Ep. 90: Megan Abbott (Author of The Turnout)

<p><strong>In Episode 90, Megan Abbott (author of <a href= "https://amzn.to/3fkk1Pc" target="_blank" rel= "nofollow noopener">The Turnout</a>) shares how she chooses the worlds she writes about, the expectations of women in sports, and how she researches the worlds she writes about.</strong></p> <p><em>This post contains affiliate links, through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!).</em></p> <h2>Highlights</h2> <ul> <li>Where Megan got the inspiration for this story.</li> <li>Whether Megan feels The Turnout is her darkest book yet.</li> <li>How she turns off the “dark” part of her brain outside of writing.</li> <li>Megan’s interest in family dynamics and family entanglements.</li> <li>How Megan first started writing about female athletic worlds with a dark side.</li> <li>The pressure on young women to be perfect without seeming to exert any effort (i.e. “effortless perfection”).</li> <li>Whether she’d consider writing a book about figure skating.</li> <li>Sarah starts suggesting different sports Megan should write about next.</li> <li>The two old gymnastics memoirs that were big influences for Megan’s writing.</li> <li>Unhealthy parent / child sports relationships.</li> <li>How Megan researches the worlds she writes about.</li> <li>Megan’s trajectory towards writing more and more about adults.</li> <li>How Megan feels about writing for TV vs. writing books.</li> <li>We discuss publishers giving away too much in blurbs (especially for thrillers).</li> </ul> <h2>Megan’s Book Recommendations <a class= "spp-timestamp">[29:34]</a></h2> <p><strong>Two OLD Books She Loves</strong></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://amzn.to/3feBybO" target="_blank" rel= "nofollow noopener">In a Lonely Place</a> by Dorothy B. Hughes | <a href="https://amzn.to/3feBybO" target="_blank" rel= "nofollow noopener">Buy from Amazon</a> | <a href= "https://bookshop.org/a/24569/9781681371474">Buy from Bookshop.org</a><strong><img src= "https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=sarsbooshe04-20&l=am2&o=1&a=B01BD1SSO