The Dragon’s Call Giveaway Event is still running and today Author Megan Russ has graciously joined us. Please check out the interview, then head to the event and join in the giveaway below!
K.W. McCabe – Hello, and thank you for being willing to share your story today. Please tell us a little about yourself.
M. Russ – I’m Megan Russ, a mother of three humans and five fur babies. I have been writing since I was a child, and self-published when I was a teen although none of those are available any more. I enjoy reading just about anything but enjoy writing Dark Fantasy Horror the most.
I have written two standalone short story collections :
Shadows of the Great Basin: A Haunting Collection of Desert Tales and Night Creature’s Lair. I also have two standalone Novellas:
Finding Forgiveness (Fantasy) and Waves of Green (Horror). I have been published in Volumes 1-7 of Terror Monthly, along with The Best of Terror Monthly, and I have short stories in three of the Writer’s Unite Anthologies.
Soon I will have a novel debut in June, leading into an entire saga series that will continue to be released over the coming years.
K.W. McCabe – When did you first start your writing journey and what inspires you?
M. Russ – I started writing when I was 8 on a typewriter. When my parents got our first in home computer, my father was kind enough to show me how to use Word and save my documents on a Floppy Drive (yes, I used floppies lol).
My first story I successfully finished was called The Rabbit and a Horse. This little story was for a school contest that I won, and the story was published in the school library. After that, I thought I had what it took to be an author.
Some of my favorite authors got started early, I thought I could too. Well fast forward thirty years, and here I am restarting my writing career from scratch.
My inspiration has sprouted from lots of different places. My short stories are usually inspired by the theme of the story or a dream. My upcoming novel is inspired by a private Dungeons and Dragons game that me and my husband play in our spare time.
K.W. McCabe – Can you walk us through your process and how you approach writing a new book?
M. Russ – I do not outline. I tried that in the past and I found that it stifles my creativity to lock myself into a box. What I do for short stories and find the start and find my conclusion and write until I find it. This has led to some short stories that are not so short.
For the novels I am currently working on I have a plan for each book. I have scenes I want to include listed in the order they happened. I just fill in the blanks between. During the editing process some of this is cut away or added to.
For writing itself I believe that discipline is necessary just like most passion it is all about the amount of time you put into it. I try to dedicate at least an hour in the morning to write prior to anyone else in my home being awake. Not only do I feel closest to my characters right after I wake up, I find that the uninterrupted time has greatly improved my projects.
K.W. McCabe – That is a really key idea – to try to write immediately upon waking up. Perhaps because you are so close to the dream world. What or who would you say are your biggest influences and how do you stay inspired?
M. Russ – Other indie authors inspire me every day. Some of these authors are pumping out a book a month and I cannot imagine the dedication they put into their craft.
I stay inspired through music. I build playlists around my characters and their attitudes. This helps to draw me into points of their story and stay in that mindset going forward into their project.
One of my biggest influences is fantasy tabletop games. Prior to meeting my husband I would craft single games to help build my stories and what happened. Now I get to play out these stories with him and have feedback before the story ever touches paper.
K.W. McCabe – So basically you utilize the games as a world-building tool. Do you struggle with any challenges during your process? How do you push through them?
M. Russ – Time is, of course, a huge challenge. Working full time as an LMT and Mom requires me to make sure that I find time for my writing and creative outlets. Dedicating time specifically to writing has helped this. I wake up at 530 in the morning and tend to write or try to write until 7am. I try to remove all distractions during this time, no social media until after my writing time. Just me, music, and some water to hydrate.
Imposter Syndrome is the other big one. The IS hits at the oddest time. Sometimes for no reason at all. When the IS hits I remind myself that my writing won’t be for everyone, and that I am writing for me. What happens after I hit publish is on everyone else.
K.W. McCabe – joking: Honestly, Imposter Syndrome is how you know you’re a writer – if you don’t doubt yourself every second – are you even writing? But as you push through that, have you noticed any trends emerging in the publishing industry?
M. Russ – If we are talking about twenty years ago when I tried the first time. Self-publishing was just becoming a thing on Amazon. I self-published through their old third party Createspace. Now there are so many different places to self-publish, different websites promising more distribution. While these other places intrigue me I have stuck with the big A-Z.
Trend I actually find a little disturbing but that I understand: Indie authors trying to write what is popular on the market. I get it, if others are reading stories like it that should make yours more visible…I feel like that will make your book more invisible honestly. Also these trend writers are losing their hearts in these books they spit out. Every time I have read one of these indie author books that tries to follow the Big Publisher’s trends, their indie books seem flat and emotionless.
A trend I love: The support that indie authors are willing to give other authors. Twenty years ago it was all a contest, it was all drama(yes I know there is still drama) This time it seems there are many more that realize we are all in this together.
K.W. McCabe – I think the Indie Author community somehow has been able to flourish and continue to communicate in ways that are truly unique among niches. For authors out there, do you have any advice?
M. Russ – READ!!! Read all the time! If you dedicated an hour to writing you had better dedicate an hour to reading. Read other indie authors, read books on writing, read outside of your writing genre. I have seen so many authors that say “I don’t read, I just write” Yeah their books make that quite obvious.
K.W. McCabe – Reading is absolutely essential, I agree. How can you know what an engrossing plot looks like if you haven’t been emersed in one? How can you know what a compelling character looks like if you don’t fall in love with one? The best part about every story is the character’s arc and trajectory. So, tell us this: If you had to choose, what character have you written that became your favorite and why?
M. Russ – The upcoming FMC for my novel Shattered Peace.
Reed: This moon-elf has a special place in my heart. A circus runaway that joins a monastery for a better life. She is brave but allows her fear to shine through because one cannot be truly brave until they know fear.
K.W. McCabe- Are there any upcoming projects you’re excited about?
M. Russ – Oh yes! My upcoming Easter release is a short story collection named ‘Lore’. These short stories will help to build the lore for the Saga Series I am starting come June. Lore will include three short stories that take place around the same time as our first three sets of heroes. Along with a couple of stories that take place long ago in this world’s history. The goal is for six stories in total. Three are done, three are not so fingers crossed.
Miss-Fortunate Adventures begins with Shattered Peace book one of Balanced Fates. Shattered Peace will be released in June of 2025 and begin the Saga known as Miss-Fortunate Adventures. There will be multiple series following different main characters that will all eventually meet in the culmination of these adventures. Each series will follow the growth of our heroes from children to champions. A darkness is on the horizon, will our heroes rise before it is too late?
Goals for the future are to focus on Miss-Fortunate Adventures while still writing short stories for anthologies. Miss-Fortunate Adventures will be years in the making. I would love to release a book every couple of months but I do not want to rush this series either.
The Dragon’s Call Giveaway Event
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