Author Interview and Giveaway: YA Author - Megan Duncan

Hi everyone, today we bring you a new self-published author Megan Duncan. 

Released is her first book in the "Agents of Evil" Series that she published in April. 

Megan brings you all today a great interview and a chance to win a copy of her book.     

Megan Duncan's links:

• Website
• Facebook Page
• Twitter
• GoodReads

Welcome Megan!

Thank you for being here to talk about you and your new book, Released and for hosting such a great giveaway. I will be starting your book soon and hope to write a good review, but I must say I love the cover! I have some questions for you about Released and yourself to help my readers find out who you are and what your book is all about. 

Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

My name is Megan Duncan, of course, and I love to read and write fantasy, paranormal romance and sci-fi.  I have been writing since I knew how to write and recently decided to self-publish, which I have been incredibly happy I did.

What was your inspiration for this book?

The inspiration for Released came from my love of apocalyptic stories and movies.  When I did some research I saw that so many were about zombies, so I decided to step away from the pack and do my own little unique twist.

Do you have a favorite scene or character from this book?

I think one of the funnest scenes to write was the fight in the cabin, where the group is attacked by small gremlin-like demons who were inspired by the movie Gremlins.  My favorite character is a tie between Abby and Max.  I love them so much and I have big plans for them in book two.

Where do you do your writing? Is there anything you need to have with you while you write?

I do my writing on my desktop, but I also have a laptop that I use quite often as well.  I really like to listen to music that I feel fits the mood of my story and it helps get me into my "writing trance" I like to call it.  For some strange reason I also love to have a nice cold pepsi or a big cherry slurpee when I write :-)

What was the most challenging part of writing this book?

I think the most challenging part for writing Released was creating an accurate path of travel for the group.  They travel from Washington, south to New Mexico.  I researched actual road maps and named real cities on those roads that they stopped in.  I wanted the story to be accurate as possible.  I also tried very hard to make Max and Abby's relationship to grow naturally and not force nor make it overshadow the main story.

What made you decide you wanted to do self-publishing?

I decided to self-publish in November of 2010.  I had heard very little of self-publishing until I had read Switched by Amanda Hocking.  She was such a young author I thought I would look her up to see who published her work and thought perhaps to send them a manuscript only to discover she was an independent author.  From there I soaked up all the information I could from blogs and independent authors whom I met that were incredibly helpful and friendly.

Do you have a favorite book or author that you’re always recommending to people?

I have two favorite authors; Terry Goodkind and Anne McCaffrey.  I have read Terry's Sword of Truth series twice.  The book I have most recently recommended was Uglies.

When writing a book do you plan it out before you start or do you just begin and see where the story and characters take you?

I go back and forth on this.  I have tried creating an outline as I have seen many authors recommend but it doesn't always work for me, so I have a marker board that I use to create my plot.  I usually only stick with major plot points, giving myself ample room to switch things up.  I like to have a lot of freedom when I write.

 How long on average does it take you to write a book?

Since I have started to self-publish it takes me a bit longer, but on average I would say about 2-2 1/2 months.

What are your plans for the future? Any other awesome ideas for books that you can share with us?

I have quite a few books planned for the future.  I am almost finished with the first book in a vampire series that I plan to be 3-4 books long.  It is called Savor.  I love this series because it goes in a different direction than any YA vampire novel I have seen.  I also am plotting a fantasy series about a multitude of mythical creatures, which I hope to have out by the beginning of 2012.  And last but not least I am plotting a werewolf series that I want to have out by next summer.  I haven't seen a YA werewolf series so I am excited to bring something unique to readers.

Just for fun: If you could have one super power what would it be?

Hmm... This is a very good question.  I think if I could have one super power I would want to read peoples thoughts like Prof. Xavier. 

Do you have any closing thoughts or final remarks you’d like to share with my readers?

I would just like to thank you for giving me the opportunity for this interview and to all those readers who enjoyed Released.  It means so much to me to see people who liked my story and it only fuels the fire for my future writing. 

Thank you Megan for taking the time to answer questions for us today. So now comes the extra fun part. Megan is offering a copy of Released to one lucky winner. Make sure to stop by and say Hello to Megan today. 

( giveaway copy of Released is offered as PRINT / or e-book. Winners choice! )

To Enter: 

• Leave a comment about the interview.  (to add comments click on pink talk bubble above post)
• MUST be a follower ( new or old )
• Open to US/Canada/international
• Leave your email address
• Giveaway will end 7/23 at Midnight

Want extra entries? 

Get +1 for each of the following.

1. Follow me on Twitter @SyCo4Twilight

2. Share this giveaway. (twitter, facebook, blog, ect.)

Please leave only one comment for everything and be sure to add URL's of where you shared this giveaway as well as your GFC name, and twitter name.