Meg Gatland-Veness, originally from Milton, now resides on the Central Coast of New South Wales with her boyfriend and two cats. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Secondary Teaching from the University of Newcastle. Writing has been a lifelong passion for Meg, who always carries a notebook to capture inspiration or beautiful words. Alongside her love for writing, she is dedicated to supporting local youths and engaging in conversations about issues facing young Australians.
When not writing novels, Meg works as a high school drama teacher, channeling her creativity into choreographing and directing musicals, writing poetry, and pursuing her passion for singing and dancing.
Date- Monday, May 13, 2024
Location- Phone Call
Firstly, congratulations on your new book. When is it coming out?
It's coming out on the 4th of June.
Are you excited about that? The premise certainly sounds like it should be appealing to a lot of people.
I'm very excited because this weekend I received a box full of copies of my new book. It's a bit more fun than my previous two books and includes a murder mystery element, which is very popular in young adult novels at the moment.
I wanted to learn a bit about your journey as a writer, from your early days in a small town to becoming a published author. Were there any specific literary works that ignited your interest in the world of books?
Definitely. When I was in high school, I really loved Jacqueline Moriarty and her Ashbury/Brookfield High series, like "Finding Cassie Crazy," "Feeling Sorry for Celia," and "Dreaming of Amelia." She was a big influence on me and, being Australian, she was like my idol. I also really loved Melina Marchetta, especially "On the Jellicoe Road," which was one of my favourite books growing up. Both of these authors, being Australian, had a huge impact on me. Of course, I also loved "Harry Potter" and similar books, but it was these authors who truly inspired me to become a writer.
With "What's Murder Between Friends?", it blends the worlds of high school drama, a musical, and a murder mystery. What inspired you to write a story with such distinct genres, and what sets it apart from your previous works?
The idea actually came from a dream. As a drama teacher in the middle of directing a musical, I dreamed I was a student who found my drama teacher dead in the middle of rehearsals for the school production. That dream sparked the story of what would happen if, during a school production, something happened to the director. For the kids, that would be devastating. How would they react?
This led to the story of these drama kids, all a bit egotistical, trying to solve the murder of their beloved drama teacher while also ensuring the show must go on. It combines two things I love: musical theatre and murder mystery novels. So, it's the best of both worlds.
As a drama teacher yourself, how much of your own working experiences with students influence the characters and the events?
The characters themselves are entirely from my imagination; they’re not really inspired by my students. However, the situations—the rehearsals, the dressing rooms, and the politics involved in putting on a show—are all drawn from my personal experience directing school productions. The lack of budget, the time constraints, and all those little details are very much from my own life.
Some of the teachers in the book might seem slightly familiar to my students, but the teenage characters are completely made up.
How do you approach crafting suspense and keeping readers engaged throughout the story while writing a book like this? Can you share some insights into the writing process?
I actually think I write a bit differently from most authors. I don’t have a lot of time in my life, so I do most of my writing during school holidays. When I’m starting a new book, like the one I’ve just begun, I first plan out the entire thing. Usually, I aim for around 25 chapters. I plan what’s going to happen in each chapter, especially for a mystery novel. I map out what clues will be revealed and which suspects will be investigated in each chapter, ensuring there are several high-tension scenes where the characters almost get caught or face significant danger.
When I’m writing, I set myself a goal to write 2000 words each day during the school holidays. However, I don’t necessarily write in order from Chapter 1 to Chapter 25. I write whichever part I’m inspired to write at that moment. For instance, I might start with Chapter 23 and then jump to Chapter 17. I’ve never met another author who works this way, but it’s how my brain functions. Given my limited time, I focus on getting the words down on paper, even if it means writing Chapter 7 today because I’m excited about a particular scene in that chapter.
This method is great for productivity, but it sometimes means I have to go back and ensure there are no inconsistencies in the timeline. For example, I might mention something in Chapter 7 that shouldn’t be revealed until Chapter 10. Fixing these inconsistencies can be a pain, but this approach is what works best for me.
I usually start with a general scaffold, but things often change. In "What's Murder Between Friends," the killer changes several times across different drafts. This book, (her third), had the most rewrites because I couldn't decide who the killer should be. I needed to balance being obvious and not too predictable, which was challenging since it was my first murder mystery. So yes, things definitely evolve as I write.
You have a lot of different creative pursuits. How do you find time for all of them- balancing teaching, writing, singing, and everything else? Is there one that you enjoy more than others?
Well, it is tricky. I do a lot of dancing in the evenings after school, so I don't write during the week because my brain is fried after work. Dancing is a fun physical activity that I enjoy. During the term, I sometimes write on weekends if I'm feeling inspired, but I generally save writing for the school holidays when I have more time.
I'm very efficient with my schoolwork. I get to school before 7:00 AM every day and have two solid hours to complete my marking, planning, and programming. This way, I rarely have to bring work home, which is unusual for teachers.
Achieving this work-life balance took time. When I first started teaching, I stayed up until midnight doing marking, but I learned to be efficient, focused and set boundaries. Now I can spend my evenings and weekends writing.
What advice would you like to give to aspiring writers who are in similar positions, who are also balancing academic or professional commitments, on finding their voice and then ultimately getting published?
Yeah, well, people always say to read as much as possible, and that's crucial even with a full-time job or kids. Reading helps you stay updated with what's popular and learn
from other writers. However, even more important is writing as much as you can. Like any skill, writing requires practice. I used to write for hours after school, and while it was probably trash, you have to start somewhere.
In university, I joined a creative writing club, sharing chapters of my first novel each month. The feedback and encouragement from others were invaluable and motivated me to keep writing. Eventually, that book got published.
Don't be afraid to submit your work to publishers. I sent my manuscript to every publisher in Australia and, after over a year, heard back from Pantera Press, who published my first book. It's not impossible—don't give up!
With all the other creative pursuits that you're involved in, do these different forms of expression complement your writing or do they influence each other in any way?
Definitely. Teaching drama is all about creating stories and storytelling, so I spend my whole day being creative and helping students find their voices. This translates well to my own writing. The structure of finding tension in a scene and building an atmosphere on stage is similar to creating tension and atmosphere in a story. Drama and writing go hand in hand for me, which I find really helpful.
As for dancing, I mainly do it for fun.
My last two questions are a bit more on the fun side. Firstly, who would you cast if I had to ask you to cast the main characters in your book for a movie adaptation?
Ooh for my new book? I would want the girl who plays Max in Stranger Things (Sadie Sink) as the lead, Hallie. Dmitri could maybe be the kid that plays the boy in Heartstopper, Nick Nelson (Kit Connor). That is if he could do a Russian accent.
We can get him an accent coach.
For Adam, you need a good-looking kid from the Philippines, like a younger version of John Marc Desengano, who starred in “Looking For Alibrandi”.
And lastly, if you had to pick an alternative title for the book, what other title would you give your book?
We went through many title ideas for this book. One of them was "Unnecessary Drama." It captured the drama theatre aspect well but didn't convey the murder mystery element, so we ultimately chose "What's Murder Between Friends."
I'm glad you find "What's Murder Between Friends" intriguing! Having "murder" in the title does seem to catch people's attention, especially among Gen Zs. Thank you for talking to me and all the best for the Writers’ Festival!
I hope you enjoy reading the book when it comes out, and I appreciate your well wishes for the Writers’ Festival. Take care!
