The Writer Story | featuring Megan Murphy
Meet RomCom author Megan Murphy, her debut novel Fake it Like you Mean it, releasing March 18.
Hello and Welcome to the Writer Story!
Today we have a wonderful author interview with Megan Murphy and I’m super excited about it as she talks about writing tropes and making them relatable.
Megan’s debut novel, Fake It Like You Mean It, releases March 18, and you don’t want to miss it. If you love the Fake dating trope then this is for you.
Before we begin the interview, here’s Megan’s official bio.
Megan Murphy grew up in small-town Kentucky, aside from a short stint in northern Indiana, which became the basis for her debut novel. When she’s not writing (or reading) swoony, laugh-out-loud contemporary romances, Megan works as a business analyst. She’s most at home, well, at home, with her husband and rescue dog, or enjoying a concert or local festival.
Welcome Megan to The Writer Story, really excited to have you here and Congratulations on your debut, FAKE IT LIKE YOU MEAN IT, releasing this March 18. How exciting. Tell us how you got this idea about putting the Main characters (Elle & Adam) together in a forced live-in situation to take care of Elle's Grandmother and what’s your inspiration behind the story and characters?
The short answer is it just sort of…came to me?
The longer answer is that a lot of people and places from my life coalesced into this story. My grandfather had Alzheimer’s like Lovie; my grandmother’s house is the inspiration for the setting, down to the pink bathroom and double-doored laundry room. Lovie herself was inspired by my great aunt, who I idolized growing up but realized in adulthood was not the best role model. I needed a way to see if those pieces of her could coexist, if both things could be true. Lovie was born—Lovie, who is stubborn and opinionated and not the best version of herself, through no fault of her own.
Then I looked at what usually broke debuts out from the pack. They took a common trope and turned it maybe one or two degrees out of alignment. Just enough of a different direction from what existed in the market, but enough to capture the readership and the genre conventions that readers loved and expected when picking something up at Barnes & Noble. When I looked at possible tropes for FAKE IT LIKE YOU MEAN IT, the one I kept getting stuck on was fake dating. What would make that stand out? I latched onto the ripple effect—how during the course of a normal plot, a fake dating ruse typically expands to encompass more people. The story shifts or changes as more people find out or the couple gets caught canoodling when they shouldn’t be.
I stopped the ripple effect and asked: What would happen if it was only ever ONE single person who believed the lie? From there, other questions popped up. Why that one person? Why can’t they remember? And the most important one—so what?
From there, the story really took shape. The person can't remember because she has Alzheimer’s, and it matters because she's the most important person in the heroine's life. Simply the fact that Lovie believed something as truth made Elle’s own truth waver.
That is a long, clear-as-mud answer, but from the very first brainstorming page, the heart of the story has stayed the same: love, in all forms, and how it transforms us and makes us more ourselves at the same time.
FILYMI features the evergreen fake-dating romance trope. What do you think appeals this trope to so many readers? and what is your best tips to write the trope and make it believable?
I think what makes this trope so well-loved is that it’s just fun. Two characters are forced to cooperate and collude so they can each achieve their individual goals (surviving family holidays, impressing a boss for an open promotion, making sure your grandmother who has Alzheimer’s is as comfortable as she can be), and somewhere in all the lies and deception, a little slice of truth starts to spark. It’s either a quick moment or a bunch of little ones, but somewhere the characters aren’t faking it anymore. There’s a vulnerability there, too. In these situations trust is often given outright before it can be earned, and it’s a giant leap of faith to believe the other person isn’t going to leave you high and dry.
In order to make it believable, I’d suggest not making it more complicated than it needs to be. That will be different for every book and set of characters. For FILYMI, Lovie was the only person who believed the ruse. There wasn’t a reason for others to be involved. While it would have made the story more intricate if they had to pretend in front of their friends and family, there just wasn’t a reason for it, and Elle struggles with her growing attraction to Adam enough as it is. Try to weave in normal relationship milestones (first brush of the hand, first kiss, first vulnerable moment, first intimate moments if the book is open-door) within the confines of the fake relationship and outside of it. This will also help blur the lines of real and pretend, until they can’t tell which way is up.
This wasn’t part of the question, but shameless plug for my favorite fake-dating books: The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood, My Vampire Plus-One by Jenna Levine, Birding with Benefits by Sarah T. Dubb, and The Kiss Countdown by Etta Easton. These are all amazing resources to see what’s working and how different authors apply the trope expectations to their individual voice and story.
What is your writing journey? How did you start? How did you find out about the publishing industry? Get an agent? Book deal? Tell us your Writer Origin Story.
I, like most writers, am first and foremost a reader. I would never have been inspired to tell my own stories without those who came before me.
Also like most recent debuts, I too got my start during the Covid-era lockdowns. I got diagnosed with a chronic autoimmune disorder in October 2020 and desperately needed a way to escape a reality that was not very fun at the moment. I’d dabbled with fan fiction on and off for years, and dove back into that with the classic: Twilight. I finally got inspired after a very vulnerable conversation with my friends to try my hand at my own story, and started writing a book inspired by the wedding of my college roommate in June 2021. Even if it won’t ever be published, I still love it so much. It taught me that I could do it, put ideas to paper and spill out words until I had an entire story.
