1a. Hello Megan! How long have you been writing books and approximately how many books have you traditionally published?

Hello and thanks for having me! I started out as a poet, and over the years I published a lot of poems in literary journals and anthologies. I also had a chapbook published with a small poetry press back in 2015. And then my first novel, ALONE, came out in 2021. Since then I’ve published a second novel, and I have four more forthcoming over the next two years.

1b. You write mostly middle grade novels, correct? What draws you to write for this age group?

I love writing for middle grade readers, and I love engaging with school librarians and educators at conferences and school visits. I was a teacher for almost thirty years, so to be doing work that excites kids to read or helps them fall in love with books is one of the greatest joys I can imagine. And I’m looking forward to my first young adult book coming out next month, called The Secret to Belonging. It’s fun to imagine readers maturing and continuing to find my books.

1c. What was the experience like of writing three companion books?

I actually never set out to write a series. I thought ALONE was a stand‐alone book, and after it published, I wrote several other manuscripts that had nothing to do with the story or the world. It wasn’t until I started doing school visits and hearing from readers that they were curious to know more about the world of ALONE that I started pondering the possibility of writing more. And my second book, AWAY, is a companion novel, not a sequel. The story takes place at the same time as the first book, and readers can read them in either order. And now there will be a third book, called AFAR, coming out in February. It’s also a companion novel, so readers will be able to start with any of the three books and read them in any order.

What would you say are the themes across all of your companion books?

Some of the big ideas I was interested in exploring include: loneliness, isolation, relationships, identity, integrity, resilience, justice, truth, analog vs. digital technologies, vulnerability, trust, safety, community, and critical thinking. These are just some of the topics that fascinate and pique my curiosity.

What is the significance of this message or these themes?

I think all of the ideas I listed above relate to challenges of growth and evolution, both for individuals, and for a society or civilization. We face a lot of tough questions in the twenty‐first century, and fiction is a way to explore those questions and imagine different kinds of futures.

What do you want children to understand or learn from the companion books?

I don’t have a specific agenda for my books, other than to hope they will inspire young people to fall in love with reading. If they after they finish my book they can’t wait to pick up another one and keep going, that’s a dream come true.

How do your books and themes highlight and deliver these important lessons? Do your books have similar important themes?

Several of my characters are readers and find comfort in reading. I like naming real books and writers within my stories so that readers might be inspired to go out and find them. And I’ve seen a few wonderful displays in school libraries where the librarian has collected many of the books mentioned in the stories and pulled them together for students to browse. I want to create a contagious love of reading.

Any new books or events on the horizon that you want to mention? In addition to Afar, which is the next book in the Alone Bundle, what else is happening? I assume there will be a release event or several events for Afar, too. Please let readers know about book events that will happen in the coming Fall, Winter, and Spring.

My young adult debut, The Secret to Belonging, releases September 15. It’s the story of a high school girl in a dysfunctional family, and all she wants to do is graduate and go to college. Then her parents use her college fund to pay for her brother’s drug rehab, so she gets a scholarship to become an exchange student and starts a new life with a family above the Arctic Circle in Norway. I will be celebrating that book at events and conferences throughout the fall, and then AFAR releases on February 23. Readers can find details of all my events on my website at MeganEFreeman.com

How can people purchase your books?

My books are available at any independent bookstore or online, and folks can order signed and personalized copies through the Boulder Bookstore here in Colorado.

So, I like to encourage comments on my blog posts by offering something to one of the people who reads and comments on it. Authors either offer an AMA session, a critique, or a free book? What would you like to offer to the lucky person who comments on your blog and wins?

I’m happy to send someone a copy of signed and personalized copy of AWAY (continental U.S. only). Thanks so much for engaging in the comments!

Any other words, phrases, or thoughts you want to share?

Thanks so much for having me, and for all you do for readers and authors!

Thank you!!!!