Author Interview with Christopher D. Morgan
Today, I’m happy to welcome fantasy writer Christopher Morgan to my blog.
1. Hi Christopher! Please introduce yourself! Tell us a little about you and your books. What do you write?
Well, I’m an IT Manager by day and author by night, not to mention all the other hats I wear, which keep me permanently busy and on the go. I write fantasy novels for young adult and middle grade. My first novel, Forestium: The Mirror Never Lies, was published a little earlier this year.
2. What is it that draws you to the fantasy genre? Has it always been this way?
I love the idea of a Fantasy world, where there are no rules and I can let my imagination soar. Being relatively late in the game to the business of being an author, I’m still exploring this particular genre. I may yet do other things, but for now I’m happy to let myself disappear into fantastic landscapes and adventures.
3. Your first book, Forestium, released earlier this year! What’s it about?
Joshua is a young Woodsman in a land called Forestium. It’s a heavily forested world full of weird and wonderful creatures, though Joshua knows little of this, as he has never strayed far from his village. Although a peaceful place today, Forestium wasn’t always that way and Joshua grew up without a father, who died when he was very young during a skirmish. At least, that’s what he has always been told. He starts to have dreams and becomes convinced his father is still alive, so he and his best friend set off into the wider world of Forestium to find the truth. Along the way, he meets an imp, who is searching the land for others of his kind, long since believed wiped out by a malevolent creature known as the Goat. Pretty soon, a beautiful and ingenious young woman joins them and the four travellers embark on a perilous journey. Joshua comes into possession of one of three magical orbs that exist throughout the land. If he can find the others, he can open the Portallas, a gateway to another realm where the Oracle tells him he will find his father. Fiercely jealous and protective of the magical power of the orbs, the Goat learns of Joshua’s quest and sends his dark forces to stop him. Joshua and his friends must use all of their cunning if they are to open the Portallas and rescue Joshua’s father before the Goat destroys them.
4. What inspired you to start writing this book?
I always suspected I had a latent talent for writing. I’ve written a few things like non-fiction, travel journals, a few other bits and pieces. These all turned out quite well. One day, I was pondering how I could somehow turn my talents to my advantage. Since I’d never written fiction, I thought I’d have a crack at writing a novel. I’m so glad I did, as the result has been a fantastic journey that has changed me forever.
5. How do you go about writing a novel? Do you do loads of planning first? Or just dive right in?
For Forestium: The Mirror Never lies, I simply dived straight in. I didn’t do much at all by way of planning. Before I took on the novel, however, I had a go at writing a short story. This was my way of testing the waters first – to see whether I could manage a full-length novel. That was a really useful exercise that helped pave the way for writing Forestium. Now that book one of the Portallas series is published, I’m well into book two. With book one, I wrote it specifically to be able to stand on its own. Now that I’m working my way through a series, I have to plan a bit more carefully.
6. And let’s talk about world building. Can you share any tips for successfully creating a believable fantasy world?
I think every writer is different in his or her approach. I have the world fully formed in my mind at the outset and I slowly introduce the reader to it as I go. I tend not to dump endless paragraphs of description in one go. For me, the world has to have many dimensions. It’s not just about the physical environment. I put a lot of through into things like flora and fauna. My world is full of magical animals, plants, trees, etc. Illustrators and audio engineers have helped me bring these to life. You can see and hear many of them on the book series web site, http://portallas.com/.
7. What’s your favourite part of writing?
As far as the actual writing is concerned, when I have the next chapter already formed in my mind and I’m writing it out, I can sometimes really feel like I’m in the zone. That’s a great feeling. I have found other less direct benefits to being a writer, however. I have a school visit program, for example, where I go out to schools to speak to students about being a writer. Over the past school term, I have visited eight schools and delivered 15 sessions to over 1,500 students. It’s a real thrill to be responsible for igniting a passion in young people.
8. And the worst?
There are a couple of things that spring to mind. The first is writers block. The first book took me six weeks and I sailed through it relatively easily but this second one has more of a stop, start pattern to it, which can be frustrating at times. The other thing is that I’m an indie author, so I’m doing everything myself. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to find the time to sit and actually produce more content. Between the web site, social media, promotions, newsletters, school visits, delivering presentation, helping other indie authors (we tend to do that a lot) and about a gazillion other things, it can be hard keeping on top of it all.
9. What’s next for you in the writing world?
Well, for the foreseeable future, I plan to concentrate on the Portallas series. There’s a LOT more to come. Joshua’s destiny is much greater than he, and the reader, could ever imagine. He has a lot of action, adventure, danger, heartache and obstacles to overcome ahead of him and I will have my work cut out wading through it all.
10. If you couldn’t be an author, what would you be?
I’ve always loved IT and I’ve done well in this field but if I had my choice, I would be a school teacher. I love kids and I’ve found a real passion in dealing with youngsters over the years. I received a phone call last week from a teacher at a school I recently visited. During one of several presentations I delivered there, one session in particular was especially memorable. A student kept raising his hand and enthusiastically asking questions. It was rather disrupting and, dare I say it, even a little annoying. Rather than dampen his enthusiasm by asking him to be quiet, however, I instead insisted he come out and be my assistant, which he duly did. We chatted at the end of the session and I was taken by his cheekiness and tenacity. It turns out this student had been suspended that week. At the end of my visit that day, I gave some books to the school and I suggested that they give one of them to this student. I wanted it to be used as a positive reward for good behaviour, in light of his suspension. When the teacher called, she told me about how thrilled he was to have been given a copy of a book and that he would be reading it over the term break. She commented on how this small act changed him. If I can contribute any even the smallest way to making a difference and getting a better outcome for a student, then surely there cannot be a better reward than that. It’s the connection that teachers have with students; that one moment when they see the light suddenly switch on and they successfully reach through; that’s what I find so rewarding, and that’s why I would be a teacher if I could.
11. What’s your advice for aspiring writers?
Just go for it. Don’t hold back. Don’t be afraid. You will probably find you’re much better at it than you realise. Also, don’t stop learning – ever – and don’t be afraid to experiment or make changes. Being a writer can be hard work, but it can also be so very rewarding.
Check out Forestium: The Mirror Never Lies!
A magical world. A mysterious truth. Dark forces.
Night after night, Joshua dreams of his long dead father, making him wonder about the stories he was told. Wanting to know the truth he sets out to find the Oracle, his best friend and an imp joining him. Travelling through fantastic lands, he stumbles across one of the magical artefacts needed to open the Portallas, a permanent gateway that links the worlds together. A malevolent creature of the underworld, known as the Goat, is determined to stop him. Joshua needs to find the rest of the artefacts first and learn the truth about his father if he’s to have any chance of surviving an encounter with the evil creature.
“…an enchanting tale and a good start to a new fantasy series…” – Kirsty C, Amazon Review
