Falling for Monsters and Magic
Born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee, indie author Meg Alivien crafts paranormal fantasy and romance stories that are as bold and vibrant as her Southern roots. Now living just outside the city with her husband and four spoiled cats, Meg spends her time immersed in all things storytelling—whether it's binging TV shows, following her favorite YouTubers, or daydreaming about Draco Malfoy and The Winter Soldier.
Meg’s books are a cozy escape into worlds where monsters can be boyfriends, vampires brood deliciously, and love always finds a way—even when the odds seem stacked against it. Her upcoming releases for 2025 include HUNT: A Small Town Vampire Romance (coming May 2025) and the highly anticipated Monster Boyfriend #3 (arriving December 2025). Plus, fans of her Monster Boyfriend series have even more to celebrate—it's soon coming to life in audiobook format, thanks to Tantor Media!
To learn more about Meg, her books, and her monster-loving heart, visit www.authormegalivien.com.
Join me as we delve deeper into Meg's creative process, inspirations, and more in an exclusive Q&A session.
Q&A:
Can you explain your journey of being a self-published author? Are there any tips you would give an aspiring writer who wants to self-publish?
I self-published my first novel in 2012. It was a NA sci-fi romance about young adults with mind control. Two years later, I wrote and published a YA coming of age story about four friends over four years of their lives. This book was the most loved by readers. So I wrote three more in a companion series. I loved those books, and that time in my life. Then in 2015, I decided to rewrite and publish the sci-fi books. Those did not do as well, and I was also facing a lot of health problems. Eventually, it got so bad I had to take leave from my full-time job. I went many years searching for a diagnosis, and the pressure on my mental health forced me to stop writing. Then, after finally being diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis in 2020, I felt the urge to write again. That was when I started working on my first ever fantasy novel, Of Magic and Men. It was published in October of 2023, and in the ten years between my first novel and my most recent, I learned soooo much about the writing process, and about myself.
My advice would be to trust the process, no matter what it looks like for you. I wanted those other books to succeed so badly, but now, years later, I know they weren’t my best. I had a lot to learn. So give yourself time. Practice and keep writing. Your time will come.
Could you share some insights into your writing process? Do you have any rituals or habits that help you stay productive and creative?
Since writing HOWL, I have learned to listen to my body and its needs. I can’t force the words when they don’t want to come, and if I do, they won’t be good. My best work comes when I’m feeling the excitement. If I’m not having fun writing something, I don’t need to be writing, so I shift gears, move on to something else.
A more trivial thing I’ve learned is that each book has a “vibe” lol. I wrote most of HOWL on the couch in my living room. It was cozy. HUNT was written on a schedule at my desk. I wrote 2 hours during the day and one hour at night before bed. I did sprints with friends. It was more structured, and that’s what that book needed. I think being comfortable with each project, down to the place I write, is a big deal for me. But that’s probably because I’m an enneagram 4.
What have been the most rewarding moments in your writing journey? Conversely, what challenges have you faced, and how did you overcome them?
I think Of Magic and Men was a challenge for me. It was a challenge to write in a genre I was unfamiliar with. It took real research, multiple rounds of developmental edits, and notebooks full of notes to keep everything straight. It was worth it, and I love that book, but I learned it’s not where I truly shine. My heart still lies in the contemporary world, with characters who struggle with real-world problems. I’m most inspired by character development, and HOWL was the best decision I ever made.
The most rewarding moments appear when I’m not expecting them. Like when a reader brings their own copy of a book to an event for me to sign, or getting a message from someone who said they’d been having a bad day and the first thing they thought of was my book to make them feel better. It’s also rewarding to finally see your hard work pay off monetarily, but who doesn’t feel good about that?
What are some of your all-time favorite books, and why do they resonate with you? Are there any lesser-known gems you'd recommend to fellow readers?
The Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy by Laini Taylor is one I’ll also recommend to high fantasy lovers. Those books grabbed me and held on tight. It was such a fun ride reading them for the first time, and I want others to experience that!
I cherish Broken by Jenny Lawson because that book made me feel truly seen. And I adored Beach Read by Emily Henry because it was one of the first books I read where the main characters were writers.
Some other books that are close to my heart include The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater, I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson, and The Shadowhunter Chronicles by Cassandra Clare.
Can you tell us about a scene or character that was particularly challenging to write? How did you overcome those challenges?
The first and most recent one that comes to mind is Raegan from HOWL. Her anxiety and the symptoms it can cause were a direct replication of my own experience. I ended up trimming down and redacting a lot of the details, because I wasn’t sure how realistic I wanted to be, but I kept the core of it. Many readers have praised the representation, so I’m really glad I did.
What future projects or ideas are you excited about? Can you give us a sneak peek into what you’re working on next?
Right now, my plan is to finish the third Monster Boyfriend book! I’m working on Of Demons and Dreams, the sequel to Of Magic and Men, but there is no release date set for that one yet. And I have a little bit of a surprise—there will be a Monster Girlfriends spinoff book!
Meg’s Work:
Upcoming Releases
HUNT
Release Date: May 8, 2025
Synopsis: Aidan Ward has spent over a century mastering solitude—until spunky human Joanna Nelson crashes into his life and refuses to leave. She hides her own loneliness behind a bold exterior, but beneath it, she’s searching for something real.
They agree to keep things casual—after all, Aidan’s slow aging makes a real relationship impossible. But as their friendship heats up, so do feelings neither can ignore. Can love survive the odds in a town where nothing stays hidden for long?
HUNT is a companion story to HOWL and the second standalone in the cozy-but-spicy Shadow Hills series, perfect for fans of paranormal small-town romance!
