Hello hello and welcome or welcome back to my little bookish corner of the internet. Today is my stop on the blog tour for Meg Grehan’s latest novel in verse, Baby Teeth, which published earlier this month. I had a lovely chat with Meg about her work, and I’m excited to share our conversation with you, and encourage you to read this truly unique work.
Synopsis
A unique verse novel of queer love, lust, and vampires. From the award-winning author of The Deepest Breath and The Space Between.
The blood
Feeds the hunger
That threatens everything
It starts when Claudia offers her a yellow rose.
Immy has been in love before – many times, across many lifetimes. But never as deeply, as intensely as this.
Claudia has never been in love this before either. But then, this is her first time with a vampire.
The forbidden thirst for blood runs deep in Immy. And within her mind clamour the voices, of all the others she has been, their desires, and their wrongs.
“A fresh, dark take on the vampire myth and desire, Baby Teeth shows vampires haunted by their pasts and memories, where immortality is not one long life but a broken patchwork of different experiences. It will twine around your heart and bite, ever so gently. I adored it.” – Helen Corcoran
Hi Meg, thanks for taking the time to talk to me about your upcoming novel in verse, Baby Teeth. How are you feeling about the release?
I’m so nervous! Baby Teeth is pretty different from my first two books so I just really hope people like it! I’m very proud of it and it’s my favourite book I’ve written so far so I am also very excited to see it out in the world.
Novel in verse is something that, in my opinion, deserves far more praise than it gets! Why – and how – did you decide to approach it in this way?
Verse is just my favourite way to write! All three of my books have been in verse and I don’t plan on writing any other way anytime soon. I just think it’s so lovely to both read and write and I love how accessible it is. I think verse suited this story as it’s very introspective and about big emotions and verse really lends itself to that type of story.
Where did you draw your inspiration from?
I’ve always wanted to write a vampire story, I think they always have this innate drama to them that I thought would be fun to write. The idea for this one came from how I was feeling during lockdown. I felt like I’d lost who I was because I’d worked very hard to be a real person who went out and went to work and had a full busy life and I felt I was returning to the person I’d been before, who was agoraphobic and stuck at home. It made me think a lot about how many versions of ourselves we have and how we carry them with us. This inspired Immy, a vampire who has lived countless lives and been countless people. All of whom still exist inside her. It was very cathartic to write!
Do you have a set method for your writing? Do you always use the same pen or music for example?
I always tidy my desk before I start writing, then I light a candle, make some tea and put on either asmr or rain sounds. I find having a little ritual really helpful! Sometimes I just write on my phone though! Especially when I’m out of the house, if I get anxious it can be really helpful to do some writing on my phone.
What advice would you give to people who are working on a novel or verse work of their own?
Do it your own way! You know what works for you so trust yourself and your instincts. You’re the one who knows what you want to say and how you want to say it so do what feels right to you.
Finally, how would you describe Baby Teeth in three words?
Dark, introspective and emotional.
Thank you so much to Meg for her time, and for responding with such thoughtful answers, to Little Island for the ARC of this beautiful book, and of course to Nina for all her hard work as always.
Baby Teeth is out now.
And On She Reads 