I'm excited to announce the blog tour for Skylark by Megan Michelle. This book is perfect for powerful women reclaiming their voices who want heat, depth, and raw emotion in their books. Today, we're sharing an interview with the author and giving you a chance to win a copy of the novel!
Before we interview the author, here's a bit more about the book:
Being the first female Navy SEAL is no easy job, but someone's got to dismantle the patriarchy. Rachel Ryker, call sign ‘Skylark,’ can outrun and outgun just about anybody, and with her second in command, Christopher Williams, by her side, she’s practically unstoppable. Christopher would follow Rachel to hell and back… or maybe just to the Middle East. When a top-secret malware code is stolen from the CIA, Rachel and Christopher lead their SEAL team through the Middle East in an attempt to recover it.
They both have their own reasons for fighting, but as the team gets closer to finding the stolen malware, Rachel discovers that the man they're looking for may be closer to her than she thinks. Will Rachel’s obsession with completing their mission override her common sense and cause her to lose sight of what is really important- keeping women and children safe from the oppressive patriarchy they are all living in?
With secrets, pride, and a strict no-fraternization policy keeping them apart, falling in love would mean sacrificing everything Rachel and Christopher have worked for. But when Rachel gets injured in combat, everything changes. Now Rachel will have to choose: does her devotion to the Navy outweigh her love for Christopher?
PUBLISHER: Bound Books LLC
ASIN: B0DKB5QGB3
ISBN-10: 8988886129
ISBN-13 979-8988886129
Print Length: 459 pages
You can purchase on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Bookshop.org. You can also add it to your GoodReads reading list.
About the Author, Megan Michelle
Stay in touch with this author by subscribing to her website's newsletter and following her on Instagram.
-- Interview by Nicole Pyles
WOW: Congrats on your novel, Skylark. I loved how your novel idea came to be and when/how you started writing. It's such a story of overcoming and accomplishing your dreams. Can you share that with our readers?
Megan: I always knew I was going to write something—be an author, I guess—ever since third grade when my teacher was really focused on teaching us creative writing. I never had an idea that I thought was good enough, nothing that really drove the writing process. I think if you have to force it, either the idea isn’t right, or the timing isn’t right.
In the fall of 2022, I had to have open heart surgery to correct a congenital heart defect. I really wasn’t looking forward to it and had done my best to postpone and avoid the surgery. About six weeks after the surgery, I was lying in bed, in the dark, struggling with light sensitivity, dizziness, and a whole other host of side effects—all I was taking was Alive, Tylenol, and a beta blocker, but I couldn’t function. I couldn’t be on the computer or watch TV. For weeks, I just stayed in bed, and this story came to me like a daydream—a movie playing in my head sort of. It got so advanced, so intricate, that I grabbed my phone, turned the brightness down, opened a Google Doc, and started typing. The story just sort of came out full force and nonstop like a gift from the universe or something. Within a couple of months, I had about seven full novels more or less outlined.
WOW: I loved that the book played like a movie in your head. What great pre-writing! I love your main character. She's so strong and courageous. Did anyone help this character take shape?
Megan: I would say no. The people who know me best, especially those who read early versions, would tell you that Rachel Ryker and I are very similar. I’m definitely not as cool as Rachel is. Not by a long shot, but the feminist anti-establishment values? Sure, I guess we’re similar!
WOW: That's awesome. What did the editing and revising process look like for you? When did you know you were done?
Megan: This was really a huge learning curve for me. I had written a first draft of Skylark and then saw an ad on Facebook for The Women in Publishing Summit and thought, oh, maybe I should participate in that? The conference was online and affordable, so I participated in as many sessions as I could and joined the Facebook group. I posted in the group asking what do I do now that I wrote this thing? A woman, Mallori, commented explaining how to find an editor, common rates for different types of editing, turns out, she and I clicked instantly, so I hired her. I sent her the first draft of Skylark and said, “If it’s bad and I should quit, please let me know.” She loved it! She had a lot of suggestions, but the core of what was in that first draft is still in the published book.
Mallori did a developmental edit for me, looked at what was working and what wasn’t, the structure of the story plot and romantic plot, found some plot holes, etc. Then I revised and had her do a second developmental edit because I was a bit lost and tangled up. Also, I wasn’t really getting that when your editor says to cut something, you should just do it. We finally got the plot pinned down, again, the core plot points from that first draft are still the core plot points, which is cool. I did need to give Mallori an outline of the entire series so she could see where we're going.
After that, we did copy editing where Mallori fixed sentence structure, suggested better phrasing or better adjectives to use, and taught me all the nitty gritty bits about punctuation that I’d forgotten since high school English, the last time I was graded on any sort of creative writing.
WOW: That's quite the process! What inspired you to write a military fiction novel blended with romance?
Megan: I love military action-adventure books as well as romance or military romance. However, both genres frustrate me beyond belief! I was sick of reading about all these damsels in distress who need a guy to save them, then they’re trauma-bonded, and we swoon and call it a love story. Mind you, I read all of this religiously, but I would rather read a love story of two equal partners who save each other, who build a relationship on mutual respect and trust.
On the other hand, the action-adventure books always seem to have some hot girl FBI consultant or something, and none of the guys hit on her. Remarkably unrealistic in my opinion (my male friends in the military would disagree). I feel like that genre is missing the human element in a way, missing the mark on character development which, adding a tiny bit of romance in could correct, even if it’s just an innocent kiss at the end when both characters are excited and exhausted and overwhelmed after completing whatever mission they were on. So, I combined what I think are the best elements of each genre.
WOW: You did that so well, too. I found it interesting that you used BackerKit to launch your book. Why did you choose that platform, and how did it help your publication experience?
