a genre or subgenre that you want to explore that you haven’t yet? Conversely, are there any that you’ll never write?
A: I want to explore so many subgenres! I have a list of ideas that is dozens of pages long with all the things I hope to write. As far as subgenres I will never write…I hate to swear anything off the list.
Q: What has been the hardest part of your career as an author so far?
A: Imposter syndrome 100%. I can be my own worst enemy.
Q: What do you consider to be your greatest strength and weakness as an author?
A: I think I’m pretty good at avoiding the pull of fads. I get excited about trends just as much as the next guy, but I’ll always write whatever I want to, and I’m just not bothered if I’m not writing what’s ‘in’ right now. My biggest weakness is definitely not being able to say no: taking on way too much and overworking myself.
Q: Who is on your radar as someone you’d love to work with?
A: I am sooo blessed to have the opportunity to work with so many people that I admire. I have a few more collaborations coming up that I’m very excited about. There’s a few other authors I’d like to eventually do something with, but I’m honestly too afraid to put those names out there haha.
Q: At some point in our lives, we’ve all heard the negative comments: “You’re not good enough.” “You’ll never make it.” “This is the worst thing I’ve ever seen.” “You don’t belong.” How do you move forward when faced with negativity?
A: If you set out to write for you first, you’ll never be let down. Write what you want, how you want. Your people will find you, and they will love you. These positive connections make everything worth it. Just remember that if you aren’t hearing negative comments or negative feedback, then you’re not getting honest feedback. Nothing will ever satisfy everyone.
Of course, that’s no excuse for anyone to ever be a dick to you. You are always enough, you do matter, and you belong. My inbox is always open for aspiring or struggling writers. There are shitty gatekeepers out there, but there’s a lot of fantastic people ready to welcome you too.
Q: What advice would you give to women who are wanting to write, especially if it’s something others might perceive as “outside of the norm”?
A: Do it, please. We need you. We have to keep pushing the envelope until being a woman in this genre is normal. I want us to become an unavoidable demographic because what we put out there is the absolute best.
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