This past week Megan Fatheree’s new book “The Half-Shape Child” came out, and just last week you had the chance to read my fanfiction for it. Megan Fatheree was kind enough to take time to give this fangirl a behind-the-scenes glimpse of her story. Check out the interview:
ALS: Tell me about your book.
Megan: Wow, you cut right to the hard stuff, don’t you? Okay, let’s see… The Half-Shape Child (THSC) is a story of friendship, true love, and a never-give-up attitude. It’s a journey through space and a tale of redemption. There’s action, alien creatures, some romance and a lot of other fun stuff. I’m trying not to give too much away here!
ALS: What genre would you say THSC is?
Megan: I would call it Sci-Fi, but others might put other sub-genres on it. Either way, I tend to just call it Young Adult fiction since it covers so many areas of other genres.
ALS: How did you come up with the idea for this story?
Megan: This is actually a really interesting question, because usually I don’t know how I come up with story ideas, but I can nail down the exact moment that I had this idea. It started with a Pinterest post with an idea about “what if your soulmate had a necklace that got colder when they were farther away from you and warmer when they were closer, and when you were ready you could go on a journey to find this person”. It evolved from there.
ALS: With all the different genres THSC covers, who would really love this book? What types of readers do you see reading (and re-reading) this?
Megan: From the beginning, I’ve known this book has fandom potential. As soon as I wrote the first draft, I knew this book needed to be loved by hordes of amazing fangirls. So, in reply to this question, I think that the people who would REALLY love this book are those from the ages of 13 to 25. I don’t know why, but that’s the age range I feel would love this book the most.
ALS: Oh yay, I just make the cut. But next year I still plan on loving THSC 🙂 Who is your favorite character? Why?
Megan: OH Come on, Amy! That’s like asking me to choose my favorite child! For the sake of time, I’ll tell you my top 3 – the main characters. Collin because he’s loyal and thoughtful and an all-around good guy. Henry because he’s funny. Really funny. And Terra because I fell in love with her story from the first word of this book. She’s complicated, but she has depth.
ALS: Henry is hilarious! And is there a character you love to hate?
Megan: There are two actually. First of all, Madame Kowalsky. I have to confess, before this book I had never written a character I actually despised. There were times when I wanted to strangle the woman, and I created her! She’s maniacal, diabolical, and ominous. I love her so much! Also, Kelvin. He’s kind of a background character, but he’s loyal to the wrong people for the wrong reasons. I’m with Terra, he should be shot.
ALS: Is there any backstory scenes that you had to cut out of the finished piece?
Megan: I tend to reveal backstory through the current story, so no backstory had to be cut out. However, there was this great scene toward the end where Collin was rounding up people for a posse of sorts and he went to get Dulsa. They had this great dialogue and Dulsa offered to pay him back in “cash or ploosh”. I miss that scene.
ALS: How many times did you cry writing THSC? How many times did you laugh? How many times did you worry that your characters were going to die on you?
Megan: I cried at least thrice. (That’s 3 times, for the less literary). All three times were because of strong emotional scenes that I wish I could explain but shan’t for those who haven’t read it yet. At least 2 involved a death, that’s all I’ll say. I laughed a lot. Pretty much, if Henry’s in a scene you’re going to get a funny line or reaction. I love writing humorous reactions to things, so those are in there too. And sarcasm is my friend. I worried that my characters would die a lot. There’s an entire scene dedicated to how much I worried that Collin would die on me. I’m still worried Henry might not make it. We’ll see how it goes in book 2.
ALS: Not Henry! :’( Say it isn’t so.
For this story, you invented so many different things. What’s the favorite thing you created for this fictional world – whether creature, techie object, planet, etc.?
Megan: I think the one object I’m most proud of creating all on my own is the Solar Ray gun that Terra uses. And it’s only in one scene! I was like, “Solar rays. They’d literally burn you to a pile of ash. Yes, this has to go in there!” Really, really proud of that one.
ALS: That is a really cool invention that I hope I never encounter in real life. Is there anything else you want the readers to know?
Megan: Yes. I know I left a few things open-ended at the end of the book. That’s on purpose. This is the first book in a trilogy, so be watching for the next one. We’ll delve further into some minor characters’ stories and visit a new planet. It’s going to be really fun.
ALS: Can’t wait to read the sequel. And, finally, for those who are as psyched as I am about this book, how can we buy THSC?
Megan: Good question! This book is currently an e-book only exclusive. You can find it on Amazon and iBooks.
ALS: You heard it here – go buy The Half-Shape Child for a crazy ride of laughs, tears, aliens, and solar-ray guns.
Megan Fatheree was homeschooled from Pre-school through 12th grade. During this time, she was blessed to be able to focus her efforts toward the craft of writing. She is now in her early 20s and a full-time author. Some of her books include “Precious Jewel”, “Eminent Danger”, and “Rose-Colored Glasses”. She loves what she does and wouldn’t trade it for anything. She looks forward to all the great adventures that lay in store for her in the near future.
