Megan E. Freeman is the author of the new middle grade novel Away. It's a companion to her novel Alone. Also an educator, she lives in Colorado and in Texas.
Q: What inspired you to write Away, and how do you see its relationship to your novel Alone?
A: Since my first novel, Alone, came out in 2021, I have been invited to many schools and visited with many young readers. They always want to know more about the mysterious threat that causes the 12-year-old main character to be left behind after her town is evacuated and abandoned.
After many of these conversations, I knew I needed to write a companion novel that addressed some of those questions. I came up with four young characters who are all evacuated to the same shelter, where they become friends and work together to solve the mystery of the “imminent threat.” That was the premise that became the book Away.
Q: Did you need to do any research to write the novel, and if so, did you learn anything that especially surprised you?
A: Yes, I spent a lot of time doing research. I read a lot about the Japanese internment camps during World War II, and while I was drafting, my local museum had a timely exhibit of Ansel Adams’ photographs from Manzanar.
I also went down a few rabbit holes researching state and federal emergency response systems. And I interviewed several friends who were experts in journalism, the military, film history, and ranching. I learned a lot!
Q: The novel is told in various forms of poetry and prose--how did you decide on this format?
A: I knew I wanted to give each of the four kids their own point of view, so I started by thinking about what each of them was passionate about, and I let those interests inform the formatting for their voices.
I ended up with newspaper articles, correspondence, poetry, screenplay, diary entries, and other forms of prose.
Q: What do you hope readers take away from the book?
A: I want my books to engage young readers’ imaginations and critical thinking. I want readers to become absorbed in the stories and feel challenged by the main characters’ dilemmas. And I want to cultivate a love of reading that will propel readers forward into other wonderful books.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I just sold my first YA novel and it has yet to be officially announced, but I’m really excited about it. It’s completely different from the Away and Alone books, and it’s set both in California and Norway, where I lived as a teen. It’s coming in 2026, and I’ll have more news about that soon.
And I’m playing with ideas for a third book in the Alone/Away universe. In Alone there are three girls, Maddie, Ashanti, and Emma, who are supposed to attend the ill-fated sleepover. Now that Maddie and Ashanti each have their own books, it seems like there may need to be one more for Emma…we’ll see!
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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