I’m excited today to talk with Megan Easley-Walsh because she lives in one of my bucket-list places to see … IRELAND. Yes please!
Megan Easley-Walsh is an author of historical fiction, a researcher, and a writing consultant and editor at Extra Ink Edits. She is an award-winning writer and has taught college writing in the UNESCO literature city of Dublin, Ireland. Her degrees are in history-focused International Relations. She is American and lives in Ireland with her Irish husband.
You can connect with Megan on her website, New Historical Fiction.com, Facebook, and Twitter. You can also sign up for her newsletter here.
Megan’s book, North Star Home, released January 2017 (with a gorgeous cover!).
Ann Scarlet is no thief, but when the Yankee sheriff catches her she might just steal his heart.
Ann Scarlet has a single goal when journeying from her home in Savannah to Red River Rock Falls, Nebraska in 1875: find Whitaker and get back the land deed he stole from her brother. It seems simple enough, until Sheriff Crambert finds her with her hands full of money as she rifles through a pile of land deeds.
Nathaniel Crambert has loved and lost before. Ann seems harmless enough and he decides to rehabilitate her into society. Falling for her? That’s not part of the plan. Falling for him? That’s not what she intended either.
With the help of Mol, the woman who raised him, and Quiet Dove, his Lakota friend, Ann and Nathaniel may finally get over the burden of their heavy pasts. If Whitaker appears, Ann will have to follow that trail. But, what about following her heart?
Hi Megan! I’m delighted to be chatting with you today! I start all of my guests out with a fast four:
Megan: Apples, they’re versatile- great in baking, cooking, or eaten alone.
Carrie: Yay! I’m glad to see apples getting some love again. Oranges were winning there for a bit.
Megan: Summer because of the sunshine, the flowers, and the warmth. Although Irish winters are much, much longer than summer and are delightful for their own reasons.
Carrie: We have not had winter yet this year… perhaps I should start wintering in Ireland 🙂
Megan: Dogs. I’m actually allergic to cats. I used to be a dog walker in high school.
Carrie: Dogs are the best (according to my own dog. But I agree totally)
Megan: Tea! Why? Because it’s tea! I’m reminded of the C. S. Lewis quotation, “You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.”
Carrie: Point well made lol!
Around here I like to say that reading is my superpower. If YOU had a superpower, what would it be?
Megan: I think I’d say writing. I have over ten novels currently written (three released) and more are in the works. I’m so glad that my characters chose me to tell their story!
Carrie: Writing is a great superpower to have!
Who is your favorite book character from childhood?
Megan: Laura Ingalls Wilder. I loved reading about her life on the frontier. I’ve done a lot of family research and some of my family were pioneers. There was a nice similarity there, which I was able to carry over into North Star Home.
Carrie: Love Laura Ingalls Wilder!
If I asked your characters to describe YOU as an author, what would they say?
Megan: Great question! They would say that I listen to them. It’s important as an author to tell the story that wants to be told and not try too hard to manipulate it into what it’s “supposed” to be.
Carrie: Oh that’s a great point!
You live in Ireland and I am more than slightly jealous!! Tell us some of the things you love most about your adopted country.
Megan: The number one thing I love about Ireland is the reason why I am blessed to live here, my Irish husband! As an author of historical fiction, the history that surrounds me is amazing. The scenery is beautiful. Being on an island, you’re never far from the sea. I also love being back in Europe. I grew up in an Air Force family and spent nine years in Germany. The food, especially the seafood, is also extremely delicious!
Carrie: One of these days, I’m determined to get to Ireland!! It’s on my bucket list!!
I love your tagline – “Befriending characters in need of an author”! Seriously, adore that. Of the characters in North Star Home, who did you befriend first and who became your BFF?
Megan: Thank you! Ann wanted her story told, so she’s the first one I befriended. Each in their way endeared themselves to me. I appreciate that Nathaniel was willing to take a chance, that Ann is driven by loyalty, that Quiet Dove is a calm and steady friend, and that Mol has an enduring faith.
Carrie: I love those descriptions!
What do you most want readers to take away from North Star Home?
Megan: In the words of Quiet Dove,”Do not worry. Seasons change.” Essentially this means that though you may have had a difficult past or be going through a present challenge, good can be ahead when we remember to hope, dare to have faith, and allow love. In the words of 1 Corinthians 13:13, “And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” Love is the true North Star.
Megan, thank you so much for taking time to talk with me! 🙂 Before we say goodbye for today, tell us what‘s coming up next for you.
Megan: I’ve just launched a writing tips book for other writers, specifically of fiction. In addition to being an author, I’m also a writing consultant and editor at Extra Ink Edits and I’ve previously taught college writing. In terms of fiction, my fourth novel is Across the River. For Rebecca, Caleb would go to the ends of the earth. When she disappears, he might have to. The story is set in 1774 and is on both sides of the Atlantic, as revolution brews. There is a Romeo and Juliet theme to it, although the ending is very different from Shakespeare.
Megan is giving away up to 3 digital copies of North Star Home to my readers. For your chance to be one of those 3 winners, enter the giveaway via the Rafflecopter form below. Giveaway is open internationally except where prohibited by law and is subject to Reading Is My SuperPower’s giveaway policies (which can be found on the Disclosure and Policies page).
What about you? What’s on your places-to-see bucket list?
EEeeee Ireland is DEFINITELY on my bucket list! Plans are in the works to make that happen in the next few years (along with England and Scotland and Wales)
aaaaaaaaa!!!! i’m going to live vicariously through you!
What’s on your places-to-see bucket list? more of europe
Many places! Tops would probably be Australia.
I would love to see England with my mom. She has wanted to go all her life, but now she is too old to make the trip.
Thanks for having me, Carrie! Ireland is wonderful, it’s true. Also, England, Scotland, and Wales for the readers above who mentioned them! 🙂
I would like to visit Great Britain. There is so much history and historic places to visit.
me too!!
I want to go to Italy!
that would be fun!
I’d love to visit Ireland. I’d also love going back to Scotland, Wales, England, Switzerland, Austria, and Sweden, and exploring them more.
I want to go to all those places!! Going with you would just be SO MUCH FUN!!
We MUST go! Do you think you can handle driving on the left side of the road in Great Britain? Maybe we’d better go with a tour. LOL
I think that’s probably wise LOL
I would love to visit Hawaii, Australia, Ireland and Scotland.
Ireland and Scotland could be done in one trip to save airfare! LOL
That’s true! It’s only 45 minutes from Edinburgh to Dublin. My husband and I got bargain tickets once: 40 Euros for both of us round-trip, so we visited for the day!