Watty Awards 2012 Interviews - Round Two

MeghanMRiley - nominated for best Undiscovered Gems - Science Fiction

Ana: Welcome back everybody. I’m here with my next guest, MeghanMRiley. 

*MeghanMRiley, dressed in her favorite Firefly t-shirt, jeans, and a snazzy brown coat waves to the crowd. By her side a ninja dressed in black stands silent and reserved.*

Ana holds her hand out to the ninja: Do I know you? *the ninja folds his arms across his chest and turns his head away* Hmmmm, I thought I knew all the ninja’s on here.

 MeghanMRiley pats the ninja’s chest: He’s the strong silent type. But I'll get some backlash if I didn’t bring him.

 Ana: You might get some backlash now that you have. Well moving on, Your story 'Anna' has been nominated for best Science Fiction in Undiscovered Gems. How did you react to the news?

 MeghanMRiley: I'd just rolled out of bed to check my messages on my phone and saw a notification from Prisim saying I made it. So, it was an incoherent, "Oh my God! Gotta see! Gotta see!" More like, "Ohmmm-gah! Gotsy! Gotsy!"

 Ana: Prism was through earlier. I’m sure you’d find her some where inside. She left something on the orange carpet but not to worry, I’ve got it tucked away in a safe place for her.

 MeghanMRiley: I’ll let her know when I get inside.

 Ana: There’s no hurry. Tell us, what’s your story about?

 MeghanMRiley:  My story is about a girl named - Can you guess? Her dad died in Afghanistan and she's been helping her mother raise her brother ever since. She's very protective of them, but is starting to feel the adult world - college, love, her future - pulling her away. So, she's trying to deal with that. At the same time, strange things start to happen. She tries to explain them away, because she's very science minded, but it doesn't work for her. There are a lot of surprises and twists. I've even had people who don't usually read scifi tell me they enjoyed it. I'm in the process of writing the sequel.

 Ana: Is Sci-fi your favourite genre to write?

 MeghanMRiley: Yes. I grew up reading Arthur C. Clarke and others like him. I also feel like I learn as I write, because I've done a lot of research right down to can an Earth-like planet have two moons? You'd be surprised by all the factors you need to consider. I've spent hours researching for one sentence.

 Ana: Sounds tiring. Did you ever get writers block? 

 MeghanMRiley:A lot.

Ana: How did you get through it?

MeghanMRiley:I started it as a NaNoWriMo project. That taught me to just get the story out. Don't worry about the little stuff. You can always go back and edit it.

Ana: I admire anyone who enters NaNoWriMo. I don’t have the attention span or the dedication to write that many words in a month.

MeghanMRiley: It takes stamina. I think I just saw Prism in the doorway, gotta go.

Ana: Ok sure. One last question before you go. Can you tell us quickly a little about yourself?

MeghanMRiley: I'm 29. I live in North Carolina, USA. I have a dog and two cats. I really have to get in. Bye.

 Ana:  Thanks so much for your time MeghanMRiley. If want to check out MeghanMRiley’s story ‘Anna’ then you can either click on the external link on the right of the screen or you can click on dedication picture above. Give it a read so you know your favorites come Awards voting time.