Tag: meredith spies

Today we welcome Meredith Spies to the blog to talk about their new release Between the Lines and answer intrusive questions!

Hi Meredith! Firstly…why are you doing this interview?

I have a new book out, Between the Lines. It is my first contemporary MM romance (I usually write PNR and urban fantasy).  Between the Lines is about two former high school sweethearts, Wendell and Davis, who split on not-great terms right after high school, but both return to their small hometown in Texas twelve years later. They are drawn in to solving a century old mystery, the whereabouts of two men with connections to Wendell and Davis’ families. There are two love stories: the historical one, and the modern one, woven throughout the book.

What started you writing?

I’ve always loved writing (which isn’t an original answer, I know!) but really got into the idea of doing it for other people to read in college with *drum roll * fanfic. I realized “wait, I can write what I want to see, and other people will like it too?” That led to me writing some short stories that were published in now-defunct ‘zines, and delving into writing urban fantasy/romance. I started writing queer-centered romances and queer-centered stories because I was tired of seeing people like me and my friends and chosen family being used as props for the cishetero heroes, or used as an “object lesson” or a sad story, or being coded as villain just because the characters were queer. Stumbling into the world of queer romance first as a reader then as a writer has been amazing and life-changing on many levels!

Where do you write?

Usually sitting on my bed! It’s not the best logistically, but I’m comfortable! I really should use my desk more though…

What do you like to read?

A little bit of everything. Queer romances and stories, mostly,especially mysteries, fantasy, and horror. I also enjoy histories (a recent favorite has been The Five about the victims of Jack the Ripper and their actual stories, not just the sensationalized ones we’re all familiar with).

What are the three books you’d take to a desert island? Why would you choose them?

Oh, that’s impossible to answer thoroughly! I feel bad leaving any of my favorites out and I know as soon as I answer, I’ll want to change it because I thought of more, or different ones! My arm twisted, and pretending this question means I’ll just be reading to pass the time while a boat comes to pick me up and I’m not going to need books about surviving on a desert island long-term or building a boat out of palm fronds and crab shells, at this very second I’d pick Widdershins by Jordan L. Hawk, I’ll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara, and Pretty Pretty Boys by Gregory Ashe.

Writing is an intrinsically solo occupation. Do you belong to any groups or associations, either online or in the ‘real’ world? How does that work for you?

I’m part of some online writers’ groups (mostly cozy Discord situations) but none in “real life,” especially while things are still fraught in my area due to the pandemic. I’ve tried, in the past ,going to in-person groups and write-ins and the like but I don’t do well with writing in those situations. Online’s a bit better and I do enjoy the supportive atmosphere, but I tend to stick to just going it solo.

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

Reading a lot, watching movies and series on streaming, letting my kid teach me new computer games… I used to perform burlesque but disability finally caught up with me so now I appreciate it the shows as an audience member. Can’t wait till it’s safe to go out to them again!

Tell me a little bit about your most recent release. What gave you the idea for it? How long did it take to write? What did you enjoy about writing it? What did you hate?

 I love old letters and pictures. I have so many of them in this special chest that come from family members going back a century or two, things that were kept because they were important, and a lot that are things that got “accidentally” kept—grocery lists or a quick note to so and so about something, nothing monumental, just bits and pieces of lives on paper. Pictures that were posed, some blurry old ones, some that are strange to modern eyes (like the pictures of the dead, propped up with still-living relatives, which was a not uncommon practice in the mid to late 1800s in some places). Every once in a while, I come across a story online about someone who found pictures at a resale shop, or some old laters or even old cassette tapes and they want to know who  they came from, what was the story behind them, why are they just for sale to strangers now.  It bubbled around in my thoughts, this love of my old letters and pictures and these stories from the people who find the bits and bobs of other lives for sale in the world, and the idea for Between the Lines started to take shape. Old letters between two men, notes to one’s sister, a postcard without an address… And Wendell, intrepid reporter that he is,  came into being to start figuring out the mystery. And Davis popped along for the ride. Joseph and Martin, the men in the story who went missing a century ago, were waiting in the letters as I wrote them (an early version of the story included the letters between them and the other bits and pieces, and I might be putting those in a newsletter this summer…).

I think the thing I loved most about writing this story was not only getting to bring in pieces of history to a modern story but I was able to work through some of my own thoughts and feelings on being a queer person from a not-queer-friendly place. Between the Lines took about three months, start to finish, including editing passes. It was a story that flowed quickly when I started writing it, and I think a lot of that is down to how much I’d dwelled on the idea of it and imagined it before ever sitting down to write it all out.