Today I am so excited to host Meredith Miller, author of How We Learned to Lie, as we celebrate the book’s release with a blog tour! Enjoy her interview below, and read until the end for a giveaway!

 

About the Author

Meredith Miller is the author of Little Wrecks and How We Learned to Lie. She grew up in a large, unruly family on Long Island, New York, and now lives in the UK. She is a published short story writer and literary critic with a great love for big nineteenth-century novels and for the sea. Her short stories have appeared most recently in Stand, Short Fiction, Prole, Alt Hist, and The View from Here. WEBSITE. TWITTER. GOODREADS. 

 

Was there a particular book/series/author that inspired you to start writing?

Bob Dylan’s lyrics, which I first heard when I was twelve years old, made me want to be a writer.  They were surreal and beautiful and intelligent in a way that inspired me.

 

Was there a specific moment that inspired How We Learned to Lie?

It was about the landscape really.  I wasn’t done with Highbone after writing Little Wrecks.  I wanted to write a second novel set in that landscape, but show it from the perspective of characters who see it differently.  If you read both books closely, you’ll notice a few little places where one story crosses into the other.

I was also inspired by my own childhood friendships, those that were toxic and needed to go and those I wish I’d valued more.  

 

Do you draw inspiration from pop culture (TV shows, Video Games, Movies, etc.), and if so, which ones?

Oh yes.  I read and watch lots of science fiction fantasy – urban fantasy and swords and sorcery.  Growing up, fantasy and science fiction made me love reading. Once there was more of that on film and TV, I was in my element!  

Thoughtful, imaginative world-building always inspires me.  I also love good, snarky dialogue from clever, witty characters. I like my fantasy adventure heavy on the irony.   

 

If you could live anywhere (any time, era, and place (real, or otherwise)), where would it be?

I’d like to live someplace without plastic or fossil fuels, where everyone is safe no matter who they are or choose to be.  Some gentle magic would be nice, and plenty of wilderness. Is that asking too much?

If you had 24 hours to do ANYTHING you wanted, what would you do?

Read, sleep.  Sleep some more.  Read some more. If I had more like a week, I’d also binge-watch something like Timeless or Mr. Sunshine.  I’m very busy, and almost always have working vacations.  I rarely just take time off to relax and turn my brain off!

 

You’re trapped on an island but are allowed to bring one person, one food item, and one object. What are your choices?

I’d bring my Mom, because she’s so easy to hang out with, she has lots of practical knowledge (wild plants and things) and she’s really good in a crisis.

I’d bring raspberries, though it was hard to choose between raspberries and almonds.  Those are my two favorite food items. When I asked people here in my house, they named practical things like rice and rice plants, but I’m assuming endless replenishment.

I’d bring a big, juicy novel – Don Quixote, Belinda, Cecilia, Moby Dick, Daniel Deronda – something that would take ages to get bored with.  

 

Thank you, Meredith, for the wonderful answers! Check out more information about her book below, and a giveaway!

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway