Megan's Way by Melissa Foster

NOTE: If you have not read Megan's Way yet, then please do not read below. I don't think a book review and author chat is good unless the story is really talked about! So therefore if you've read, enjoy, if you've not, come back once you have because it's worth it, I promise!

Buy Megan's Way.

Now without further ado, here is my unique version of a book review and author chat. First, I want to thank Melissa Foster for answering my questions. When I read a book, it feels like the story is real to me. I feel like it doesn't end and the characters still live on. Hence my "what if" questions.

Megan's Way is Melissa's first novel and a good one at that. From the very beginning you are hooked into the story about two best friends, Megan and Holly. Megan is dying of cancer and her best friend Holly is there for her and Megan's daughter Olivia whenever they need something. She truly is a great friend to Megan, or is she?!

Megan and Olivia have a very special and spiritual relationship. Megan can sense Olivia's pain and Olivia, although a teenager, still needs her mother more than ever before during this terrible time. Megan is trying to give her daughter space when Olivia just wants to be with her. Megan also does not want to tell Olivia that the cancer is back to stay and it's only a matter of time before it takes her life. On top of all this, Megan is struggling with the past and considering finally revealing to everyone who Olivia's father is. Drama is just surrounding this family when they need each other the most.

Past secrets and failing health, entwined with death, good friendships, and blissful memories make this novel a fantastic read and one you won't be able to put down (I'm serious, I read it straight for three hours without stopping).

I was lucky enough to have Melissa answer some questions. I hope you enjoy!

I’m sure many people have asked you, but what was your inspiration for the story?

Everyone does ask, but it's okay, I love to answer! Megan was born from two things - first, my mother's surgery had a lot to do with it. She had surgery several years ago and told me it was for ovarian cysts. Years later she told me that there was an oncologist in the operating room because they thought she had ovarian cancer, and had she in fact had cancer, she would not have undergone treatments. I immediately reverted to a child (in my own mind! LOL!), and fell into the Oh, my God! How could you leave me? mode. That feeling festered for years, although I was an adult with children of my own at the time, and I realize how selfish of a thought it was, it eventually blossomed into Megan's Way. Also, Megan's story started out being called The Wish, and although it still centered around Megan and her illness, it was more of a story about Megan and her girlfriends. When Megan's story really came into view, all of her girlfriends were gone except for Holly, who remained.

What gave you the idea of using the fortune teller at the beginning to set the scene?

That's a great question. I'm trying to remember exactly how that came about. I think my editor and I were talking about the best way to explain Megan's paranormal connection to her daughter. This gave me a way to bring to the reader an understanding that one of the girls, Megan or Holly, had a spell cast on them ("I empower thee!"), and it also gave the reader something to try and pull from later in the story.

Olivia was my favorite character because of her desire to grow up fast yet the reality of how much of a child she still was. I can totally relate this as can probably most people. Who was your favorite character in the book and why?

Hmmm....It's hard to pick a favorite when I'm the one who created them! LOL! I adore Olivia, and really pulled much of her angst from watching my step-daughter go through typical teenage issues, but also from my own teen experiences. She's the kind of girl you just want to hold on to, yet somehow you know she'll be okay. I have just typed and deteted and retyped four answers for you in this section - and am back to this one - I think I can't answer the question. It would be a toss-up for me between Megan and Olivia.

Just a reminder, if you're not read the book, reading below will spoil it. Please stop and go buy it!!

The secret about the daughter swap was crazy! I never saw it coming. Do you think if you had Megan surviving eventually this would have been admitted to her by Holly? What about to Olivia? Would you ever have wanted her to know?

Oh gosh! First, I think you should put a **Don't read this question" banner before you post this question! But it's another great question - If Megan had survived, I'm not sure Holly could have come clean. Afterall, how do you face your best friend and tell her that her baby died and you never gave her the chance to grieve? How do you tell your daughter that you gave her up as a baby and have hidden it, stolen from her the chance to have a mother and father? How could Holly face Jack and Peter after all of those years? She still didn't know who the father was. I guess my answer would be no, I probably would not have had Holly admit it unless I was writing a different type of story. This story was about the depths of friendships, how far people will go for friendships. In this case, Holly knew she was not capable of being a mother, she might have ruined Olivia's life had she kept her, she (Holly) might have fallen apart, and she knew Megan was not only ready, but relished the idea of being a mother. I think Holly believed she was saving both Megan and Olivia (as well as herself).

If I were Olivia, I think I'd want my life left as is. It's hard enough being fourteen! If you add the fact that she was given up as a child, didn't get to grow up with her father, and that she's not sure who her father was, it all seems too much for a teen to handle.

I never saw any awkwardness from any of the characters who were best friends (Jack, Megan, Holly, and Peter) despite their actions early on. How did you mold them all as characters to go on being such best friends despite the sleeping together amongst friends and the reality of Peter's sexuality?

Each one was different. Jack and Megan never really had a chance to be awkward. By the time Megan returned from her trip, he and Holly were so in love that what happened between them was water under the bridge. A shot in the dark. And they had years of friendship prior. To them, the weekend was an experiment.

I was able to negate awkwardness between Holly and Peter because of the timespan - the story jumps from teens to adulthood with fourteen years in between. Enough time had passed to let the reader believe they had ironed out the seems - however, there was an innuendo thrown in when Holly met Peter in the parking lot of his office. Remember? He made a comment about how he once got the prettiest girl.

I loved the idea that Megan was a mural artist. Have you ever done murals and if so what was your favorite one you have done? If not, tell us about some of the artwork you do on the side?

I am so surprised that so many people took hold of this part of Megan. I'm happy you liked it! Yes, I am not very good, but I have done many murals. In fact, I have donated six to the Hospital for Sick Children in Washington, DC. You can see them on my mural website: http://www.kidsmuralsbymelissa.com

I also have painted murals in my children's bedrooms since they were tiny, in every house that we've lived in. I will never paint for commission, though. I found out that I do not enjoy it if I'm paid for it, which is why I donate.

Did you ever have an alternate ending in mind for this story? If so, what was it and why did it get scratched?

I never wrote an alternate ending. I didn't know when Megan was going to die, and I didn't know when the book would end. When I wrote the end, I remember sitting back and just knowing it was the right place for their stories to be over.

As a writer myself, sometimes it’s hard for me to focus and finish my writings afraid they will never go anywhere. What advice can you give to aspiring writers about perseverance and self publishing?

The best advice I can give writers is to write! Don't worry about what people will think, or if the story will go any where. Let your story lead you. Your worries are the same worries I have, and I'm sure other writers have, too. I don't think those worries go away even if you've been published 10 times! Every story is its own entity, with its own characters and plots. Given that, just write the best you are able and write often!

Thanks again, Melissa for answering my crazy questions. I hope you all enjoyed Megan's Way as much I have. Be sure to be on the look out for future books by Melissa. Read more about Melissa here.