“One step to the left of reality is fantasy. The best writing happens one step to the left.”

I have been writing since I was eight-years-old. My dream of being a published author has never faded, despite life’s struggles. After taking a few years away from the keyboard, I am back. I now work as an LMT, with three kids and a houseful of pets. I could not do anything without my amazing support system, mainly my best friend and partner in crime, my husband Forrest. I enjoy writing Dark Fantasy and Grimm Horror, with little limitation on the Sub-genres I will stretch into. Writing as a passion hobby is now what I do to fill the time between work, family, and hiking in the Nevada desert. I find inspiration in everyday life, art, and most of all my crazy adventures in tabletop gaming with my husband.

“Welcome to the featured author series! Today, I have the talented Megan Russ joining me. Let’s start by asking: What is your favorite genre to write and why?”

Thank you for having me! I started by writing fantasy. When I came back from my break, I started writing horror and dark fantasy. Now I focus primarily on Grimm Fantasy with a lot of horror and adventure elements.

“That’s awesome and does writing energize or exhaust you?”

Writing tends to energize me. I dedicate an hour each morning to writing. I don’t drink coffee or go to the gym in the morning to wake up. I write.

“Oh wow! I love that. How do you handle writer's block?”

I look up “Art Prompts” and try to write a little micro fiction focused on a single word or prompt. Sometimes my writer's block is because I've been looking at the same project for too long.

“I feel that. Can I ask where do you draw inspiration from?”

Life around me. Depending on the project. For my horror writing, I look at local legends, ghost stories, current events in the news. My fantasy work, I play a lot of tabletop games with my husband. We tend to tell stories together that may later get turned into books for readers.

“I love that idea. I have a guilty pleasure of watching local legends on TikTok. It’s weirdly fascinating. Next, how important are book reviews?”

I don’t feel like they are overly important to me. I have gleaned some helpful tips from my reviews when it comes to crafting the stories for my readers in the future. They are, however, extremely important in the industry, unfortunately. Our books may not show up on your suggested feed until we’ve had a couple dozen reviews posted. I enjoy the simple reviews of telling me what you did or didn’t like about my story. Both as a reader and a writer, I appreciate reviews without spoilers.

“Agreed. I've had a few reviews where readers give a little too much away. What is your writing routine?”

I have a routine of waking up early in the morning. Usually a couple of hours before anyone else in my house. I grab some water and open my laptop. I spend at least an hour in the morning writing. Not only do I feel closest to my characters right after I wake up, there is something about the silence that helps my creativity. I tend to edit and work on smaller projects like graphics and quotes in the evening.

“Thank you so much for sharing your writing journey and insights with us. It's been a pleasure having you here today. If you’d like to check out Megan’s work, simply click on the books displayed below. And if you want to stay updated on her journey, you can follow her through the social media links provided.”

Thank you for having me.