About the Author

1. Let’s start at the beginning. Who is Meridith Gray in your own words?

My name is Meridith Gray, and at heart I’m a goth hobbit. I love being home, with my garden and my books, but I also love all things spooky and macabre. My family is my number one priority, and I’m extremely thankful that I have the privilege of being a stay-at-home mom by day, and an indie author by night. Being a milspouse and SAHM is intense, so being able to write as a creative outlet helps keep me (semi) sane, keeps me in touch with who I am, and pushes me to make connections in the bookish community that I would otherwise be too self-conscious and introverted to make. 

2. Keeping Indigo is the second book in the Damaged Goods Series. What inspired this story?

Sometimes when people set out to make changes in their lives, they stumble and revert back to bad habits or return to situations they know aren’t healthy for them because they’re familiar. With the cliffhanger ending of book one, and Indigo seemingly back in the abusive situation she’d worked so hard to escape, I wanted book two to explore what it took for Indigo to keep the parts of herself she’d discovered and how she would react when the life and family she was building were threatened. In the books, we’ve seen how Indigo reacts when in danger, but I wanted to see how she would grow once she had a support system, and how that would affect the manner in which she dealt with the Beast of Boston.   

3. Your series blends dark humor, romance, and suspense. Why are these themes important to you as a writer? How do you approach writing romance that’s spicy while balancing dark and emotional elements?

I’ve been an avid reader my entire life, and the stories I gravitate to are always emotionally intense in some way. In my real life, I don’t enjoy drama, confrontation, or danger, but on-page…well, that’s an entirely different story!  I appreciate authors who can make me laugh and cry in equal measure, so when I started writing my Damaged Goods Series I knew I wanted to blend humor, suspense/drama, romance, and spice to tell a story that, at the end of the day, is about resilience and learning how to love all of someone.  Humor has always been a coping mechanism for me, as it is for many, and it helps me balance some of the dark themes in my book. I don’t want my readers to finish my book and think, “Wow, that was depressing”. My goal is to have readers think more along the lines of, “Wow, that was f**ked up….I LOVED it.” 

As for the romance/spice aspect of my books, I very much try to balance the love and heat with the overarching plot. My main characters have more going on in their lives than just romance, as most people do, but it’s such an integral part of human life, I feel that as a writer I want to celebrate that. Plus, it can be really fun to read (and write 😉)! I’ve been a reader my entire life, and a romance reader ever since the seventh grade, when my mom gave me a copy of “Flowers in the Attic,” by V.C. Andrews. I absolutely love the emotion, angst, yearning, and passion romance authors convey on page, and I think for a lot of readers this genre allows them to safely and privately explore all kinds of love and relationships.  

4. The MC and mob dynamics are intense. How did you research or develop the Los Cuervos MC world?

I’ve always been drawn to fictional depictions of organized crime in movies/shows, and I love a good mob documentary. When I started adapting the mafia/bratva trope into my book, I decided to take their basic structure and give it my own flavor. I’ve never been in a gang or mafia (shocking, I know, lol), so when I wrote the Petrov bratva (and referenced the larger organized crime world), I didn’t want to get too technical and pull the readers out of the story with a ton of detail. I love mafia romance books, but I wanted to put my own spin on how the families are organized and what their hierarchies look like. I researched bratva tattoos, however, and tried to keep their traditional meanings intact when referencing their importance in the brotherhood’s culture. As the Damaged Goods Series unfolds, we’ll be peeking behind the curtain of various crime families, and who knows, maybe certain gangsters will get their own spin-offs?  

 When I set out to tell Indigo’s story, I knew I was going to require a setting that operated outside the law in order to make my book plausible. However, I also wanted there to be some sort of structure and code. Creating an MC element made the most sense to me, as they have a well-known structure that can be adapted for fiction. Los Cuervos is technically an outlaw MC in the sense that they participate in some illegal activity, but I knew I wanted them on the lighter side of morally gray. It felt natural to make my big, scary bikers crusaders against human trafficking. Los Cuervos do illegal or “bad” things, but they also try to protect and invest in their community while protecting those who need it most. Plus, who doesn’t love big, tatted, cinnamon-roll characters who would burn the world to save the people they love?   

5. Indigo is a bold and quirky protagonist. Were there any real-life inspirations behind her character?

When I created Indigo, I was influenced by characters like Harley Quinn and Sibby (from the Cat & Mouse duet). The energy they bring to the table, raw vulnerability mixed with mental illness, dark humor, and passionate disregard for societal expectations, makes for a compelling character. The way Indigo thinks, however, is inspired by my own wacky internal dialog. I’m the kind of neurodivergent that has an interior narrator, complete with a soundtrack 24/7. The difference between Indigo and me is that I know how to behave in public and don’t want to get arrested. I may not physically resemble Indigo, nor am I extroverted, but our sense of humor, pop-culture references, and “clinically quirky”-ness are very similar. I do wish I made friends as easily as she does, though! Ah, the pitfalls of being an introvert.  

