Interviews

May 2023 - Interview with L Meredith

Hello, everyone! Welcome back to another episodes of Interview With The Author.

It's your gal here, sufiena1608 and I'm thrilled to introduce our esteemed guest, the talented and captivating author, L. Meredith lmeredithwrites!

So, without further ado, let us embark on this exhilarating exploration of imagination and artistry. Join me in welcoming the one and only L. Meredith to our stage.

Sufie (S) : Hello, L. Meredith I wanted to extend my congratulations once again for the inclusion of your captivating story, "An Unkindness of Ravens," in our Book of the Month May issue.

L.Meredith (L) : Oh my gosh, thank you so much for this opportunity and for loving my book. It means that world to me!

S : Let's go back to where it all began. What inspired you to become a writer? How did you start your writing journey?

L : I've always loved the written word. I learned to read young, and as soon as I could do it by myself, I was gone to new worlds. Funny enough, this might age me but, it was Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen who inspired me to write. I loved all their movies and shows, and decided I wanted to write a twin story, so I created The Adventures of Hannah and Claire when I was about ten. They didn't go anywhere, but if I ever write middle-grade novels, maybe I'll come back to them! My love of writing only grew from there as more ideas came, and I read more novels and got a feel for what I really loved to write about: human relationships.

S : Do you have any story that you have written is your favourite? If yes, what makes it hold a special place in your heart?

L : Oh man! I have to pick between all my babies? Each of my novels hold a special place in my heart for varying reasons.

Killorglin (which originally was on Wattpad but has since been re-mastered and re-released on Amazon) was the first romance novel I wrote where I really felt like I nailed the tension building a romance needs. Not to mention, I've always wanted to travel to Ireland, particularly Killorglin for Puck Fair, so to get to live it through my characters was fun.

For the Love of Art won all the awards and got all the recognition, and so it really felt like the first time I felt confident in my ability to write romance.

One Last Night tackled a subject very near and dear to my heart, and that's having an alcoholic father. The main character's journey was different to mine, but we both sacrificed the same dream. The book really was a catharsis for me.

Reed was just fun to write. I love medical romances, so why not?

An Unkindness of Ravens was my first time tackling a subject that I'd been scared to tackle, motherhood. I'm very proud of myself for not only completing the project, but having people tell me that it made them feel exactly how I wanted them to fee.

S : Do you look forward to pursuing themes or genres outside of your comfort zone or personal preference? If so, what are some examples?

L : I probably always will be a romance writer, but I do have some pots on the stove that are outside of being just your typical contemporary steamy romance. I don't want to give too much away as I don't have release dates in mind for these novels yet, but I'm very excited to share them. It's definitely been good for me to step outside my comfort zone because I will never grow in my comfort zone.

S : How do you handle writer's block or moments of creative stagnation? Do you have any techniques or strategies to overcome these challenges?

L : Funny enough, I wrote An Unkindness of Ravens during a time like this. I had been struggling with my writing and at the time I was read a book called Well Matched where a dad reaches out to his estranged daughter, but the plot fell off like halfway through the book and the conclusion left much to be desired and the rest of the book, while really well done, wasn't quite as exciting. I ultimately asked myself, "What if the dad coming back WAS the plot?"

An Unkindness of Ravens became my Bride and Prejudice (which if you don't know, Bride and Prejudice is a reimagining of Pride and Prejudice. Basically it was, take EVERYTHING from Pride and Prejudice, and put it in India and to this day it's my favourite retelling of Pride and Prejudice). So, I did the same. I took the events in Well Matched and reimagined them for An Unkindness of Ravens. By reimagining this book I was able to break free from my creative burnout and just have fun writing. That's always my advice, write, but do something that's just for fun.