Inside Their Literary Thoughts: Featured Author is...:)))

Written by bibliophilekid 18:42 Post Comment

I know that I’ve been slacking around after the past months. I was being a sloth at those times, but I just call it standing still though. (You can’t blame me for this. haha) But by some fortunate events, I sent an Author and/or Character Interview request from my list of my favorite authors, then suddenly, the stars sparkled so bright when SHE replied to me. I adored her unique idea of taking a new course of fiction about Vivisection and same thing with romance. To tell you the truth, I was a bit scared when I was reading it. That’s why I loved it, it can simply display a horrific and romantic fiction that I’ve been wanting to read.

The author that I’m talking about is Megan Shepherd! Even though she’s busy with the revisions for the sequels and tours, I am delighted that she replied to my email. As a book blogger I really find it fascinating to exchange emails to the authors, it's one of a kind to get in touch with them and to know more than what is inside the book.

To tell you the truth, I even thought she won't reply of my email because I know that authors are totally busy once a trilogy starts, but as I *double* checked that she replied, I looked like this.

It was absolutely fascinating when I read her answers on my interviews because it is more than I expected.

Okay, I should better quit this babbling thoughts of mine. Now you can start reading my interview questions down here.

1. Did your first draft of The Madman's Daughter already started on the POV of Juliet from the start?

The original draft opened with a prologue that was a letter to the reader written by Juliet. It took place after she’d returned to London and was explaining why she told her story in The Madman’s Daughter. I liked the tone of the letter, but my editor felt it was unnecessary and better to start the book on Page 1, and I agreed. But the story was always from Juliet’s POV.

2. Why are you so interested in writing about Vivisection?

I’m not sure anyone wants to write about vivisection—it’s a terrible topic to research and write about. For this story, I felt it was necessary to show how demented Doctor Moreau had grown, and to show how truly dangerous and twisted a place the island was. I don’t come from a medical or science background, so I didn’t quite realize what I was getting into when I first started writing the book. Now I know more about vivisection and dissection than I ever want to!

3. I read once in your tweet that having a research about Vivisection could bring nightmares. So how do you handle nightmares about it?

Luckily I stopped having vivisection nightmares after writing the first book in the series. But the third book is loosely inspired by Frankenstein, and so I’m researching and writing about galvanism instead (reanimation of dead flesh), which is just as nightmare-inducing! Whenever I wake up after having had a disturbing nightmare, I try to hold onto that unsettled feeling and use it in my writing to help capture mood.

4. Why did you choose the name of the characters according to Shakespeare's novel?

I had already named Juliet, so the idea of Shakespeare was always in the back of my head. I had the idea that if Doctor Moreau named all his creations after Shakespearean characters, readers would think about Juliet’s name and naturally wonder if maybe she was a creation too. I thought it would add some mystery and twists, and I also love adding other literary references.

5. What are the books that inspired you to write?

I loved reading the classics when I was a teenager. Books like COUNT OF MONTE CHRISTO, ROBINSON CRUSOE, short stories by Edgar Allan Poe, and some romantic books like Diana Gabaldon’s OUTLANDER series. I admired a lot of science fiction as well, because that’s often where you find truly original ideas about the world.

6. Can you give us a simple message to your Filipino fans/readers?

I’ve been overwhelmed by the positive response the book has gotten among Filipino fans. I want to thank everyone for giving the book a read, and I hope you pick up and enjoy the second book in the series, HER DARK CURIOSITY, as well!