6. Priest is a complex love interest. How did his story evolve as you wrote the book?

Priest really struggled with using his big boy words in book one. Toward the end of the book, he started to realize that he’d misjudged Indigo and allowed his own issues to influence how he treated her. Duke may have punished Priest for what he did to Indi, but Priest didn’t apologize to her or recognize that he’d done anything other than disobey an order from his prez. When I framed his journey to forgiveness, I wanted to make sure Priest proved to Indigo in word and deed that he was sorry and that he would never make the same mistake again. Priest’s love language is gift giving, and he started to show Indigo how he felt in this manner in the first book. In book two, I hope the reader enjoys Priest’s emotional growth journey as he learns to communicate more effectively. Los Cuervos has experience helping people who have experienced SA, and I wanted to make sure that whenever Priest and Indigo did take their relationship to the next level, it was done with respect and consent.   

7. If one of your characters could step out of the book, who would it be and what would they do first?

She wouldn’t step, she’d roll out of the book full-tilt!  My answer has to be Sheila. If Sheila could grace the streets of Sagebrush for real, she would probably hit a curb and then sail straight to Misty’s diner for a milkshake.

8. What scene in Keeping Indigo was your favorite to write? Why?
   My favorite scene to write in Keeping Indigo would have to be the scene where Priest interrogates an Iron Raider and Indigo “helps”. Torture is a very serious thing, obviously, so it was really fun for me to put Indigo’s quirky spin on it. It’s a scene full of dark humor, and I hope it’s as entertaining for the reader as it was for me as an author. In book one, Indigo critiques Priest’s method of interrogating perceived threats to the club, so I wanted this scene to a) give Indi and the reader a glance at how he normally operates so they can see the difference between that and how he handled Indigo in book one,  b) highlight how well Priest and Indi can work as a team, and c) inject humor into what would usually be a tense and terrifying ordeal. I also wanted to highlight how Indigo coped with a potentially triggering situation, given her past, and Priest’s respect and consideration of her in that regard.  

9. How do you hope readers feel after finishing this book?

I hope that after finishing Keeping Indigo, the readers feel excited for the next chapter of the overarching story, and satisfied with how Priest and Indigo’s relationship plays out. Indi and Priest will still be recurring characters in the series, so don’t worry about them disappearing!  But, I hope readers crave the next book, which will be focused primarily on Lennon and Bones. 

 

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Quick Fire ⚡

11. Character first or plot first?

Character

12. Writing in silence, music, or chaos?

Music, I adore my Spotify playlists! Music helps me focus and often inspires me, and I love sharing my book playlists and checking out the playlists of other authors.

13. Coffee, tea, or something else fuels your writing?

Coffee. Coffee now, coffee later, coffee forever.

14. Draft fast or draft carefully and slowly?

I usually outline fast, and draft slowly, often re-reading what I wrote the day before when I start a writing session to get me back into my flow. 

15. One word you hope readers use to describe your book.

Intense

 

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The Author Journey

16. What made you decide to start the Damaged Goods Series?

I sort of daydreamed the first two chapters of Becoming Indigo one day when I was driving to work. I wrote it down, not knowing if it was going to be a short story or more. My husband and dad read it, and actually liked it (they’re both big readers, but not of dark rom-coms or romance in general), and they encouraged me to keep going with the story. I had so much fun writing it, so I figured, what the hell: let’s publish. A lot of work went into getting my debut novel onto the page, and I felt like I owed it to myself and to the book to at least try to get it published. Being a published author has always been a dream of mine, but I never really had the self-confidence to believe it would actually happen. I’m so thankful that the indie publishing industry exists.

17. What has surprised you most about sharing your work publicly?

Honestly, I figured my friends and family would give my book an obligatory read, but I didn’t think people who didn’t know me personally would choose to read it when there are so many other amazing books out there. Every time someone leaves a review or comments on a post about my book it gives me the biggest goober grin. I’m extremely self-critical, so this experience has helped me build some confidence and given me an identity outside of being a wife and mother. 

18. What advice would you give to writers balancing life, writing, and personal commitments?

I think everyone has to build their own system, because what works for one person might not work for the next. For example, the “write every single day, no matter what” advice was not helpful for me. If I try to force my creativity, it dries up (thanks, ADHD). What has helped is having a dedicated writing space, so that when I am inspired to write a scene I have a place to go where all my notes, journals, and bulletin board are waiting for me. I’d also say that setting the scene helps, for me that usually means lighting a candle, listening to a curated playlist for the vibe I’m writing, and a beverage. Find the system that works for you, and do your thing. 