Megan: Someone had suggested crowdfunding as a way of essentially doing presales and getting money for your book upfront. We all know publishing is expensive. So, I hired a crowdfunding coach, and she helped me look at the different platforms: Kickstarter, IndieGoGo, and BackerKit. They’re all fairly similar, but I liked that BackerKit let you keep a preorder store open after your crowdfunding campaign, like having a built-in web shop for as long as you wanted, and you can add more products to it.
I was able to raise over $1500 through my BackerKit campaign, which helped cover the expense (not the entire expense) of printing special edition paperback copies of Skylark. It was a great way to do presales, but it does rely a lot on having an established audience—in my case, friends and family who wanted to support my author journey.
WOW: Great to know! Can you share why you think the romance genre is more than just an escape? I'd love to know what have you learned about yourself (or others, even) since publishing your novel?
Megan: I think romance teaches us a lot about ourselves, what we want in a relationship, and what we are looking for in a partner. It’s a good way to learn about boundaries: what will or won’t you tolerate in a relationship? Writing romance has let me explore a lot of what I want in a partner, a lot about my own behavior, and toxic traits. What I like or don’t like about myself, and what qualities in a partner would be non-negotiable for me.
It helps to set the bar in a way. I’ve heard this from a lot of women who read romance and heard the criticism from men that “romance isn’t realistic.” Well . . . maybe it should be? Maybe men need to realize that women are writing and reading the types of characters they wish existed? Emotionally intelligent, respectful, good listeners, trust me, we haven’t set the bar that high!
WOW: So true! Where do you like to write? Can you share photos?
Megan: I write at home in my somewhat messy home office or at my kitchen island. There are usually notebooks and post-its everywhere! I also do some of my best writing when I’m out for a walk. My head just clears, and then random character dialogue starts playing in my head, and I have to pull out my phone to write it all down, then figure out where in the series it fits once I’m home.
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WOW: How exciting. I can't wait to read it. What are you working on now that you can tell us about?
Megan: Book two in the series, Born in Blood, just came out on Amazon, and I just ordered special edition copies to be printed. (I need everything to be pretty, I can’t help it!) Book three in The SEAL Saga, All Roads Lead to Hell, is in progress. The entire series keeps Rachel and Christopher as main characters (another thing that irritates me about the romance genre!)
On top of that, I’m writing a short story for the Heroes, Holidays, and Hope (Vol. 3) anthology. We are a group of Veterans and Veterans' family members who are also bestselling and award-winning romance authors. We put our group together to publish a yearly limited edition, military romance collection set around various holidays. Each volume supports a military and veteran-related charity. I am so honored to have been selected to participate! My short story for this volume features a side character from book 2 and tells his love story. It’s sort of a light intro to Megan Michelle and the Skylark universe.
WOW: Thank you so much for chatting with me today. Best of luck on your tour and your book!
-- Blog Tour Calendar
July 28 @ The Muffin
Visit the Muffin for our blog tour launch of Skylark by Megan Michelle. We're interviewing the author and giving you a chance to win a copy of her book.
July 29 @ Words by Webb
Visit Jodi's blog for insights on word choices, featuring books like Skylark by Megan Michelle.
August 1 @ Words by Webb
Join Jodi for her review of Skylark by Megan Michelle. You won't want to miss this exciting romance!
August 4 @ Writer Advice
Visit Lynn's blog for a guest post by Megan Michelle on what romance in fiction can teach you about yourself.
August 4 @ Tracey Lampley's blog
Visit Tracey's blog for an interview with author Megan Michelle about her book Skylark.
August 8 @ Word Magic
Come by Fiona's blog for a guest post by author Megan Michelle on whether a funding campaign is a good choice for your novel.
August 10 @ A Wonderful World of Words
Visit Joy's blog for an excerpt of Megan Michelle's Skylark.
August 11 @ Storey Book Reviews
Stop by Leslie's blog for a guest post by Megan Michelle on writing during times of stress.
August 13 @ Create Write Now
Visit Mari's blog for a guest post by Megan Michelle on the topic of mental health.
August 13 @ Avonna Loves Genres
Visit Avonna's blog for her review of Skylark by Megan Michelle.
August 14 @ The Faerie Review
Visit Lily's blog for her spotlight of Skylark by Megan Michelle.
August 15 @ What Is That Book About?
Join Michelle on her blog to catch an excerpt of Skylark by Megan Michelle.
August 17 @ Chapter Break
Visit Julie's blog for an interview with author Megan Michelle about her book Skylark.
August 18 @ Book Reviews Cafe
Visit the Book Reviews Cafe's blog for a review of Megan Michelle's book Skylark.
August 20 @ Just Katherine
Visit Katherine's blog for her response to our blog tour prompt on how she finally found the one.
You can also read a guest by Megan Michelle on finding time to write when you are too busy.
August 22 @ Choices
Visit Madeline's blog for a guest post by Megan Michelle on encouraging good mental health during writing routines.
August 24 @ Lisa Haselton's Reviews and Interviews
Visit Lisa's blog for an interview with author Megan Michelle.
August 28 @ Boys' Mom Reads
Join Karen for her book review of Skylark by Megan Michelle.
August 31 @ Silver's Reviews
Join Elizabeth's blog for a spotlight of Skylark by Megan Michelle.
***** BOOK GIVEAWAY *****
Enter to win a copy of Skylark by Megan Michelle! Fill out the Rafflecopter form for a chance to win. The giveaway ends August 10th at 11:59 CT. We will choose a winner the next day and announce it in the Rafflecopter widget as well as follow up via email. Good luck!
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