About Megan:
Megan E. Freeman attended an elementary school where poets visited her classroom every week, and she has been a writer ever since. She writes middle grade and young adult fiction. Megan is also a Pushcart Prize–nominated poet. An award-winning teacher with decades of classroom experience, Megan taught multiple subjects across the arts and humanities to students of all ages. She lives near Boulder, Colorado. Visit her online at MeganEFreeman.com.
Did you travel abroad during school? Where did you go? What were your experiences?
Yes! I was an exchange student for a year in high school, and I lived with a host family above the Arctic Circle in Norway. I had never been out of North America before, so it was a totally new experience for me. Before I left, I studied Norwegian privately for a few months, and then all the exchange students attended a two-week language boot camp that gave us a rudimentary foundation in basic grammar and vocabulary. After that we were sent to our home-stays and our adventures began. I felt particularly lucky, because instead of enrolling in the regular high school, I was able to attend the local art school. I studied traditional Norwegian textile design and weaving, and I took classes in color and form, painting, drawing, and many other arts and crafts. It was a remarkable experience that transformed the way I saw the world and myself in it.
That's awesome. I had the chance to spend a semester in Bath, England and it was fantastic.
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
I would love to visit Iceland. I once spent a magical 24 hours there, but it only whetted my appetite for more. I’d also love to explore Greece and Turkey. My degrees are both in theater, and I’d love to visit some of the ancient sites. And of course I’d love to go back to Norway and explore more of Scandinavia. There is so much rich history and culture to dive into.
Oh, I would like to visit Iceland too!
This was such an emotional read, did you have a hard time writing pieces of it?
Did it make you cry?
Honestly, this book just flowed out of me. It was truly one of the most stress-free creative endeavors I’ve ever undertaken. The plot and storyline were entirely fictional, but I was already intimately acquainted with the emotional experiences of the character. It wasn’t hard to translate to the page, and poetry was the perfect vehicle.
Was it hard shifting from middle grade stories to write a YA?
It wasn’t difficult, in part because my ALONE books are already considered upper middle grade, and also because I don’t actually think too much about category as I’m writing. I try to be true to the story that wants to be told, and later I consult with my agent and editor to confirm where it belongs in the market. And if anything, writing YA was slightly easier because I didn’t have to take care of the reader in the same way. With middle grade, I’m always cognizant of young readers who might need certain topics handled with care. Knowing this book was for a slightly more mature audience, I felt free to let the story take me wherever it wanted to go.
That makes perfect sense.
What kind of research did you do for this book?
Was there a fact that didn't make it in, but was really interesting?
The research for this book was almost entirely from my own
lived experiences, so there wasn’t nearly as much external work required. I did
spend a lot of time making sure my Norwegian was correct and double-checking my
memories against the historical record. And I had to do some research into some
medical and technical terms. But mostly, it was going back through old photo
albums and letters, mining my own adolescence.
Yes, thanks for asking.
In addition to The Secret to Belonging, which comes out in
September, I’m excited to let readers know about a third book in the ALONE
series, which comes out in February. It’s called AFAR, and it’s another
companion novel, like AWAY. AFAR is about Emma, the third friend
from the ill-fated sleepover in ALONE. We follow her and her mother when
they evacuate to a compound in the mountains where her cousin River lives. It’s
a multi-format novel, and it’s told from two perspectives using verse and
prose. All three books can be read in any order, or each can stand alone. One
of my middle grade beta readers summed up the series this way: “ALONE is
an adventure, AWAY is a mystery, and AFAR is a thriller.” I think
that’s pretty accurate, and I hope readers will love both AFAR and The
Secret to Belonging when they come out.
Oh, I'm excited to hear this news. I loved both Alone and Away.
Thanks for chatting with me today!
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