Interview with Mary Morgan
by LaShawn Williams
1. How did publishing your first book change your process of writing?
I recall how excited I was right before my first book, Dragon Knight’s Sword, Order of the Dragon Knights released into the world. I relished the challenge of promoting, even though I had heard other authors mention to be careful. Marketing and promotion can drain a writer’s creativity. Excitement flared within me and I thought I was up for the challenge. Ha! This naïve newbie published author crashed and burned. It took me six long months to find the balance between a marketing and writing schedule—one that would work for me. When I set this firm schedule, I found a new way of writing. Six years later, I’m proud to say I’ve managed to stick to this program.
Mornings: Handle all emails, marketing, social media, and other business related tasks.
Afternoon to early evenings: The joy of writing!
2. Do you try more to be original or to deliver to readers what they want?
I deliver what my characters want. They are the ones who live constantly in my mind, each fighting for control of a scene or the next book. The stories come from my heart, so I stay true to what I love to write. In addition, I’ve been blessed to have readers fall in love with these books. They write me constantly, some with their own ideas on how a certain character should behave. I do listen, yet in the end, I am the writer.
3. What was an early experience where you learned that language had power?
Oh, definitely at a young age. When I read the Nancy Drew series, I became captivated. The author drew me into the story, enabling me to become the character—Nancy Drew, amateur sleuth detective! I devoured that series!
4. What was your hardest scene to write?
Out of 14 published books, one of the hardest scenes to write was the death of one of my characters. Since it’s a spoiler, I won’t reveal his name. I will share he was the most honorable character I’ve ever written, and the father of the heroine in one of my books. I wept for days after writing the scene. Furthermore, I had a heated discussion with my editor over the scene.She loved him and fought against his death. In the end, my argument won.
5. And lastly, what is the most difficult part of your artistic process?
Often times, life gets in the way. Circumstances happen to your friends and family, making it difficult to find the creativity. When my daughter went through cancer and chemo last year, I wrote constantly. For a short time each day, I blocked out what was happening to her and descended into my writing world. However, this year proved to be more of a challenge. It wasn’t just my family, but an entire world going through a global virus. In the first few months, I found it challenging to focus. I’m a constant daydreamer, so I had to reexamine why I suddenly froze. Did I need time away from my fictional world? I believe so. Thankfully, my demanding, alpha, and controlling characters lured me back into their world.
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BIO
Award-winning Celtic paranormal and fantasy romance author, Mary Morgan resides in Northern California with her own knight in shining armor. However, during her travels to Scotland, England, and Ireland, she left a part of her soul in one of these countries and vows to return. Mary’s passion for books started at an early age along with an overactive imagination. Inspired by her love for history and ancient Celtic mythology, her tales are filled with powerful warriors, brave women, magic, and romance. It wasn’t until the closure of Borders Books where Mary worked that she found her true calling by writing romance. Now, the worlds she created in her mind are coming to life within her stories. If you enjoy history, tortured heroes, and a wee bit of magic, then time-travel within the pages of her books.