Megan Giddings Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Anthologies

Megan Giddings is a renowned American writer of young adult, contemporary, science fiction, horror, and adult fiction stories. She has written a few short stories and poetry. Her debut full-length novel is known as Lakewood, which has been recently published. Before making her debut in the field of writing, Giddings obtained her degrees from Indiana University, Miami University, and Michigan University. She works as a full-time features editor and fiction editor at The Rumpus and The Offing respectively. Also, she contributes to Boulevard as an editor. Giddings’ short stories have been published in several literary journals and magazines, including Gulf Coast, The Iowa Review, Black Warrior Review, and Arts & Letters. In 2018, Giddings was rewarded with the fund grant of Barbara Deming Memorial for feminist fiction. The Amistad publication has obtained the publishing rights of her debut novel, Lakewood.

Author Giddings is represented at the Writers House by a literary agent named Dan Conway. Currently, resides in the Midwest. Giddings spends her daytime working in her day jobs and writes only in her spare time, in the evenings, or early mornings. Author Giddings is a hardcore fan of the flash genre. She thinks that if it is done well, it can help readers and writers to distill stories into memorable parts. However, she feels that the language needs to be chosen wisely and the story should feel purposeful. Before Giddings got acquainted with flash, she did not know how to write well. There were many repetitions in her writing and her stories didn’t really connect. But, writing flash gave her the most important skill for an aspiring author, that is, learn how to be a relentless editor of her own.

As of now, Giddings claims to be working on something big and for its research, she has been reading folk tales of different kinds. She says that she has always had a great fascination for writing and wants to continue doing it for the rest of her life. Giddings got her start in writing flash fiction from her friend named Annie Bilancini, who insisted on her reading the book Museum of the Weird by Amelia Gray. Reading this book enabled her to develop a passion for flash fiction and then she tried her hand at writing some flash. Thereafter, Giddings read several magazines that had regular publishings of flash. Giddings likes to believe that in order to become a better writer of fiction, one should read a lot of poetry. She likes to encourage weirdness because she always thinks of her stories in the form of magical realism.

Whenever Giddings sits down to write a story, she starts by writing a short form of it. Then, she works her brain to look after the specificity and make the elements of her stories look real. Some of the dangerous games that Giddings could think of include water polo, blindfolded skiing, chicken, slap battles, running through a field filled with explosives, etc. The game show that Giddings watches very often is Ninja Warrior. She loves it very much and likes how an announcer goes nuts when a participant falls in the water. Currently, author Giddings is working on the development of her second book and is expected to release it soon. She is hopeful that all her future books will succeed in reaching out to a large number of readers all over the world and become immensely popular. Giddings also hopes to get a good rating from critics and become a well-established writer.

The first book written by author Megan Giddings is entitled ‘Lakewood’. It is set in Lakewood, Michigan and features the central character in the role of Lena Johnson. This book revolves around the topics of race and cast; and showcases a world filled with terrifying medical experiments. Initially, it is mentioned that following the death of Lena Johnson’s grandmother, she becomes aware of the huge family debt. It forces her to drop out of college and begin earning at an early age to support the family. Lena Johnson acquires a job in a distant and mysterious town in Lakewood, Michigan. On paper, Lena’s new job appears to be so good and high paying that she can’t believe it. She has a place to live without any cost and does not have to pay for her medical expenses.

To enjoy the perks and benefits of the new job, Lena Johnson is required to take part in a secret research program. She has to lie to her family and friends about the research being carried out in Lakewood. As soon as Lena enters the research program, she learns that scientists are trying to prepare an eye drop that can make brown eyes turn blue. They are also looking to develop a medication that can be used for curing dementia and golden pills for helping patients get rid of their bad thoughts. Lena Johnson is told by her supervisors that the discoveries made in the secret program in Lakewood are going to great changes in the world. However, they did not tell her that the medications could have devastating consequences on the subjects involved.

When the program’s truths are revealed, Lena Johnson realizes how much she is ready to sacrifice for her family’s sake. This breathtaking, thrilling, and provocative novel describes the moral dilemmas faced by the working-class families and the horrors inflicted on the bodies of black people in the name of experimentation and science. The book is reminiscent of how poor, disadvantaged, minority, and undeserved communities are enticed into research studies by the government or similar entities without telling them how they are going to be affected by them or how much damage they are going to cause them.

Author Giddings has shown how poor people are lured into such research programs with the promise of some benefits. The story is described from Lena Johnson’s perspective. It is spooky, eerie, hair raising, fascinating, and horrific. Giddings has depicted an intense atmosphere in the book that can cause uneasiness to the readers. But, the critics feel the intense setting and uneasiness are necessary to understand the situation of the characters that undergo secret medical research programs and develop serious health issues. Overall, the book is quite interesting to read and seems to be worthy of good ratings.