Megan’s Curd’s fantasy novel Bridger is the story of Ashlyn McVean, who discovers she possesses the ability to cross into the realm of faeries, and adventure ensues. This is Curd’s first published novel.

Family history. Long-standing grudges. Conflict and romance. Pixies. It’s the perfect setup for a fantasy novel, and, luckily, local author Megan Curd has just delivered. Her novel Bridger, a young adult book woven around the myths of Ireland, has just been released to rave reviews by local readers. 

“I actually was encouraged to try my hand at writing by a friend, who said I told vivid stories. I’d never tried it before, so I thought it was worth a shot.” – Megan Curd on how she came to write her novel, Bridger

Bridger is the story of Ashlyn McVean, who discovers she possesses the ability to cross into the realm of faeries. Facing ancient grudges and navigating a changing relationship with her boyfriend Liam, Ashlyn must make important decisions about who and what truly matter to her. This is Curd’s first published novel, and one that she says she never intended to write.

“I actually was encouraged to try my hand at writing by a friend, who said I told vivid stories. I’d never tried it before, so I thought it was worth a shot,” Curd said. “I called my mom and we Googled ‘cool legends.’ We found the Irish folklore that became the bedrock of Bridger. I didn’t even know if I could write a novel. Before I knew it, I had a novel-length book.”

Once the ideas came together, Curd says she knew her novel would have to have an element of fantasy. The real challenge was encouraging readers to invest emotionally in the world she created.

“To me, if I can make the fantastical believable, and my reader can delve in without questioning the idea along the way, then I’ve done my job,” she said. “I think it’s one of the things I enjoy the most about writing.”

But as any author knows, writing is (sometimes) the easy part. Trying to find agents and publishers is a daunting task, and it was difficult to get the novel on the market. In an unstable economy, even the book industry looks for guaranteed sells, and Curd says it was hard to get them to take a risk on a new author.

“The publishing industry doesn’t move very fast, and publishers are somewhat leery to publish anything right now that they aren’t 100 percent positive will sell,” she said. “A lot of great books that are new and fresh get overlooked for more of the tried and true ideas.”

But Curd found another way. After difficulties with agents, she decided to release Bridgeras an e-book. Eventually, it was picked up for print by indie publisher Soul Fire Press. Curd says her friends, family, and online communities helped motivate her to persevere, and she is incredibly grateful.

“I have a great nucleus of people in my life that encourage my writing in one way or another,” she said. “I appreciate everything they do for me.”

Even as Bridger enjoys local and national success, Curd isn’t stopping here. Her new fantasy novel called The Guardian Chronicles: Forbidden is set to be published in the next few months, and fans can also look forward to an upcoming sequel to Bridger set to be published in the coming spring. 

While you wait, you can pick up a copy of Bridger at The Local Store, Amazon, or the Kindle store. Curd encourages anyone to contact her through Facebook, Twitter, and MeganCurd.com for answers to questions, advice for budding writers, or a little glimpse into another world.