Megan Crane's Everyone Else's Girl

The Girlfriends Cyber Circuit has had the joy of announcing so many great releases and events this month, and we now have the pleasure of visiting with USA Today bestselling author Megan Crane as she celebrates TWO releases in February: Everyone Else's Girl (out now in the U.K.) and, writing as Caitlin Crews, Pure Princess, Bartered Bride (Harlequin Presents).

Megan has written five women’s fiction novels, many work-for-hire young adult novels, and five category romances (as Caitlin Crews) since publishing her first book in 2004. Her novel, Frenemies, was a BookSense Notable in July 2007. She teaches various creative writing classes both online at mediabistro.com and offline at UCLA Extension's prestigious Writers' Program, where she finally utilizes her MA and PhD in English Literature. Megan lives in Los Angeles with her comic book artist/animator husband and too many pets.

About Everyone Else's Girl:

Meredith does things for other people. She irons clothes for her boyfriend, she attends her ex-best friend's horrendous hen party for her brother (who's about to marry the girl) and she moves back to her parents' house to look after her dad when his leg is broken. She's a good girl and that matters. But when she gets back home, all is not as Meredith remembered. Especially Scott, that geeky teenager from her old class at school. He's definitely different now. And so, it seems, is she. One by one, her family and old friends start to tell her some home truths and Meredith begins to realise she's not so perfect after all. Maybe it is time she stopped being everyone else's girl and started living for herself.

Of the book, Meg Cabot wrote: "Megan Crane rules! Cancel your evening plans: You won't want to stop reading until you've devoured every delicious word."
And Kirkus called it: "Amusing, heartfelt and emotionally sophisticated chick-lit."

She had a chance to pop in and answer a few quick questions about her book, and I'm delighted to have her here. Welcome, Megan!

Did you use any musical references in your novel? If so, do they play a significant role?
I am currently obsessed with Fleet Foxes, A Fine Frenzy, Lissie, Owl City and Broken Bells. And the title of this book comes from one of my all-time favorite Tori Amos songs, "Girl." She's been everybody else's girl/maybe one day she'll be her own. That's Meredith's journey in a nutshell.

I've never been able to choose just one favorite food, but do you have a clear preference?
Chocolate. Seriously. I'm a complete addict. I like it dark, rich, and life-altering. (THAT is a perfect description! Life-altering...yes. :)

Would your high school friends be surprised to discover you'd become a novelist?
I don't think they're all that surprised. I used to walk around with black and white notebooks into which I was always scribbling my stories. I think I thought I was some mixture of Veronica from Heathers and Harriet the Spy. Either way, I was always writing!

Do your neighbors/hometown acquaintances know you're a published author or did you just choose to tell those closest to you?
I pretty much trumpeted it to the entire world. And continue to do so. My mother hands out books to people she meets out and about in my hometown. So, it's not much of a secret!

What's one piece of writing advice you've found valuable on your journey to publication?
Everyone who tells you to just sit down and write. Because that's the unvarnished truth, and the only way to do it. Everything else might make you FEEL better about your choices, but the only way to write a book is to... sit down and write it. (Oh, so true...)

Thanks for stopping by, Megan, and congrats again on your new releases!!