Melissa Foster: Megan's Way
Book Club Discussion

Book Club Discussion: Interview with Melissa Foster

How much, if any, of Megan's life is based on your own?

The premise behind Megan's Way was based on a scenario that happened with my mother several years ago. Thankfully, she did not have cancer, but she'd exposed to me a year or so after her surgery that the doctors had thought she'd had cancer, and if she had, she'd made the decision not to seek treatment. The thought that my mother could make a decision to end her life (and in turn, leave me), was very upsetting! As I got older, I grew to understand the reasoning, and I wanted to give a voice to the people who choose such a path.

The only other aspect of Megan's Way that relates to my life is that I have painted and donated several murals to the Hospital For Sick Children, so I gave Megan the artistic nature that I enjoy, although I gave her far more talent! We also share my love for Shop Therapy in Provincetown.

Book Club Discussion: Interview with Melissa Foster

Book Club Discussion: Interview with Melissa Foster

Are Holly, Peter, or Jack real people?

They are very real in my mind. I did not base the characters of Megan's Way on people that I know in real life. When writing, characters present themselves to me--sometimes fully developed with their image, personality, and even their backgrounds in place, and other times with just a name, the rest develops as the story unfolds.

Book Club Discussion: Interview with Melissa Foster

Book Club Discussion: Interview with Melissa Foster

I'm intrigued by the spiritual connection Megan and Olivia share. At one point, Megan mentions in passing that it began two days after Alissa Mae died. Can you explain this a little bit more for us?

I'm glad you are intrigued! Their spiritual connection is one of my favorite aspects of the book. As you probably remember, in the beginning of the book Megan and Holly visited a fortune teller at a carnival. The fortune teller said, "She will need you and you will know," and then later, when they're leaving, she yelled, "I empower thee!" She cast a spell of sixth sense on Megan, empowering her with the ability to feel what Olivia feels. She also said to Holly, "One will be released, and returned after death," foreshadowing Holly's big secret.

Book Club Discussion: Interview with Melissa Foster

Book Club Discussion: Interview with Melissa Foster

Without giving away the ending, why did you choose for each character to keep their dramatic knowledge surrounding Olivia's birth to themselves; therefore never really allowing the full truth to be revealed?

Deciding how much to reveal was a very difficult decision for me. In the end, I felt like Olivia had endured so much trauma over losing her mother and searching for the identity of her father, that knowing the truth of her birth would be too much for the fourteen-year-old to handle.

If the truth of her birth had been revealed to Megan, then Megan's death would not have been peaceful. As it was written, Megan was able to eventually watch her friends come to terms with their lives (and their lies), and move on. It was important to me that Megan was able to move into the afterlife in peace.

Holly's decision was based on fear. She was afraid of losing her husband, afraid of losing her friendship with Peter, and afraid of losing Olivia all together. She took what she saw as the safe route. Holly's decision, at the time of Olivia's birth, was also made out of fear and her love for Megan, and although I don't condone what she did, she was able to give others the chance to lead very fulfilling lives.

Book Club Discussion: Interview with Melissa Foster

Book Club Discussion: Interview with Melissa Foster

Why didn't Megan give Lawrence a chance after she found out she was pregnant? He obviously would have had her and the baby become part of his life.

Lawrence was wonderful, wasn't he? I was really pulling for him! I think he would have been thrilled to have been Megan's husband and Olivia's father. But Megan's infidelity made her realize that as much as she loved Lawrence, she wasn't in love with him. She'd loved him too much to monopolize his life when she knew she could never return the same depth of love that he'd shown her. This became clear to her during her trip (when she first found out she was pregnant). She was in love with her baby, but not with the men in her life.

Book Club Discussion: Interview with Melissa Foster

Book Club Discussion: Interview with Melissa Foster

I can't shake the feeling that Holly caused that little baby's death. Did you intend for the reader to think so? Even so, how could Holly have done what she did and continued on in her friendship and marriage?

When I first began writing Megan's Way, I had no idea of the situations surrounding Holly's secrets. As the story unfolded, it became clear that Holly had a lot of anxiety and she was jealous of Megan's unyielding acceptance and desire to be a mother. I don't believe Holly caused the baby's death, but I also didn't write much to dissuade the reader from questioning her guilt. The beauty of fiction is that we can explore all of the things that we can't (won't/shouldn't/don't/etc.) in real life. I wanted to evoke a stream of wonder in the reader. I wanted the reader to think about not only the decisions that people make, but the reasons behind their decisions, the strength of those decisions, and the effect they have on people's lives. Holly's punishment was the agony that she felt every time she saw mothers and daughters together, and the inability to ever let go of her guilt. I think Holly was able to carry on because she had to. She had to prove to herself that even though she couldn't be a mother, she could be a wife. She had to be okay enough to care for Olivia when Megan had to go out of town (when Olivia was young), and to care for both Olivia and Megan when Megan was ill. Not carrying on was not an option. Her love for Megan and Olivia was too strong.

Book Club Discussion: Interview with Melissa Foster

Book Club Discussion: Interview with Melissa Foster

You are the founder of The Women's Nest, a website for women by women. Can you tell us a little bit more about this?

The Women's Nest is my labor of love. The Women's Nest is a social and support community for women that I developed to connect women across the world for friendship, advice, and fun. I believe that all women need girlfriends, but with today's busy lifestyles, it's very difficult to make the time to nurture relationships. The Women's Nest is a place that women can visit anytime, day or night, from the safety of their home, office, or even the library, without ever leaving their home and/or family. We are blessed to have wonderful members who are supportive, caring, and fun to hang out with. The Women's Nest hosts a book club, and we often have discussions with authors that our members take an active part in. We have daily exercise tips and motivations, monthly healthy challenges, blogs for every member, and hundreds of forums on topics from family and parenting, to entertainment and education. The entire site is free, and since we are world-wide, there's always someone to chat with. We also offer free medical and financial advice from industry experts.

Book Club Discussion: Interview with Melissa Foster

Book Club Discussion: Interview with Melissa Foster

Can you tell us anything about what you are working on next?

Thank you for asking! I'm currently working on two books. Saving Tracey, a mystery about a seven-year-old girl who disappears from a small, rural community, and Come Back To Me, a fictional story about a Survival Campaigner who disappears in the jungles of the Amazon. Here's a little teaser about Saving Tracey, which I hope to have out before the end of summer...

Boyds, Maryland is the type of small town where people move to escape chaos and crime, and to find a sense of community. Molly Tanner has lived there for twelve years, and has been clairvoyant for as long as she can remember. Her visions have never provided enough detail to warn people of upcoming tragedies--until one cold, gray morning when she's out for her daily jog. Unable to ignore the powerful visions, Molly takes matters into her own hands. She races against time to save Tracey, and in doing so, Molly finds another side of Boyds; a darker side, where the residents, and the land itself, hold potentially lethal secrets.

Book Club Discussion: Interview with Melissa Foster