Date of interview: 30 October 2024
Megan Michelle holds a Masters degree in clinical psychology and a PhD in palliative care. She designed and tested a counseling intervention for parentally bereaved children.
She relies heavily on her knowledge of clinical psychology especially regarding trauma, grief, and personality to write engaging, realistic, and relatable characters.
Megan grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, spent thirteen years living in Sweden, and is now living in Virginia Beach, VA where she writes and publishes her novels.
When she's not writing, Megan is at yoga, kickboxing, or volunteering with an equine therapy program that helps military veterans, first responders, and special needs kids.
MWSA: How did you find out about MWSA?
Megan Michelle Falk: I was speaking with another author, exchanging ideas on how to grow our audience and where we can get support and she suggested I find a writer's association for my genre. I had no idea such a thing existed. Within seconds of googling, she found MWSA. I joined immediately!
MWSA: What was your inspiration for your book Skylark?
Megan Michelle Falk: During October 2022 I was recovering from open heart surgery, lying in bed, and the story of Skylark popped into my head! I couldn't do much else, so I just stayed in bed imagining what these characters would do, where their story would go, what their back story was. Before I knew it, I had a first draft. As I got better, I started researching to see if what I'd dreamed up made any sense or was remotely accurate (somehow, a lot of it was!)
This book is really the book I've always wanted to read- military romance meets spy thriller. I need a little spice with my action and a heaping dose of plot and character development.
MWSA: What writing projects are you working on these days?
Megan Michelle Falk: Book 2 of the SEAL Saga series has already been through two rounds of developmental editing and I hope to publish it in June 2025. It follows the same characters as Skylark and picks up more or less where we left them at the end of book 1! Don't worry, book 3 is also in the works.
MWSA: Now that you've finished writing and publishing Skylark, what do you know now that you wish you had known before you started?
Megan Michelle Falk: So many things! This has been such a steep learning curve. The most important lesson was definitely to trust my editor. She recommended cutting several scenes that I pushed back on (a lot) but eventually conceded weren't relevant to the plot. Now I get to offer them as bonus chapters.
MWSA: What is Skylark about?
Megan Michelle Falk: Skylark is a story of friendship, love, and perseverance. It follows Rachel Ryker, call sign Skylark, the first female Navy SEAL as she leads her team on a series of missions throughout the Middle East. It takes a big tragedy hitting her team for her to realize that she's in love with her best friend and second in command, Christopher Williams.
This story highlights what it's like to be a woman in the military and in the Middle East in a relatable and fun way. I've tried to incorporate my academic knowledge of grief and trauma to flesh out the characters and relied on my research skills to fill in the more military technical and strategic parts.
MWSA: What is your connection to the military?
Megan Michelle Falk: My father is a Viet Nam veteran. Some of my earliest memories are from following along with my brother's boy scout troop on outings to visit the patients at the VA and play checkers. I was so young I had no idea how to play, but I had a great time talking to the patients anyway.
Most of my family is military. I have an aunt and uncle who met in the Air Force, an uncle who was in the Army, and both of my grandfathers served as well. I would have if I didn't have medical disqualifications. Since I couldn't serve, I volunteer with non-profits that give back to the military community instead.