Episode 7: co-authors Carrie McCrossen & Ian McWethy
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Carrie McCrossen and Ian McWethy met at Fordham University (which Carrie attended on a full scholarship and which Ian paid full price for.) Their debut YA novel, Margot Mertz Takes It Down was released in 2021 by Viking/Penguin Random House. (Amazon Editor's Pick, Apple Book of the Month, Buzzfeed Book of the Month, YALSA shortlist.) It was published internationally in Australia, South Korea, France, and Brazil. The sequel, Margot Mertz For the Win, will be released in the fall 0f 2022. They are also the uncredited authors of several Lifetime features, which are either “trashy fun” or “just trash,” depending on your mood. Carrie and Ian live in Highland Park with their adorable son and his many, many dinosaur books.
Carrie’s Links:
Ian’s Links:
In this episode:
Angels in America by Tony Kushner
Candide by Voltaire
Saturday Night Live
Temple Hill Entertainment
The Twilight Saga movies
The Maze Runner movies
John Green movies
Love, Simon
Booktok
HarperCollins
Alli Dyer
Penguin Random House
Philomel Books
Viking Books for Young Readers
Kelsey, Margot’s editor at Penguin
Lifetime Network
IMDB
Killing Your Daughter aka Adopted in Danger
23andMe
Fatal Fitbit
A Deadly Bridenapping
TikTok
Sandra Bullock - The Net
Consent: A Memoir by Vanessa Springora (Le Consentement)
The Third Person by Emma Grove
Leaving Isn’t the Hardest Thing by Lauren Hough
Does My Body Offend You? by Mayra Cuevas and Marie Marquardt
Margot Mertz For the Win
November 15, 2022
Veronica Mars meets Moxie in the hilarious and thought-provoking sequel to Margot Mertz Takes it Down.
Margot faces senior year working on a campaign for local election while helping a fellow student run for class president—but when a mysterious blackmail plot emerges, and a loathesome opponent rises in the class race, Margot might have to return to the cleanup job she thought she’d left behind.
It’s senior year. And Margot’s on a mission to be a better Margot. Which means saying goodbye to her old cleanup ways— and their inherent moral ambiguities— and saying hello to… more yoga maybe? (Probably not, Margot hates exercise.)
To fill her time and round out her college application, Margot volunteers for Shep Green’s state senate campaign and in a twist, finds she actually enjoys being part of a team. She loves her new boss/mentor Priya. And of course it doesn’t hurt that the candidate is Avery Green’s dad. Yes, Avery and Margot are just friends, but it’s still nice to see his too perfect face from time to time.
Meanwhile at Roosevelt High, Margot finds herself roped into a second election, this one for school president. Melanie Jenkins is running against one of the monsters who created the revenge porn site Margot took down last year. Needless to say, Margot is #teamMelanie.
With Margot rocking both campaigns and maybe even making friends, it seems like she’s well on her way to being a better person. But when Priya asks her to look into an anonymous email threatening Shep Green, one that could potentially torpedo his entire election, Margot finds herself slipping back into her old habits.
She’s tried to keep her hands clean. But politics is a dirty job.
-Viking Books for Young Readers-
Previously Published
Margot Mertz Takes It Down
