Meg Waite Clayton

Author of the international bestsellers The Postmistress of Paris, The Last Train to London, and 7 other novels

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Writing a Novel is Like Paddling a Bathtub

Just came across this wonderfully funny and true quote in the New York Times Book Review:
“Look, writing a novel is like paddling from Boston to London in a bathtub. Sometimes the damn tub sinks. It’s a wonder that most of them don’t.” – Stephen King
The whole piece is definitely worth reading: “Burn Before Reading.” For my part, I’m somewhere out on the Atlantic, paddling as fast as I can. – Meg

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Meg Waite Clayton


Meg Waite Clayton is the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of nine novels, including the forthcoming TYPEWRITER BEACH (Harper, July 1, 2025), the Good Morning America Buzz pick and New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice THE POSTMISTRESS OF PARIS, the National Jewish Book Award finalist THE LAST TRAIN TO LONDON, the Langum-Prize honored THE RACE FOR PARIS, and THE WEDNESDAY SISTERS, one of Entertainment Weekly’s 25 Essential Best Friend Novels of all time. Her novels have been published in 23 languages. She has also written more than 100 pieces for major newspapers, magazines, and public radio, mentors in the OpEd Project, and is a member of the National Book Critics Circle and the California bar. megwaiteclayton.com