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I’m thrilled to feature Meg Cabot on the show! Meg is one of the earliest pioneers of the YA genre and is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of books for adults, teens, and tweens, selling over 25 million copies of her nearly 80 published books. “The Princess Diaries”, one of her most popular series she wrote, was adapted into two hit movies by Disney.
In today’s episode, we dive right into how real-life events inspired Meg for her “Princess Diaries” book series and she walks us through her newest book, “The Boy Is Back”.
She shares tips on writing stories influenced by life events without offending family and friends, and why it’s necessary to surround yourself with readers and critique partners that are honest with you about your writing. I can’t wait for you to hear how Meg and her writing-friend hold each other accountable and push each other past writing blocks.
Meg also walks us through how to write unique character voices with a structure inspired by social media, and how reading multiple genres can strengthen your writing.
Happy listening!
Meg’s Recommended Books & Resources:
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott
On Writing by Stephen King
Star Wars by George Lucas
The Craft directed by Andrew Fleming and story by Peter Filardi
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What You’ll Learn From This Episode:
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- The real-life events that inspired “The Princess Diaries” series, “The Mediator” series, and the “Heather Wells” series
- Meg walks us through her newest book “The Boy Is Back”
- How reading multiple genres can strengthen your writing
- Why workshops are crucial in learning how to accept criticism and how to meet deadlines
- How to turn rejection into a tool that enhances your writing voice
- Why it’s necessary to surround yourself with readers and critique partners that are honest with you about your writing
- Tips on writing stories influenced by your own life events without offending family and friends
- How Meg created unique character voices with a structure inspired by social media
- How Meg and her writing-friend hold each other accountable and push each other past writing blocks
“I kept working on different things until I finally found something that hit.”
-Meg Cabot
In this brand-new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Meg Cabot, a scandal brings a young man back home to the small town, crazy family, and first love he left behind. Reed Stewart thought he’d left all his small town troubles—including a broken heart—behind when he ditched tiny Bloomville, Indiana, ten years ago to become rich and famous on the professional golf circuit. Then one tiny post on the Internet causes all of those troubles to return, with a vengeance.
Becky Flowers has worked hard to build her successful senior relocation business, but she’s worked even harder to forget Reed Stewart ever existed. She has absolutely no intention of seeing him when he returns—until his family hires her to save his parents. Now Reed and Becky can’t avoid one another—or the memories of that one fateful night. And soon everything they thought they knew about themselves (and each other) has been turned upside down, and they—and the entire town of Bloomville—might never be the same, all because The Boy Is Back.
Learn More About Meg Cabot
Meg Cabot is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of books for both adults and tweens/teens. Born in the year of the Fire Horse (a notoriously unlucky astrological sign) and raised in Bloomington, Indiana, Meg also lived in Grenoble, France and Carmel, California (the setting for her bestselling Mediator series) before moving to New York City after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from Indiana University.
After working for ten years as an assistant residence hall director at New York University (an experience from which she occasionally draws inspiration for her best-selling Heather Wells mystery series), Meg wrote The Princess Diaries series, which was made into two hit movies by Disney. While over 25 million copies of Meg’s nearly 80 published books have been sold in 38 countries, Meg’s most proud of the letters she’s received from fans thanking her for helping them to overcome their “dislike of reading.”
Some of Meg’s fan favorites include the 1-800-Where-R-You? series (which has been reprinted under the title Vanished and was made into the Lifetime series called Missing), as well as All-American Girl and Avalon High (on which an original Disney Channel movie was based), and several books told entirely in emails and text messages (Boy Next Door/Boy Meets Girl/Every Boy’s Got One). A fourth book told in this format, The Boy is Back, was published by HarperCollins in 2016.
Meg’s first ever adult book in the Princess Diaries series, Royal Wedding, was published in 2015, along with a new Princess Diaries series for younger readers, From the Notebook of a Middle School Princess. The 2nd book in the Middle School Princess Series, Royal Wedding Disaster will be available in paperback in August of 2017, as will Book 3 of the series, Royal Crush.
Remembrance, the 7th book in the Mediator series, published in 2016. A Mediator novella titled Proposal was released in January 2016.
Meg Cabot (her last name rhymes with habit, as in “her books can be habit forming”) currently lives in Key West, Florida with her husband and various cats. If you see her husband, please do not tell him that he married a fire horse, as he has not figured it out yet.
