Dreaming In Books

Hey readers!  Today, I have my first interview with author Angela Morrison.  She currently has two novels - both wonderful and romantic and make me want to cry - Taken by Storm and Sing Me to Sleep.  She writes lovely works of fiction that touch upon religion and love without feeling preachy.  I hate normal Christian fiction (well, the preachy stuff) and Morrison blends it so well into her characters and romances that you hardly even notice it.  I'll be having her back later to talk about Sing Me to Sleep, which I'm reviewing later today, and her journey on self-publishing Unbroken Connection. 

Taken by Storm is a romance novel in the purest sense. What would you say is your favorite romance novel/romantic relationship within a novel?

I’m a giant Jane Austen freak. My favorite Austen novel is PERSUASION, so I’d have to say Captain Wentworth (the hottest man in literature) and long-suffering, perfectly sweet Ann Elliott.


In your novel you use several different writing methods: dive logs, poetry, Instant-Messaging. What made you choose those methods as a writer?

Desperation. I couldn’t get Leesie’s voice to work until I took her first-person narration and turned them into poems. I already had Michael’s dive logs and the chats. In earlier versions, I used the chats like you would dialogue. I turned those scenes into straight chat transcripts. I liked that so much I wrote more. I loved the “collage” that resulted from using these three different ways to narrate and hoped YA readers would, too.

You’re currently working on a blog about deleted scenes and editing Taken by Storm. What inspired that? 

I’m sooo glad you noticed. I have so many favorite scenes from TAKEN BY STORM that had to be cut. It was painful, but I learned a lot from the process. I wanted to share what I learned and share those scenes with faithful readers while they impatiently wait for me to figure out how to get UNBROKEN CONNECTION, STORM’s sequel, to them. My editor recently left Razorbill, so they rejected it. I’m looking at Kindle, iBook, and Smashwords right now. I’ll let you know if I decide to release that way.


As a now twice-published writer, have you found anything in your books that people consistently find and enjoy?

Both of these love stories are about young men who have to face tragedies in their lives. The girls they love make a difference. And the guys make a difference to the girls. The couples become devoted to each other in a way that goes beyond a merely physical relationship. I think that is what touches my readers the most. They cry at the endings, but they find hope in the journey, too.

What are is your next project(s)? Can you tell us more about it (them)?

My agent has MY ONLY LOVE, a historical YA romance about a coal mining lad who has to leave the lass he loves behind in Scotland when his father forces him to emigrate to Nova Scotia with the family. You can imagine the rift that causes between Will and his father. He loses everything he loved—the girl he planned to share his life, his beloved homeland, his father who he hero-worshipped all his life, his trust in God, even the coal pit he grew up in. Will’s journey is set in the early 19th Century, but it is the same journey we all make as we move through adolescence. I hope we have good news about it soon.

Right now I’m revising a time-slip novel I’ve been working on for years. It was a middle grade boys adventure. I’m YAing it now, but leaving in all the adventure. My hero, Jag, was just way too hot to waste on a story for younger readers. And the concept was too complex. So I’m turning TIME ASSASSIN on its head. I replaced my annoying boy character with a Bronte/Austen-esque heroine. I love what’s happening—it’s like Jane Eyre meets the Terminator—but my assassin ain’t no robot. Hmm, maybe I should say, Jane Eyre meets Mad Max. And most of the action takes place in the Middle Ages. I’m just about done with the revision. I should have the first chapter posted on my website soon!

 Thanks for coming by, Angela!  Readers, you should check out her website:  It has all the latest on her stories, and she's just a big sweetie to her fans! 


Angela's Website 

• 
• 
• 
• 
•