Megan Crane spent almost five years in England, bemoaning the weather and getting a Masters and PhD in Literature. She thereafter followed the sun to Los Angeles, where she lives with a dog named Diva and entirely too many books. She sold her first novel to Warner Books in the spring of 2003. ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE is out in stores now! Her second novel, EVERYONE ELSE'S GIRL, is due out in October 2005. She keeps a journal at www.livejournal.com/users/megancrane and can be reached at www.megancrane.com.

Felicia Sullivan: Over the past year, I’ve heard folks refer to Los Angeles as La-La land and the “Plastic City”, however, all the times I’ve visited, the city, for me, has been quite the opposite. A vibrant and growing literary community, fabulous beach weather, the lush canyons (okay, granted, there is the sometimes obscene traffic to get anywhere), a healthy, relaxed lifestyle – will Southern California always be your home? Do you miss New Jersey? What about L.A. is home for you?

Megan Crane: I love Los Angeles. Most of the people I meet here are storytellers of one sort or another. It’s a city of stories, which I find exciting and motivating—and that’s not even taking into account the gorgeous mountains, the sea, the beaches, the shopping, the weather, the music, the literary scene, the different ethnic communities, the fantastic food, the amazing night life, the fun of it all… I can’t see going back East. Traffic is a small price to pay!

FS: Your first book, English as a Second Language is hysterically funny, a sharp and witty story of the somewhat lost, jaded and embittered Alex Brennan, jetting off to a graduate program in England simply because an ex said she couldn’t do it. Amidst frequent drunken escapades, and the constant fear that Alex simply won’t cut it academic wise, there are friendships forged, new loves, and finally, a clear direction for your intrepid narrator. What was the impetus for your first book? Going off to a program yourself, were there those frightening moments of I don’t belong here? What am I doing? And how did that help fuel the Alex’s voice and the story overall?

MC: While I get frustrated when people think the book is a no more than a nonfiction account of my own experiences in England, I certainly used those experiences as a starting point for Alex’s adventures. For example, I definitely questioned the wisdom of my decision to uproot myself and move to a foreign country when I found myself in my first class, surrounded by British students who could quote extensively from every book and article they’d ever read. I had no idea what I was doing. It was terrifying! Luckily, I hung in there, and a few years later, got Alex out of it. Not a bad deal, really!

FS: Curious – what made you elect England as a place to complete your Master’s and Doctorate degrees?

MC: The sad truth is this: I was as interested in the year-long MA (as opposed to two years in the States) as I was in the idea of drinking tea and searching for Mr. Darcy. Once I was there things changed, but my reasons for choosing England in the first place were almost entirely about the course length and the fact English universities do not require the GREs. That’s not very romantic, I know!

FS: Over the past few years, the genre of “chick lit” has completely evolved (in my opinion) from glossy books obsessed with the essential Jimmy Choo shoe to truthful stories about women, who are sometimes flawed, sometimes introspective, always perceptive and intelligent, who seek to define themselves – find their place in the world and enjoy the wild ride while doing it. Frankly, the snobbery against chick lit confounds me and I was curious what brought you to this genre for your first and now sophomore novel, Everyone Else’s Girl? Any stereotypes you wanted to crush?

MC: I was completely unaware of the snobbery when I wrote ESL. Much as I wish I was deliberately writing to crush stereotypes, I was just telling Alex’s story. I was in England at the time, so chick lit was everywhere—Anna Maxted, Chris Manby, Cathy Kelly, Marian Keyes, Wendy Holden, Jenny Colgan, Serena Mackesy, Melissa Nathan—so many good books! I had been struggling with a change in voice for a while, and then one day the first line of the book popped into my head, Alex was created, and that was that. It was only much later that I realized I’d written in the chick lit genre. I like writing stories about women and their lives, so it’s a perfect fit for me.

FS: Speaking of Everyone Else’s Girl, tell us a bit about the new book.

MC: The new book is coming out in October as part of Warner’s very exciting new imprint, The 5 Spot. Meredith McKay is the quintessential good girl. She even takes a leave of absence from her job and her gorgeous boyfriend to move home and care for her ailing father. But with one difficult truth coming to light after another, she starts having doubts about herself. Is it possible she isn’t the good girl she always thought she was?

FS: It seems as though family and the importance of it is a stronghold in both your books. Can you talk about that, how family serves as a source of comfort, as one of your pivotal themes?

MC: I’ve long been preoccupied with how our families form us—and by families I mean the ones we’re born into as well as the ones we choose ourselves (and I think I’m quoting Joss Whedon there.) Figuring out where you belong, finding a place to call home—I think that’s just another way of figuring out who you are, and I’m fascinated by the ways people go about doing that.

FS: So many of our readers are writers in all phases of their careers – from starting off with their first book to marketing their third. Can you share any bit of advice you culled with respect to marketing and publicity? Do you rely solely on your publisher’s publicity team or have you forged out other innovative ways to get the word out about your book and any creative ideas?

MC: I hesitate to say this because, from everything I read online, it shouldn’t have worked out so well, but… I did almost nothing. I put up a web page and continue to maintain a journal there, but that was the extent of my marketing plan.

MC: Warner took care of everything else, and I think they did a wonderful job. They got me a couple of great venues right when the book launched, sent out postcards, advertised in the New York Times and People. There was even a promotional campaign with Kenneth Cole and Vogue. I have no complaints!

FS: You’ve had a lot of interesting, quirky jobs. What has been your most bizarre work experience?

MC: What I love is how, now that the writing thing seems to be working out, my pathetic resume is considered “interesting” and “quirky.” There was a time when it was just very, very sad. This was another reason I went to graduate school, by the way!

It’s so hard to pick a “most bizarre” work experience. On the one hand, there was the whole paralegal-in-huge-NYC-lawfirm thing, which was like summer camp on steroids. Then there was the retail bookseller gig, which was just awful. You know, I really can’t pick just one…

FS: What’s next on the horizon, Miss. Crane?

MC: At the moment I’m working on my third book, and shaping up a proposal to convince people they really, really want to buy it. I have a teen book in the works, too. Lots of writing on my horizon—I’m very lucky!