Discover more about

Morgan L. Busse

and her fantasy

Heir of Hope

Enclave Publishing

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The last book that made me cry was…

I don’t usually cry when I read a book, so it has been a couple years unless I count Heir of Hope, the book I just finished writing. There are a couple scenes that still move me, even though I have read them five or six times. I once read that if you as the author are not moved by your story, then your reader will not be moved either. Readers have written to me and said the same scenes made them cry as well.

The first person who encouraged me to pursue my writing was…

My husband. He saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself. After the birth of our daughter, I needed a creative outlet and he said I should write. I laughed. No way! But on a trip to Seattle I had this idea about a woman who when she touched a person could see inside his/her soul. I was captured by the idea and as soon as I arrived back home, got on my computer and started typing the first scene. Eleven years later and I am finally finished with her story, the fantasy series Follower of the Word.

Heir of Hope

What Would You Sacrifice to Save Mankind?

The great city of Thyra has fallen and shadows spread across the land. Rowen Mar, the last Truthsayer, is taken before the Shadonae. But the Shadonae are not who she thought they were, and now they want to claim her as their own.

Caleb Tala, former assassin and prince, is now a Guardian of mankind. Exiled from his country, Caleb wanders the desert in search of his mother’s past and clues to who he is.

These are the last days of the Eldaran race. Rowen and Caleb must find their way along the dark path set before them by their ancestors: to heal what was wounded and love where hatred grows. But the road is narrow and the darkness beckons. If either of them fails, all will be lost…

And the human race will be no more.

My latest novel can be described by these 5 adjectives…

Hope, perseverance, love, glory, and light.

My main character is… 

Rowen Mar. In Daughter of Light, the first book of the Follower of the Word series, Rowen discovers that she is a Truthsayer and part of the Eldaran race (and probably the last). She has a mark on her hand that looks like a large, white snowflake. When she touches someone with that mark, not only can she see inside that person’s soul, she reflects back the true nature of that person. As you can imagine, that kind of power scares both her and those she touches, which has resulted in her exile from her village and overall fear from anyone who finds out about her ability.

Rowen’s greatest desire is for a normal life, but discovers the Word has a different path for her life. She struggles between following her heart and serving the Word, especially when those she serves fear or hate her.

My story’s spiritual theme is…

Ultimately my series is about hope. When I first started writing, I wanted to write a fantasy where I explored what it would be like if we could see what God sees inside people. As the years went by, I travelled my own dark roads including cancer scares, my son almost dying, my husband losing his job, and financial devastation. Those events broke me and reshaped me. They also made me go deeper as a writer. I was no longer writing a story, but pouring my heart out to God: my hurt, my fears, my loneliness. The last book in the series, Heir of Hope, is my worship of God out of my brokenness.

The most recent movie or tv show I loved was… Why?

Okay, I’m going to show my geek side here. I loved Daredevil. It is one of the best-written super hero stories I have seen on television. It had a depth to it that I see lacking in other tv series. The writers were not afraid to show the struggle Murdock had with becoming a superhero, including getting as beat up as his opponents and wondering if he was doing the right thing. They were also not afraid to show his religious background (Catholicism) without preaching or being heavy-handed (and it was surprisingly theologically sound).

The villain Fisk Wilson was written in such a way that I ended up caring about him. His goals were noble (he wanted to save Hell’s Kitchen, the neighbourhood he grew up in). And his back-story made you understand why he was the man he was. But the methods he chose to save his neighbourhood were wrong. And in the end, he chose to embrace his dark, violent side.

The story I’m currently working on is…

I am now working on a steampunk series. Steampunk is a subgenre that can either be fantasy or science fiction that incorporates technology, science, and aesthetic designs inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery. Think Victorian historical novel with a speculative twist. My own series leans more toward the fantasy and science aspects of steampunk.

You may not know this about me, but I…

Never dreamed about being a writer. Most writers I know wanted to write since they were little. I wanted to be a unicorn. Sadly, I never did transform into that magical creature. Instead, I became a huge science nerd and competed on a science team (I even had the Periodic Table memorized for competition. Yes, total nerd here).

However, I always had an active imagination and made up stories to act out with my siblings (usually involving unicorns). So it’s not surprising that I eventually became a writer. I love writing! It is the perfect outlet for all the stories inside my mind. Who knows, maybe I’ll write a story about a unicorn someday…

If I could travel back in time, I’d go to…

All over. Seriously! I love history and wish I could visit every time period there is. I would love to visit ancient Egypt and Rome, fourteenth century Europe, feudal Japan, the American Colonies, Civil War, and definitely the Victorian era.

A long held dream of mine is…

Travel as much as I can. It can be exploring the places around me (I just moved to Sacramento), to travelling across the country or the globe. I love different cultures and all they entail: food, religions, architect, traditions, etc… Perhaps that is why there are different cultural influences in my stories. If I can’t actually visit those places, at least I can learn about them and draw on their rich history for my own fantasy worlds.

Thanks Morgan!

Morgan L. Busse writes fantasy for the adult market. She is the author of the Follower of the Word series, including Daughter of Light, Christy and Carol Award finalist. Morgan lives on the West Coast with her husband and four children. You can find out more about Morgan at www.morganlbusse.com

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