ℚ♫ The Bloody City: Siren Song [2] - Megan Morgan

Today we have the pleasure of meeting up with author Megan Morgan to talk about The Bloody City (10 November 2015, Lyrical Press, 297 pages), an Urban Fantasy, book second of Siren Song series.

Synopsis | Teaser | The Series | Author Q&A | About the Author |

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 A very warm welcome to Megan Morgan; thank you for joining us on BooksChatter.

As we love music Megan Morgan has shared with us her music playlist for The Bloody City - enjoy!

What was the inspiration for The Bloody City?

"The Bloody City is the second book in my Siren Song urban fantasy series, the sequel to The Wicked City.  This has been my favourite book to write of the series so far because I got to move from setting up the story to really living in it.  It entails the fallout of the terrible situation my characters found themselves in at the end of the first book—hunted and in hiding for a crime they were forced to commit to save themselves.

Many of the ideas in this book evolved from things that happened in the first book and me trying to tie up plot strings.  My inspiration came from trying to move the story forward and get to some sort of conclusion—though as of now, writing the fourth book, I’m yet to reach it!"

How much of yourself is reflected in this book, and how?

"I identify with my heroine, June Coffin, quite a bit.  She’s facing a lot of the same internal struggles many of us do—figuring herself out, finding her place in the world, and most importantly, self-acceptance.  I’ve dealt with all those issues at some point in my life.  I also have quite a few tattoos (not as many as June, though)!

I think most writers put some of themselves in their characters.  Bits and pieces of me are definitely in all my characters—things I feel, things I’ve experienced, things I know, things I believe.

Also, even though June hates Chicago—and has good reason to—it’s my favourite city in the world and I love writing about it."

The first thing that draws me to a book is its cover. Can you tell us about your cover for The Bloody City - why you chose that concept and who the artist is.

"My covers for this series are done by the amazing Fiona Jayde.  I was bouncing when I found out she was my artist!  We collaborated on ideas, but she was the one who really found a concept that worked.  I toyed with the idea of having multiple people on the cover, but the story is about June and that’s why she’s the one represented.  The colors are specific to the concept of each book—murky and mysterious on the first one, largely red on this one because there’s vampires in it.  My publisher uses the same stock photography model in all my promotional material too, and she’s perfect.  I’d love to find her and thank her for being June!"

Why should we read The Bloody City and what sets it apart from the rest?

"I tried very hard to come up with original ideas in my supernatural world.  Paranormal people exist in this universe and the general public knows about them.  Paranormals aren’t exactly accepted though, as people fear them and discriminate against them. The concept of studying them scientifically is a new thing and of course, it goes completely awry and the paranormal people become lab rats. I tried to explain paranormal powers scientifically. June’s power involves being able to influence people with her voice and get them to do whatever she wants, thus why she’s called a siren, though that term is considered a colloquialism. My vampires are definitely not romantic vampires either, but dangerous vile outliers who are unreliable and unpredictable. I hope I bring something new to the table as far as how paranormal abilities are depicted."

Can you tell us something quirky about The Bloody City, its story and characters?

"The first book in the series, The Wicked City, took many years to come to fruition. It was written and rewritten many times and changed characters and plot several times over. June was originally a male side character! I eventually realized ‘he’ should be a ‘she’ and that she was the central character. However, ‘he’ was the main character before she became June—even well into The Bloody City, I was writing June as a man. Changing him into her seemed to make a lot more sense and worked much more organically. I think it also helped me evolve the character in unique ways. She goes from being a rather crude, standoffish , bratty character to a much more mature and likable one."

Who would you recommend The Bloody City to and what should readers be aware of (any warnings or disclaimers)?

"I recommend it to urban fantasy and paranormal fans alike—and science fiction fans seem to enjoy it, too. I tried to make it appealing to a broad range of readers while keeping that urban fantasy vibe. As for warnings, June can be vulgar at times. However, I’ve had readers tell me that’s what they loved about it—how brash and common the narrative is. But, if a rough dialog isn’t something that appeals to you, you might not like this series. However, I can assure you June matures quite a lot across the course of the books and the shift in her crassness is something that encapsulates her evolution. The things she experiences make her grow up fast and leave behind her over-defensive, negative ways."

If you could / wished to turn The Bloody City and the Siren Song series into a movie, who would be your dream team?

"Believe me, sometimes I see this series as a movie in my head!  I haven’t thought much about who my dream team would be, though.  I love Vince Gilligan’s directorial style, but I’m not sure he does movies.  I have a Pinterest board of actors/actresses/models who remind me of my characters, if you’d like to check it out.

The idea of getting my series turned into a movie is so overwhelming I’m not even sure who I’d want to play the parts!"

What do you like to write and read about? Do you stick to a particular genre or do you like to explore different ones?

"I definitely love writing about paranormal stuff.  In addition to urban fantasy, I also write paranormal romance.  Those two genres are closely linked, I feel.  I also love to read books in those genres.  I’ve always been attracted to spooky stuff, ever since I was a teenager and got hooked on Stephen King and Anne Rice.  You will probably always find me among the monsters.  I write some contemporary romance and erotica, too."

What is your writing process?

"Coffee, coffee, and more coffee!  I like to be comfortable when I write, and preferably alone. I’m not the type of writer who writes in a coffee shop despite my caffeine addiction (though I have before, because I was on a break at work and it was the only place to get some quiet space).  I like to sit in bed with my laptop, without distractions (though I like music, sometimes).  Too many distractions makes it hard to write.  I follow the story end over end, I’m very much a panster and not a plotter.  I take lots of notes, because writing a series means you’re juggling lots of balls.  You have to remember details and make sure you tie up loose ends."

What is in store next?

"The third book in this series, The Burning City, comes out in July 2016. I’m working on the fourth one now. I originally intended it to be a trilogy, but the characters laughed at that. There’s two main conflicts that come to fruition in this book and will be worked out in the next book—two villains actually, one for June’s friends and one for her personally. She’s also fighting a thing inside her that’s threatening to kill her, and I promise it will be conquered—just maybe not the way readers expect. Starting with the fourth book I’ll explore vampires a heck of a lot more, too."

And as a final quirky thing, to get to know you a little bit better... do you have a pet or something that is special to you that you could share with us?

"I have a Tortoiseshell cat named Francis. And yes, if you’ve read the books, my cat is definitely represented in Cindy’s cat Serendipity (Dipity for short).  I shamelessly wrote her into the books.  My Francis was born with a permanently dilated pupil, so she always looks a bit wonky eyed, especially in direct light.  She helps me write sometimes, and by ‘help,’ I mean she wedges herself between me and my laptop and gives me a fuzzy armrest.  Sometimes she lies on the keys and adds her own commentary to the stories.  I have to edit it out though, because it’s usually just jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjkkkkkkkkkkkkkk."

Thank you for sharing Francis with us :-)  What a beautiful and helpful kitty!  They are THE best :-)

The Bloody City
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