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.
If you are looking for information for journalistic/editorial purposes, view my media kit.
What’s your favorite book of the ones you’ve written?
I won’t say I love all my books the same, because I don’t, but my feelings about them are complicated.
Some books I love while I’m thinking about them in advance. Some books I love while I’m writing them. Some books are pure torture all the way through, and I only have fond feelings for them when they’re in my hands. Some books I will hate forever, and other books make me grin for no apparent reason.
But I’d never want to weight a reader’s experience of a book one way or the other, so I don’t want to say which is which.
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 hate Jessa from Majesty, Mistress…Missing Heir. I hate the ending. Why did you do that?
I wrote about this at I Heart Presents if you’d like to read about the writing of that story.
But here’s a short and (warning!) spoilery answer:
I think that adopted families are just as real as blood families. I don’t think blood parents should be able to show up and change their minds years later, no matter if their circumstances have changed, because I don’t think that’s fair to the child. I loved that while Jessa and Tariq had to live with the consequences of the choices they made the first time around, they would always know that their child was loved and treasured and taken care of… and they could see this with their own eyes!
In my mind, there are no secrets in the family after a few years, and that means little Jeremy has two sets of adults who love him. I can’t think of a happier ending.
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)
