An Interview with Author Morgan Busse and a Giveaway!

Welcome to Readers Write to Know! I asked you, my readers, what questions they would ask their favorite authors if given the chance. This week, today I am so pleased to introduce you to Morgan Busse. Morgan is the mother of four, wife of a pastor, and writer of Christian fantasy. Morgan is also giving away a paperback of Daughter of Light. Be sure to read on to see how to enter!

Tell us a little bit about yourself. I am married to a pastor and have four kids (including a set of twins). When I’m not writing I enjoy playing games, riding my bike, and reading. My love for fantasy began when my dad introduced me to J.R.R. Tolkien. From there, I consumed everything I could find. After the birth of our daughter, my husband encouraged me to write. I never thought about being a writer, but always had stories floating around in my head. A few months later during a trip to Seattle, I had this idea about a woman who could see inside people’s souls when she touched them. I went home and started writing Daughter of Light, the first book in my epic fantasy series Follower of the Word.

WhonPhoto_MBusse_003 MFinalDarkerTell us about your current release.
Daughter of Light follows the story of Rowen Mar, the last Truthsayer, a being who can see inside people’s souls. Son of Truth, the second book in the series, continues Rowen’s story along with that of Caleb Tala, a prince and assassin.   Heir of Hope is the highly anticipated third and final book in the Follower of the Word series. With the changes that happened with my publisher over the last year, the release date was pushed back to March of 2015. Heir of Hope is the conclusion to Rowen’s story and will finally reveal her past, what happened to her people, and what it means to be a Follower of the Word.

I have been blessed to receive much acclaim for my books, including being a Christy and Carol award finalist. I never set out to write for awards and monetary gain, only to write a story close to my heart. That is still my compass: to write from my heart. But there is something special about receiving a phone call or email from someone who has been touched by my writing or chose my book for an award.

If you knew ahead of time your book would benefit only one person on their spiritual journey, would you still write it? Yes. In fact, that was kept me writing for years when everyone told me that Christian fantasy did not sell. I decided if only my children read my stories, then that was good enough for me. My stories are an outpouring of my questions and struggles with faith. Following God is not easy. I hope that after reading my books, my children will have a greater understanding of who God is and who they are to Him.

Daughter of Light Cover--Adjusted (514x800)With all those characters in your head screaming to get out how do you write fast enough to get it all down? Actually, I’m not a fast writer, so the screaming goes on for a while! Rough drafts take a long time for me to write. I’m also a mother, so that leaves me only a couple hours a day to use for writing and marketing. I write a certain amount of words a day until the rough draft is done. However, I do write a pretty clean rough draft, so I rarely rewrite anything, just clean up some scenes and check the flow of the story. Overall, it takes me a year to write a book.

What is your personal, most effective way to get past writer’s block? I plot out the big parts of my book, so I know where I’m going. However, sometimes how to get there can elude me. The only way I’ve found to get past writer’s block is to sit down and write. I write at least 500 words a day. I figure I can do that. Some days the story flows and I write more. Some days writing is like pulling teeth. But I make myself sit and write those 500 words. Then I let the story simmer the rest of the day and usually by the next day I know where to go next in my story.

What advice do you have for aspiring writers? Live life and make time for your family. Your writing will always be there, but your family will not. Even though it takes me a while to write a book, I have no regrets. I have been there for my kids and will be there until they leave the house. I also love my husband and make time for our marriage. Without his encouragement and support of my writing, I don’t know where I would be today. Actually, I do. I would not be writing!

I’m always intrigued by how writers get started…did you always have these books inside you and knew that you wanted to write them or did the idea just pop into your head one day and you decided to put pen to paper? Ideas come to me and I start working on them. I keep folders on my computer where I store all my ideas, characters, plots, etc… As time goes by, the story grows until I’m ready to write it. By then, I have a pretty good grasp on the characters and plot.

Do you write your books for your own enjoyment or more for what you think people would want to read? I write for myself first and foremost. If I don’t enjoy the story, I don’t think my readers will either. It’s hard to be passionate about a story you don’t like.

What is one thing that you “never saw yourself doing” and either do it now or have done? I never thought I would be a writer. I was a science and math geek in high school and thought I would pursue a career in medicine. Little did I know the plans God had for me! Instead, I’m married to a pastor, raising four energetic kids and writing speculative fiction. It’s a difficult life, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything!

You can find out more about Morgan on her  Website  and  Facebook   and Twitter   and purchase her books at

 

Be sure to enter Morgan’s Giveaway too!
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I’m so grateful for your visit, today. You would bless me if you added me to your Subscribe via any Reader feed reader or subscribed Subscribe via Email via email. You can also become a fan on Become a Facebook Fan Facebook or follow me on Follow me on Twitter Twitter. I would love to see more of you!


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7 comments

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    • Deanna S on January 15, 2015 at 15:55
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    I always enjoy meeting a new author to me.. Enjoy hearing where they get ideas…

  1. I’ve been wanting to read Morgan’s books for a while. Now sounds like a good time :).

  2. I love these books! Great interview.

    -Ryebrynn

    • Karen Johnson on January 15, 2015 at 21:29
    • Reply

    I liked learning about her books. Fascinating that she was into math and science growing up and then ended up as a Pastor’s wife, mommy and with a great book ministry.

    • Meg on January 16, 2015 at 02:45
    • Reply

    Great interview. Can’t wait to see the new book covers.

  3. Thanks, everyone! And thank you, Hallee, for hosting me 🙂

    • Kathy O'Hanlon on January 19, 2015 at 14:25
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    Enjoyed the interview and would love to read your book.

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