Meet the man behind Megs

This blog, as intermittent as it may seem (for the moment – due to how ridiculously busy I am) is all about football fiction. Recently I had a (digital) chat with Neil Montagnana-Wallace, co-author of the Megs Morrison series, I thought it would useful to have a wee look at what he had to say on the back of the fifth book in the series being published. I’ve interviewed him before, for the second book release, if you feel like it have a look at what he had to say then
Wonder Strike is my favourite book of the Megs series. In terms of its combination of the elements – the football, informal educational and tackling moral issues – its easily the most refined and sophisticated. So that was where I started.
tsg: It must be pleasing to finish the series on a high note, but what ‘s it like finishing it? Are you done with Megs? Will we see ever see him again?
NMW: Thanks for the compliments, I am proud of the fifth book. Megs is almost writing himself! It was a great joy to tie up the fifth book and also a bit emotional – we planned on a five book journey, and here it is! That said, future editions can still be written, but for we’re going to concentrate on communicating with the world that Megs is out there for them, and five books is enough for that. But you never say never, do you??
And we are developing a TV product for Megs which is exciting. We might have pressed ‘pause’ on the books for Megs, but that doesn’t mean writing for Megs has stopped. Script writing is a whole new world with a whole new set of parameters to understand … Megs’s next unsettling challenge is underway …

tsg: There’s so much in the series, but is there anything you feel remains left unsaid as far as Megs is concerned?
NMW: At this stage, nothing remains unsaid in Megs’s world, but ‘life issues’ come out of blue all the time as we all know, so I don’t believe there is a finite amount of things we can write about with Megs. But we also don’t want to draw blood from a stone, so we’ll let it rest for now.

tsg: Looking back now, hindsight benefits and all, if you had a do over in hand, are there things you would change? (I believe every author wants to change what they’ve written after its published.)
NMW: I’d change how long it took me to write the first one!! I learnt a lot through that process in terms of structure, flow and story architecture and that helped produce subsequent books more efficiently. However in terms of the end product and story, I have to say that I wouldn’t change any of it. It’s the journey!!

tsg: Are there plans for more football fiction from Bounce Books?
NMW: At the moment there isn’t, but that’s not to say there isn’t a place for it. We’re just going to concentrate on what we have with Megs for the moment.

tsg: Writers say each book teaches them something new. Did you find that with Megs?
NMW: The research for each book certainly taught me new things. For example, I didn’t know anything about the refugee struggle in adapting to Australian life (book 3): I had no idea what it was like to be a young Muslim woman playing football (Book 2); and I didn’t know much about the psychological issues surrounding bullying and the ‘ugly parent’ syndrome (book 5 – see also u f n c’s ). I enjoy that part. In terms of the writing, with practise comes proficiency, and I learnt that as I went.

tsg: Do you think there are additional gains from writing a series?
NMW: It gives a chance for readers to grow with the characters – and it also breaks up what is essentially a 200,000 word book into five much more manageable 40,000 books!

tsg: When you started out did you see yourself contributing to a genre? And do you think there’s value in cataloging the books as football fiction?
NMW: No… I really haven’t considered any cataloging issues. I just wanted to write cool books that people liked!

thesimplestgame would like to thank Neil for his time, his answers and his books. Obviously we’re made up with Mark Schwarzer’s involvement – he’s one of the best keeper’s in the world at the moment. If you’re interested you can buy the books at Megs Morrison’s site

Megs and the Wonder Strike

Ages ago, I interviewed Neil Montagnana-Wallace. He’s written a series of  about a footballer called Megs Morrison. It’s for the young, young adult market. Neil reckons 7-13 yrs.

Recently I reviewed the final instalment in Bookseller and Publisher magazine and wanted to add my thoughts to my football fiction blog. Here’s a couple of excerpts from the review…

Engaging dialogue, action-packed plots and an imaginative take on social issues make Megs Morrison a crowd favourite.

Apart from the dream sequence in the opening, this is the writer/footballer’s best work. It’s sharp, it’s smart and importantly puts over the attractiveness of football and the power it has to affect people’s lives.

…tackles bullying in many guises. On and off the pitch, Megs must cope with the pressures of State squad, a stern coach, his Mum getting weird and the Simpfenator losing control. Forced to consider his football future, Megs also learns parental fans don’t necessarily make good spectators.

There is always an ‘issue’ in each of the Megs books, an old school YA moral lesson to be learned. Where the texts do well is dealing with it realistically. Its not always good and it doesn’t always end up the right way round. It’s for a young audience so most of the time it works out, but the issues, sometimes very difficult ones are dealt with creatively without the reader being hammered.

Defensively, the writing is a little flabby. It doesn’t always pick up its marker and smothers some sharp humour. The midfield engine room is strong, open and energetic. Solid characters like Megs, Coach Atti and the Morrisons family household move the ball and link well with squad members.

I feel a bit harsh saying this, but I have to be honest too. The wordiness sometimes gets in the way of the humour. And a disciplined edit on the writing would have tightened things up a bit. Fortunately everything else is working really well, so most of the minor problems are forgiven.

…underlin[es] the game’s development in Australia, particularly Women’s football, lightning-paced match exploits and intricate ball tricks are woven through a history of Rights protests from the Eureka Stockade to the UK Miners’ Strikes. This informative and entertaining series ends fittingly with its best book.

The reader learns beyond their own culture and history. Its an idea I really like. That its done through football is even better. Montagnana-Wallace and Schwarzer work hard to bring a lot to the subtextual discussion. Its something else that works well. The books are a lot of fun and are very very readable. A must for the age group, young ‘uns interested in sports or those reluctant to read at all.
Megs Morrison has booked a worthy berth on the football fiction shelf.