While drafting that book, I started researching what it would take to be published. I learned about literary agents, publishing houses, looked into the costs associated with self-publishing. I really wanted an industry advocate, and decided to pursue traditional publishing via finding representation. In total, I queried two books over a year and a half, and connected with my agent Rebeka Finch of Darley Anderson in the spring of 2023. We spent that summer getting FILMYI sub-ready, and went on submission in September 2023. I got my first translation deal (Brazilian Portuguese via Harlequin Brasil) in November of that same year! I got the offer from Alcove Press on February 1, 2024.
I’ve got a lot of books simmering on the back burner, waiting for a chance to edit and get out in the world, plus so many ideas they fight for space in my brain. I hope to be able to tell love stories for many years to come, and am overjoyed that Elle and Adam’s is my first.
Here, we love to talk about the writing process and find out how different every one’s processes are. Tell us what was your process for FILYMI, for writing and editing and then editing again with your agent and editor.
In general, I start with an idea or the premise of a book, get to know my characters a bit, and write a basic chapter outline. Then I just hit the ground running, aiming for a few hours of dedicated time during the week.
For FILMYI specifically, I was actively querying another book with minimal success, and I internalized a lot of that feedback. Because of that, I dragged my feet, and it took me a bit longer to finish that first draft than I would have liked. The first draft of FILMYI took about nine months, the longest a draft has EVER taken by triple, and was a labor of hard love the entire time. Which is fitting, because Hard Love is a recurring theme in FILYMI.
I’m going to expose myself here and tell you all what NOT to do. I didn’t do a lot of edits before querying beyond looking for typos and smoothing over a few emotional beats. I didn’t have beta readers for it, and the only voice injected into the story was mine. Because of that, the editing I did with my agent was a bit heavier than it might have been otherwise. We did three rounds of edits in total: one pass to smooth out the first act, including a brand new opening, and eliminate extraneous characters and plot points (around 7 pages of notes); one pass to add new scenes and more delicious chemistry (~8 pages); and one last pass on a few key scenes that I needed to stretch out more (~1.5 pages). I’d say the book that went on sub was about 35% different from what it started as.
Once FILYMI got into the hands of my editor, the heavy lifting had already been done. She wanted a few add more moments between Elle and Lovie, as well as smooth out some of the logistics around Adam’s job and life off the page. That was also around a page and a half of notes. She also provided a file with in-line comments and a light line edit. It only took that one pass before it was onto production (copyedits and pass pages), and months later, she's now in her final form and ready for readers!
What is your advice for authors starting out, who are waiting to make their mark on the publishing industry?
Be kind and patient with yourself, and don’t stop trying to grow, no matter what step of the process you’re at. If you thought up a book idea, that’s AMAZING! If you sat down and put your first words on the page, FANTASTIC. So many people want to write a book and never find the time, and it’s a big deal that you showed up for yourself that way. Finally decide on traditional or indie pub? SO COOL. Every little win in an industry that gives basically nothing is something to be celebrated.
Stay authentic to your goals. Decide what those goals are before you ever see success. Define it in your own terms, without inside factors or influence. Not everything will go your way, and you’ll face a lot of rejection. Make sure you lean on your support system if you have one, or take the time to find your people if not.
Above all, keep trying. Keep reading, keep writing, keep learning, keep building a community, and keep telling stories only you can tell.
I have to say I love your Insta space. What are your best tips to use social media for authors? How to use it like a tool to connect with readers and build a fan base?
Thank you! I hate it!
Jokes aside, I’m still probably not maximizing my potential on Instagram or other social media. It’s very easy to play the comparison game on there, especially when you only get highlight reels from other people but all your shortcomings are on full display. It’s easy to feel like you’re not growing fast enough or that you would get 100k view on every reel if only you did [fill-in-the-blank]. Like publishing, a lot of social media is trying and failing several times, throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks. I try to look at what others are doing successfully, the kind of content they’re pushing, and overlay it with my own voice and spin. I love Instagram’s creator dashboard for the reach insights and often use their tips.
And thankfully, it does get easier the more you do it. Plus, the farther you get into a publishing journey, the more natural traction you’ll get. Announcing your book! A cover reveal! Early galleys, blurbs, events will all help to grow an author account organically.
What is next for you? Are you writing another RomCom or something else? Whatever it is I can say we can’t wait to read.
I am writing another romcom! It has some of the same tropes readers will love in FAKE IT LIKE YOU MEAN IT (mild enemies to lovers, slow burn), with new ones I’ve never played with before (new adult!!!!). I can’t say much else for now, but look for news a bit later this year!
Finally, where can our readers find you online?
I’m available on Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and X (most active in that order) at @megmurphywrites. I also have a newsletter that I try to share any updates or good news with before it hits social media!
That’s all for today.
Thanks for reading The Writer Story. You can find me on social media - Twitter/X - @authoranima or Instagram - @authoranima or Bluesky - @authoranima.bsky.social
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Until next time,
~Toodle-oo~