19. How do you approach writing intense or trigger-heavy scenes responsibly?

When it comes to heavy topics, I like to get fresh eyes on the draft of the scene so I can have other perspectives on the way I approach the topics. I don’t want to shy away from hard topics or use trauma for shock value, and I always want to treat the subject matter respectfully. Life is messy and dark sometimes, but I will always work to craft a reading experience that honors the subject matter. I feel like trigger warnings are important in books like mine, and I make sure to emphasize to my readers that mental health is important, so if you need to put my book down to protect your peace, I totally understand.

Soon I’ll be looking for sensitivity readers for book three of Damaged Goods since I will be writing the book largely from the perspective of characters in a different ethnic group than I belong to, and I want to make sure I write it as respectfully as I can.   

20. If readers take away one thing from Keeping Indigo, what would you want it to be?

I hope that my readers finish Indigo & Priest’s duet and take away that no one is too damaged to be loved. The real ones in your life, your ride-or-die people, will love you, jagged edges, weird quirks, and all. Also, it’s never too late to grow emotionally and get some therapy! Hopefully, Indi can find a therapist in Sagebrush soon who isn’t too squeamish.

 

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Looking Ahead

21. Book 3 is in production. Can you share what excites you most about continuing the series?

I am really excited to expand the Los Cuervos world. I’ve given small glimpses of other chapters of the MC and their allies, in book three I’d like to explore that further. Books one and two of the Damaged Goods Series will serve as a basic introduction into the LCMC world, but going forward each book will focus on one couple, with the overarching plot lines (the Consortium and anti-human trafficking mission of the Crows) running throughout the series. And who knows? Maybe in the future we’ll see spin-off series (she says, with a devious smile). 

22. How do you plan to balance the series with life events, like your spouse’s deployment?

Our recent relocation has affected my ability to write, so I can only imagine that my husband’s upcoming deployment will, at the very least, delay my release of book three. My husband is one of my alpha readers, he formats my e-book and paperback manuscripts, not to mention running interference with our kids while I write. It’s going to be very hard to do life without him for six months, let alone write, edit, and publish a book, but I plan to do my very best to keep writing. Who knows, maybe I can channel my feelings into giving Lennon and Bones an explosive and heart-racing story. 

The wellbeing and mental health of my children will always take priority over writing, but with proper time management, mindfulness, and caffeine I think I can make this book a reality. (But, if you’d like to send words of encouragement or send a quick prayer for me Bob’s way, I’d appreciate it.)

23. If the Damaged Goods Series were adapted, would you prefer a movie, series, or another format?

Seeing my books adapted on screen would probably give me the happy screams! I think an HBO series could do Indigo and her Crows justice. I know they did us dirty with the final season of Game of Thrones, but with the right casting I’d definitely watch Indigo dispensing lady vengeance and recruiting for the Wicked Sisterhood in HD. Plus, can you imagine all those Crows and bratva bros? 🥵 

24. Is there a fun or surprising fact about you that readers might not know?

Fun and surprising, probably not. Funny, yes. Like Indigo, I love animals. I also have an unfortunate history of getting chased by animals. Specifically, farm animals. 

1. A horse once chased me through a field and tried to eat my hair after I ran out of carrots to feed him. Rude. (I would definitely try to pet him again, though.)

2. My nana’s neighbor had a turkey named Tom who was a complete asshole. She and her neighbor, from the safety of his porch, watched as Tom chased ten year old me up and down the yard until I finally was able to jump into the cab of her truck. That jerk turkey stood by the door and refused to let me come out. (I still said hello every time we visited his property.)  

3. My nana had a goat named Petey who loathed me, no matter how nice I tried to be to him. His favorite pastime was chasing me through the yard and butting me with his horns. (I still fed Petey snacks when I visited in a futile attempt to win him over.)

4. Geese, aka Satan’s longnecked foot soldiers, scare the crap out of me. There have been too many instances of goose-on-Meridith violence/Benny Hill chase scenes for me to pick just one, but I am well and truly afraid of them. (I did commission some goose-based art, though, so maybe exposure therapy will heal my goose-inflicted wounds).
   
   

25. Any final words for your fans and future readers?

I hope you have as much fun reading my books as I did writing them. My goal is to write books that tackle heavy topics with humor and my own brand of dark whimsy. If I can make you laugh, cry, and fall a little in love with my characters, I’ll consider myself a successful author. 

 If you enjoyed my books, please make sure to follow me on social media so you don’t miss updates, ARC applications, and sneak peeks! Chatting with bookish people is one of my favorite things to do, so feel free to send me a DM or comment on my posts.