Yes, I write under many names: Megan Crane, Caitlin Crews, M.M. Crane, and Hazel Beck. But no matter the name, the story is always all mine. Why do I write under a variety of names? I have Reasons.
I discovered my first romance novel at the age of twelve in a bargain bin at the local five and dime. It involved swashbuckling pirates having grand adventures on the open sea, a heroine with a mind of her own, and a seriously masterful hero who swept her away no matter how clever she was.
I was immediately smitten with romance and all the romantic themes I could get my hands on. (I still am.)
I had grand plans to star on Broadway — preferably in Evita, just like the great Patti LuPone. Sadly, my inability to wow audiences with my singing voice required a back up plan, so I launched myself into academics instead. This was not a good fit for someone who liked lounging about and reading books a lot more than dissecting them in classrooms, but it did allow me to live in England for half a decade, so I can’t complain.
Writing (and finishing!) my first book was a relief. And actually publishing that book was one of the greatest thrills of my life.
Now I’m more than 100 books in, I’m still a romance fanatic, it still thrills me to see my books on shelves, and yes, I’m still plotting my Broadway debut.
If you’re new to my books, try starting here.
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Are you going to write in some other genre or about my favorite secondary character?
Maybe.
Whether or not I write something depends on two things: if the story comes to me and if I have time to dig into it.
If I come up with an amazing story for something or someone, of course, I’ll try to find the time. Never say never!
Why don’t you write more essays?
I had a lot of fun writing the essays for It’s A Wonderful Lie and Everything I Needed to Know About Being A Girl I Learned from Judy Blume, but one of the things I learned while doing them was that I much prefer the veil of fiction. My chick lit books are written in the first person, which makes them feel as if they’re true and accurate accounts of a life that might be mine, but they’re not. I like it that way.
Update: Well, never say never. I got the opportunity to write a little essay about Paris, so there’s another nonfictional and unveiled story of mine to read in A Paris All Your Own. Because it’s a personal rule of mine that I never, ever, say no to Paris.
I read that there were timeline issues in Devil’s Honor. Why can’t you fix that?
Because they don’t exist.
In the prologue, “five years ago,” we’re in Greeley’s point of view but Merritt explicitly states that she’s twenty-two years old. And Greeley spends some time thinking about how he really, really doesn’t want her to leave him to go to law school.
I think the confusion arises from the fact Merritt went off to college at eighteen. She visited here and there, as you do, and then spent that crucial summer in Lagrange before law school. The five years she was gone were three years in law school, then two more years in New York City working in that firm.
The timeline works, I promise!
I love pictures. I take a lot of them.
Interviews
And here are some other items of note:
- Video: A fun Valentines Day interview on 5 Things Friday.
- Video: The Gregory Mantell Show, it's not super new, but I'd still say all the same stuff on the subject of Frenemies.
- Caitlin discusses The Return of the Di Sione Wife with BookTrib.
- Video: My Process (as Megan and Caitlin, on Conversations with Cupid)
- Podcast: Action and Emotion (as Megan, with my husband Jeff, on the Nerd Out podcast)
- On Shame and the Romance Heroine (as Caitlin, on Dear Author)
- Falling in love with the Rodeo (as Megan, a guest on Jane Porter's blog)
