Meghan Fenn, Korean born American currently living in England with an English man and three British born children.

1. Why did you move abroad?
Originally I moved abroad to teach English at the University of Prague. It was there in Prague that I met my British husband. We lived and worked there for two years. Then I lived abroad in Tokyo for two and a half years and then I moved to England to be with my British boyfriend (now my husband).

2. How do you make a living? Are you a fulltime writer?
I own a design company and I am a graphic and web designer. This is my full time job. I also write (Bringing Up Brits: Expat Parents Raising Cross-Cultural Kids in Britain is my first book) and blog for my own blog www.bringingupbrits.co.uk/blog and I write guest blog posts for others bloggers.

3. How did you start the process of writing a book and get it published? Did you go to a publisher? Self-publish?
I wrote the synopsis and an initial chapter (not the first chapter) and sent that off to publishers and book agents. I only heard back from a few and the feedback was that it was best to write about that type of topic on a blog or online forum. I found my publisher (partnership publishing with Live it Publishing) through a design client. I was designing her book cover and I asked her who her publisher was. I sent off my manuscript to her and she agreed to publish it.

4. How long did it to take from conception to publication?
I think it took about 1 year and ½.

5. What was the hardest part of taking your writing to a book format? Did you blog before writing your book?
No, I didn’t blog properly before I wrote my book. The hardest part was trying to express all the very personal feelings, emotions and experiences I had and represent them in a way other parents in a similar situation could relate to.

6. What is your perception of the expat book market? Has it changed throughout the process?
There are more expat books about the logistics of moving abroad. Not as many about the emotional transitions. There are more books about moving abroad and about parenting now and there are also more blogs.

7. What is your favorite part of the book?
I love all the funny stories. I also really like the final chapter because it addresses the racial make-up of my children which is something I rarely talk about. I felt very brave including that in my book.

8. What was the most difficult part to write?
Probably writing about my husband. I didn’t want to make it seem that I was ungrateful for him or that I didn’t want to be with him, however, because of all the negative experiences I had due to cultural differences, it seemed I was cold towards him in the book. I hadn’t intended it to read that way.

9. What advice would you give to other expats that want to write a book?
Get someone to edit it. I had a good proof-reader, but would have benefitted from having an editor as well.

10. What are you working on now? Do you have plans to publish another book?
Yes, I am working on a book about expat entrepreneurs. I am co-writing it with one of the parents who contributed to my first book, Bringing Up Brits.

Meghan Peterson Fenn is an American expat, entrepreneur, writer, and mother and has lived in England since 1998. Raising and parenting your children in a different country to the one in which you grew up can be difficult, challenging and often lonely and confusing. Bringing Up Brits: Expat parents raising cross-cultural kids in Britain speaks to those parents and discusses issues such as cultural differences, customs and traditions, identity, British systems and language barriers. At the same time, this book offers an interesting and valuable insight into British culture from several different perspectives. This is THE book for parents from other cultures who are raising children in Britain, and in addition for family or friends who are touched by this.

For more information, please visit Meghan's website www.bringingupbrits.co.uk or design site www.whiteochre.com/.

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