Taylor Swift was Megan Collins’ biggest inspiration as she penned down her most “twisted” thriller
The 41-year-old author revealed that she wrote her upcoming book while listening to Swift’s love songs.
Sharing her journey of being a Swiftie, Collins shared, “I became a Taylor Swift fan at 26, when love had left me ruined. For several months that year, I played Dear John on loop as I drove to and from work,” in conversation with People Magazine.
“I marveled at how a complete stranger had written a song detailing my exact heartache, helping me feel a little less as if I’d lost my mind as well as my heart. Back then, I couldn’t have imagined that over a decade later, Taylor’s music would help me write one of my most twisted thrillers to date,” she added.
Discussing the novel’s plot, Collins explained that she pondered over Swift’s lyrics to get to the deeper meaning behind, and that is one of the qualities her novel also attained. Behind everything is another meaning that the reader will be on the edge to find.
The protagonist of Cross My Heart, Rosie’s life’s trajectory can be understood through the pop superstar’s lyrics.
“In Labyrinth, the narrator proclaims over and over that she’s “falling in love again,” but she prefaces that statement with “uh oh” and “oh no,” acknowledging that, for her, this isn’t necessarily a good thing. Listening to that song at my desk, I knew my book needed that perspective,” said Collins.
Crediting the Anti-Hero hitmaker, the author concluded, “Without Taylor’s music, Cross My Heart would have been a very different book. Even if it had the same characters and same big surprises, it wouldn’t have dug as deep into the more obsessive — even possessive — side of love. The side that’s just as much delusion as desire. The side where passion tips into peril, where pursuing a partner feels as necessary as a heartbeat.”
