Guest Author Interview with Megan Short

 

This book is filled with excitement and wonderful descriptions of Alaska. Thank you, Megan, for joining us today.

 

Kathy: Would you give our readers a brief bio? What do you enjoy doing when you’re not writing?

My name is Megan Short and I am an Australian author of inspirational romantic suspense novels. I grew up in New Zealand but I currently live in Melbourne, which is essentially the California of Australia. When I’m not writing I run my own business and volunteer in several ministries.

Kathy: Can you share a little about your writing journey? Any stories that still make you smile?

I started writing stories aged three and started my first (unfinished and long misplaced) novel at age 16. When I was 17, I learned about screenplays and wrote my first which won a screenwriting award. Screenplays became my writing focus, and I eventually trained at UCLA. After about twenty years trying to break into Hollywood, I came to realise that I probably had a better chance of winning the lottery than getting an original screenplay made into a movie shown at a cinema. Especially when living in Australia! I decided I would pivot and start working on a novel. I placed second for an award with my first full length romantic suspense novel, but before I could make much of that, I was called to faith. Everything changed. Suddenly I was writing for God’s glory, not my own career. He opened every door along the way from there on, from finding me a mentor, then an agent, then a publishing contract. That is what makes me smile, for sure: to know that God has a purpose in my work, even if I may never know what it is. I will keep writing for Love Inspired Suspense until He calls me elsewhere.

Kathy: How do you share your faith with your writing?

Love Inspired Suspense includes faith elements, which naturally lends itself to sharing my faith. I have found that often a sermon will help me to find a path for my characters, and to share particular messages with readers. For example, during a sermon on Jesus’s gentleness, a bible verse (John 6:37) just hit me as one that would help my hero in his faith journey. I hope that it will resonate with readers who need to hear that once they have put their trust in Jesus, He will never drive them away.

Kathy: Do you consider yourself a plotter or a pantster?

A plotter, for sure. That said, my plots always change as the story progresses.

Kathy: Do you have a writing schedule that works for you? How do you balance your writing with other responsibilities?

I write whenever I can. I don’t really have a schedule, I just fit writing around everything else. But I do write every day during the week, and often Saturdays too. Generally, I trust God to help me carve out time because I’m a pretty big procrastinator.

Kathy: Where do you find your story ideas?

They are often inspired from real life, in a very loose sense. My characters all have elements of people I know—whether it’s their interesting hobbies or skills, or just little personality quirks. I feel like it’s nice to include to remember them and give them a little bit of a legacy. At least in my first few books, the settings are places I have travelled to, as well.

Kathy: Tell us about one of your favorite authors.

While I’m a big fan of romance, at the moment I love Ryan Steck’s books. He writes Christian action thrillers. Before I came to faith I had read all of the Jack Reacher books, and Ryan’s Matthew Redd has happily replaced that. I hope he will keep putting out at least one book a year; it’s something to look forward to.

Kathy: Can you share with us about your latest book? Or two?

My latest book (and debut!) is Alaskan Police Protector which releases July 1^st. Readers can find it here: https://www.harlequin.com/shop/books/9780369756749_alaskan-police-protector.html

It’s available in large print, mass market paperback, e-book, audiobook, and is also included in the Love Inspired Suspense July box set with books from Maggie K. Black and Mary Alford.

 

Readers can reach me via my website www.meganshort.net, and all my other links can be found at one place here: https://linktr.ee/meganshortau