B-Fest Author Spotlight 2: Morgan Wylie

This is our lucky week! I have another fabulous author from my hometown to interview in celebration of Barnes & Noble’s B-Fest Teen Book Festival! Today I’d like to introduce you to Morgan Wylie. I did a spot on her books last week.

Please help me welcome Morgan Wylie to the blog today. We’re going to ask her some fun questions and learn more about this talented woman.

Let’s start with a tough, in-your-face one like . . . what makes you so damn interesting anyway? 

HA! Great question… Something interesting about me/my life: my husband and I are both stay at home “creative-preneurs” (yes, I made that word up). He is a musician turned real estate manager, investor, developer turned back musician/screenplay writer/etc. and we both passionately pursue our art and creative endeavors. In fact, he composed and created an original soundtrack for my first book, Silent Orchids and it is hauntingly beautiful.

That’s some serious creativity flowing in that house. I love it. I also can’t wait to listen to the soundtrack, and I might even reread part of the book to get the whole experience! Speaking of experience, in yours, what is the best part about being an author (indie or traditional) for you?

I LOVE what I do. I love the creative part of it and the diving and writing. It lights me up and energizes me. I love that I get to create worlds and stories and allow the characters to come to life, if only for me in that moment. And getting to work wherever I want (usually in pj’s 😉

Ah yes, PJs for work days. That’s certainly a benefit of working from home, but since you admit to enjoying the jammies attire, I have to ask, what time of day do you prefer to do your writing? 

I do a lot of late morning/early afternoon writing on the days my daughter goes to school, but otherwise I actually do my best writing at 5:30 AM (now I don’t do this all the time, but I try to get on a bit of a schedule when I can, especially during summer)

Well, that explains the PJs! It sounds like you are able to fit in a good amount of time, especially since you are able to be flexible working from home! How long did it take you to write the first draft of your first published book?  

4 years. I had just had a baby, we moved across country TWICE and worked a full time job for a couple of those years, lol, only writing during nap times, or days off. It took awhile but it was definitely worth it!

That’s fantastic! I love to see that kind of dedication. The best part is even though it was a slow process, you stuck with it, never gave up, and look at you now! You’ve written four published books plus short stories and are almost done with the second book in your new series! What’s the most fun part of writing a novel or short story? What’s the least fun part? 

Most fun… the creating and really getting into “the groove” as I call it when the words just flow and the story feels alive. Least fun… revising and editing, this part drains me, but I love the end product so I can’t complain too much.

Having that finished, beautiful book in your hand is a lot like having a baby in some ways. All the pain and frustration leading up to their arrival is all forgotten in that moment. I think that’s why it’s a common phrase among authors to call their books their babies. Now, your first baby is the Age of Alandria series, and you’ve got some pretty specific, well-drawn characters. What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition? 

I have this “dream cast” image that I’ll share with you J but to be fair, I don’t think they are all actors 😉

Ha ha! Is it bad that I only recognize one of these beautiful faces? Still, that looks like a fabulous cast, and I could definitely picture all of these faces fitting your characters well. I have enjoyed the intricate plot and character development throughout the Age of Alandria series, and I’m curious, are you a plotter? Or Pantser?

This is interesting because my first response has been to say Pantser, BUT the last couple novels I have really been stretching myself to outline more (which is really more bullet point style). I need the freedom to direct the story as it goes and take rabbit trails when the muse guides me, but I’ve been able to stay on track and write faster when I use more of a structure to guide me.

Before the structure comes, there’s obviously a lot of creative juices flowing, but what’s the strangest place you’ve gotten a great story idea? Describe in detail. Inquiring minds want to know! 

So, my first novel, Silent Orchids came to me when I was 7 months preggo and I was watching TV. A commercial came on with beautiful orchids trailing throughout it and I was mesmerized, the story basically began to unfold right before me during a CIALIS commercial, lol. Disclosure: my novel has nothing to do with anything Cialis related 😉

Ha! It’s probably good that you’ve pointed that bit out. You write in the YA/Teen genre, and I doubt your readers are much interested in pharmaceutical pill pushing. Ha! That’s a pretty epic way to get a serious story idea, though!

Okay, one more thing, because we all have something that we like to eat or drink while we work. What’s yours? Coffee addict? Name your poison. 

I used to be one! I still love my vanilla white mocha Americano now and then, but I’ve become a tea drinker.

I am a coffee addict myself, but I do love tea too. I just like warm drinks . . . and cold drinks. Wow, Morgan! It has been so much fun getting to know you better. I’m so glad you stopped by the blog for an interview. I’ve enjoyed your books and look forward to reading more!

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Morgan would love to connect with you and you can find her at any of these places:

• Twitter: MWylieBooks

  Blog: http://morganwylie.blogspot.com

  Web: morganwylie.net

  Facebook and

  Goodreads

  

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  *Thanks to Dan Alatorre for the great questions to use for interviews!