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!
How We Learned to Lie
by Meredith Milller
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release Date: July 31, 2018
A voice-driven and explosive novel about friendship, love, and letting go, from the author of Little Wrecks
Violence in the small, suburban town of Highbone, Long Island, is escalating, and best friends Joan and Daisy are finding themselves in the center of it.
Joan has always been fascinated by the inner workings of living things: dogfish, eels, stingrays. But the more she sees of life outside her microscope, the more she realizes that people aren’t as easy to read as cells on a slide, and no one, not even Daisy, tells the truth.
Daisy’s always wished he had a family more like Joan’s, and that desire has only grown since his dad went to jail. But not even Joan can help Daisy keep his deadbeat older brother from putting everyone close to them in more danger.
When tragedy strikes too close to home, Joan and Daisy need each other more than ever. But no matter how hard they try, their secrets and lies have driven them apart. It’s only a matter of time before their friendship, just like their town, goes up in flames.
Sharp-edged and voice-driven, Meredith Miller’s How We Learned to Lie is a keenly observed story about friendship, violence, and life in a town on the brink.
August 2nd
August 3rd
Library of a Book Witch– Guest Post
Camillea Reads– Review & Favorite Quotes
A Dream Within A Dream– Spotlight
August 4th
Here’s to Happy Endings– Review
Morgan Vega– Book Tag
August 5th
Never Too Many To Read– Creative Post
Maddie.TV– Q&A
August 6th
Mama Reads Blog– Review & Playlist
Books Tales by me– Review
August 7th
Book Slaying– Q&A
The Traveling Inkwell– Review
Crazy for YA– Review