Exclusive Interview with Author Bethany Meyer

What's this? A Saturday post? Why yes, my dear readers. This is a very special post for me to do, because today I have the great honor of interviewing my sister. And why is this so special? Because. . .

Today she is releasing her first book!

If that isn't cause for celebration, I don't know what is. Bring on the balloons and the party hats.

Here's the blurb and cover for you curious folks.

Lexie is good with computers- but is she good enough to save the world?

When she accidentally redirects the course of the American Space Station toward the planet, it will take all her skill and determination to fix her mistake- and save her cousin, who is still aboard. But with internet blackouts, computer viruses, and the space station hitting more flotsam every day, the task seems more and more impossible. But no one else is doing anything, so it seems she must do it all herself- or die trying.

One wrong keystroke might destroy us all.

And here is the link to the paperback and the ebook. (Which you should totally buy because it's completely awesome. Perfect for fans of mild sci-fi and space stuff.)

Let's get down to the interview!

Q: What was your inspiration for this story?

A: Crash and Burn is about a girl named Lexie who is on the ground as she tries to save her cousin on the space station. I don't exactly remember how the whole thing came to me since this was more than three years ago, but I think I started off thinking of the space station itself. I was doing a novel course, and the idea that came to me was, "What if there was a massive space station the size of a small moon circling the Earth? And then, what if. . . it crashed??" And then, because I always have to think outside the box, I made it not about the character on the space ship, but about the person on the ground who's worrying about them. And it just sort of grew from there.

Q: How long have you been writing it?

A: Two and a half years. I wrote this novel as my project for NaNoWriMo in the year 2016. Looking back at my first draft, I realize how bad it used to be, but since then, I've gone through about four different drafts and rewritten about 98% of it.

Q: What was the easiest part of this story and what was the hardest?

A: The easiest part of the story was the opening. I knew how I wanted it to begin and end for ages before I started it, and I even did a rough draft of the intro before I even knew I was doing it for NaNoWriMo. Not a lot from that original intro has changed, actually. The very last chapter, which is similar in style to that intro, went through a lot more changes, but that beginning has stayed mostly the same.

The hardest part of this story was trying to find Lexie's journey. I had started off with one set of values for her to learn, but they didn't seem right. I went through whole pages of character arc outlines before I finally figured it out.

Q: Tell me an interesting anecdote from writing this.

A: Buckle yourself in, this is going to be a little long. Do you remember the little fuzz-covered bears they used to have at craft stores for 23 cents each? I don't see them much anymore, but I do have three of them that sit in the organized chaos covering my desk. They keep me company. And during this NaNoWriMo, they somehow marched onto my laptop and stayed there. Every day, before struggling to reach my 1.6k, I arranged my three little bears across the bottom of my screen, black and cream and light brown, all in a row. As I got further along, I assigned roles. The light brown one was Lexie, the white one was Abby, and the black one was whatever other character was involved in the scene- Alf, a parent, or another character. They were always positioned according to how the characters were arranged in that scene. The brown and the black talking together, walking together, the cream one at a distance (always at a distance). Sometimes the scenes included props. Near the end of the book, I also collected an eight-inch Lego space shuttle from my room and set it up next to the bears until I reached 50k. For some reason, I elected to call my writing buddies trolls. And now every year, as I prep for NaNoWriMo, I find myself a 'troll' that has some sort of connection to the story and put on my laptop and keep me company. Every year.

Q: I know this is probably a horrible question, but who is your favorite character in the book?

A: I thought I had an answer, and then I thought of all the other characters, and now I'm not sure. I'm certain Abby is going to be a fan favorite because I loved her so much, but I guess at the end of the day, it would have to be a tough call between her and Lexie. They are so different but the same in all the right ways. Together they are amazing, and if I could pick them together as my favorite set of characters, I would.

Q: How similar are you to your main character?

A: Lexie is probably one of the most unlike-me characters I have ever written. Most of the fundamental aspects of her personality are aspects I don't have, or are aspects that are the polar opposite of me. She is extremely introverted, I am an extreme extrovert. She is a computer whiz, I am. . . not. But I think what we have in common that makes me able to relate to her are the insecurities that cripple her and the love that she needs to fuel her.

Q: What are you most excited for readers to see in your novel?

A: Tension-fueled moments of terror! Unexpected twists and turns! Heartfelt moments! Plane malfunctions! Multiple near-death experiences! Pick one!

Q: Now for a few more personal questions. How long have you been writing?

A: I started in the spring(?) of 2011. I'm not saying I was good back then, but I loved it, and love of writing is still what keeps me going 8 years later. The best part is, I can see some definite improvement in my writing. I'm not quite as crappy at it as I used to be, and even thought editing still isn't a party for me, it has definitely gotten easier. I'm not Tolkien yet, but I'm still trying!

Q: What do you love most about writing?

A: The open playing field, I think. There is so much room for interpretation and experimentation. You can break any rule of writing so long as you do it well. And there's always more room for different ideas, outside-the-box characters, and epic new settings.

Q: What do you like least?

A: How it doesn't come out perfect the first time? Like, what is with this?? Is it too much to ask that I just get it perfect the first time around and have to do absolutely nothing to change my masterpiece?

Q: Finally, if you could live in one of your worlds, which one would it be?

A: Hmm, if I had to choose, if I had to choose. . . (catch the Hamilton reference?) Every time I get this question, I realize that all my worlds could be much more interesting. But I think if I could live in one of my worlds, I would choose the world from my urban fantasy novel Spell City. You can order a coffee with a shot of inspiration! You can have a genie for a roommate! You run into centaurs at the mall! I need this in my life.

Congratulations, Bethany! Once again, here is the link to the ebook and paperback, and you can check out her blog here. I hope you check it out.

Do you like sci-fi books? Who is your favorite indie author? Tell me in the comments.