Megan Oliver: Persistence Really Is the Key
In this interview, author Megan Oliver discusses how a trip to Iceland helped inspire her debut romance novel, Secret Nights and Northern Lights.
Megan Oliver is a writer, an avid romance reader, and a travel enthusiast whose vacation mishaps provide plenty of inspiration for her characters on page. She lives with her husband, two dogs who refuse to cuddle as much as she’d prefer, and a cat who barely tolerates the presence of any and all above. Follow her on Instagram.
In this interview, Megan discusses how a trip to Iceland helped inspire her debut romance novel, Secret Nights and Northern Lights, her hope to inspire wanderlust in her readers, and more.
Name: Megan Oliver
Literary agent: Laura Blake Peterson at Curtis Brown, LTD.
Book title: Secret Nights and Northern Lights
Publisher: Berkley
Release date: November 18, 2025
Genre/category: Romance
Elevator pitch: A travel writer finally gets her shot to cover an international assignment in Iceland, only to find out the freelance photographer accompanying her is the guy who broke her heart in high school.
What prompted you to write this book?
I traveled to Iceland and went on the exact road trip around Ring Road that my characters take in the book. I immediately fell in love with the country and knew it was the perfect setting for an angsty, second-chance romance.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
More than three years. The idea didn’t necessarily change throughout the writing process, but the execution certainly did. There were several rewrites after feedback from some trusted critique partners. One early version of this book had “now” chapters and “then” chapters to showcase Mona and Ben throughout their childhood and adolescence, and I eventually realized that the dual timeline just wasn’t working for this story. I removed the “then” chapters and wove glimpses of their pasts into the present timeline.
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
So many! As a debut author, all of this has been brand new for me so I’m just along for the ride and trying to soak it all in.
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
One thing that always takes me by surprise is how overwhelmed I feel at the beginning of any new project. Those very early stages when I’m trying to figure out the characters and figure out the plot and figure out the scenes are incredibly intimidating to me, and it never gets any easier. I’m not great at plotting no matter how hard I try to be, so that first draft always takes me a while to complete.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
Some readers of early copies have reached out to tell me that this book has inspired them to visit Iceland or to try to travel more in general, and hearing that has brought me a lot of joy. So, I hope readers really love this second-chance romance, and I also hope this book continues to inspire some wanderlust!
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
I would say that persistence really is the key. I doubt there’s any writer out there that has never been told no or faced some kind of rejection, and sometimes the only thing in our control is to keep working on a project or writing the next thing.
