Island of the Lost Forevers Blog Tour!

I’m so excited to be a part of the tour for Island of the Lost Forevers! This book was so fantastic and I can’t wait to get a physical copy. If you haven’t read this gem, you definitely should. But if my raving hasn’t convinced you, maybe this note from the authors will:

When I first came up with the idea for Island of Lost Forevers, it seemed only naturally to share it with James. At the time, we spoke and wrote together on a daily basis. We bounced a lot of ideas off each other and had already discussed the possibility of using our massive time overlap to write a novel. He loved the idea and I loved his additions, so we started making plans.

The way we wrote the first novel was a tad unconventional. The two of us did a lot of free form role playing at the time (for those that don’t know, it’s a lot like tabletop RPGs, except that you don’t roll dice to determine the outcome, which requires a lot of trust in your writing partner to balance the situation). Since it was an easy and simple writing method, we used it to create the first draft. Which worked well for us, especially since our writing styles were already similar.

But it inadvertently made a lot of work for us later on. Back and forth role playing is a great way to generate a lot of writing content fast, but the format doesn’t lend itself to easy editing. First and foremost because each writer writes the full perspective of their character. You might think this leaves you with a third person omniscient perspective, but it really doesn’t, especially if the narrative style of the writers deviates even slightly. Also, you end up with a lot of repetition, since actions tend to be written in large chunks and the details tend to be repeated by the answering party for the sake of clarity.

That may have been one of the reasons we ended up shelving the project for a good seven years or so before I pulled it back out and decided to whip it into shape. James and I no longer wrote together on a daily basis and both our writing styles had changed quite a lot. After some back and forth, we agreed that a re-write was in order, though we would keep the plot the same. We also agreed that I would do the heavy lifting of the re-write and he would make notes for changes during the editing cycle.

Working with James has always been a pleasure because we almost always agree on what we want the finished plot to include. He also put a lot more details into Damian and Sentomoru, characters that didn’t come as naturally to me, while I put most of my focus into Catilen and the development of the mysterious Island setting (which, in many ways, became a character in its own right).

After a lot of feedback from James, and our dedicated beta readers, I did a final, intensive manuscript polish and we agreed the time had come to release our creation into the wild.

Purchase from Amazon

Is the island paradise or does a nightmare lurk beneath the surface?

When a mysterious island appears off the coast of San Francisco, two intrepid academics risk everything to discover its secrets. Catilen Taylor has struggled all her life with the ability to sense others’ emotions. Damian Cooke studies an ancient art he calls ‘magic.’

The island boasts an idyllic retreat, ruled by the enigmatic Sentomoru, who invites them to share the wonders of his bathhouse. But as the travelers strive to unravel the island’s secrets, Catilen senses danger stalking their steps.

Neither Catilen nor Damian know how long the island will remain on Earth. If they can’t solve its riddles quickly, they may be trapped wherever it goes when it vanishes.

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Megan grew up in a small town in central Pennsylvania where books offered an easy escape from the mundane life of a rural highway town. In 2003 she married the love of her life and moved to Canada. Megan started writing full-time in 2011 and has since published four novels and several short stories, including the Mystical Island Trilogy. Her characters keep her up late and wake her up early, but she loves them anyway. Learn more at megancutler.net, or connect to Megan via Facebook and Twitter.