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| David Morgan on Google + |
1-Can you tell us a little about yourself?
It’s funny how this is always the hardest question to answer. Shouldn’t this be the easiest thing? What could I possibly know more about than myself? Maybe that’s why it’s so hard. I’m just gonna hit on the important stuff here. I’m really good at the two-finger-in-the-mouth loud whistle. I’m pretty proficient in spinning pencils in fun ways around my fingers. I once spent an entire summer working as a mute house painter. Once, while living in Ecuador, I was standing in the street talking to a family, when their dog came and peed on my leg. I have a scar from cutting myself on a metal trash can when I tried to dunk a basketball into it with my feet. I used to make the schedule at the fast food place were I worked (the same location—different name—where one Anna Jones in The Boo Hag works), and I met a girl there and started making sure we worked the same hours. We got married and had lots of daughters. I love to write :)
2-What inspired the creation of 'The Boo Hag' ?
Wikipedia. Can I just leave it at that? No, I’ll explain. I had the idea for Lenny and Brian being a part of some kind of group fighting supernatural villains at a high school probably five years ago, but I wasn’t ready to write about them. I was working on another story at the time, and then life did what it does, and all writing went by the wayside for way too long. A couple years ago, I decided I needed to get back to my book. But it was too late. It was a werewolf story, and I might get back to it someday, but I wanted something different, something new for my debut. So, I got back together with Lenny and Brian. I already had a great idea for the end of their story, but the beginning was a mystery. When I found the boo hag on wikipedia, I fell in love. Not in a weird way. More in an I-just-can’t-get-enough-of-this-crazy-skinless-lady way. Okay, I guess it was weird. But all inspiration is, right?
3-When did you realize you wanted to be an author?
I had brushes with writing throughout my life, but I never really did anything big until college. It’s not that I didn’t want to, it was just that, I almost didn’t really know how until someone told me. I felt like I needed permission or direction or something. Like I wasn’t allowed to just go off and start writing by myself. In the last year or two of college I took a creative writing class, and I wrote a story about the truth about Hansel and Gretel. It was so fun, and everyone that I showed it to really loved it. I knew then if I could do this, if I could write and touch people with laughter, or love, or even a little bit of fear, if I could create and entertain, then I would be happy.
4-If you could spend a day with any literary character, who would you choose and why?
This answer changes by the minute. Right now, I’d go with Fezzik from The Princess Bride. He’s kind of dimwitted, but he’s got a good heart. And, come on, I mean, he’s a giant. Who doesn’t want to hang out with a giant for a day? I could sit on his shoulder, and he could just walk around town rhyming at me. It would be great.
5-What do you consider to be 'perfect' writing conditions?
The perfect writing conditions are a myth. Do they really exist? I don’t think so. Have you ever seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail? Just when ol’ King Arthur and his knights are on the cusp of finding the grail, they’re all arrested and thrown in jail. It’s just like that for me. Just when I settle in and I’m on a roll, I’m taken into custody by any number of things: the internet, crying children, tv. I haven’t gotten this yet, but if I could just get into a room somewhere alone with a computer with only a word processor and my music collection I’d be good. For now, the perfect conditions just mean after the kids are in bed.
6-What book has had the greatest impact on you?
I’m all about emotion. So, when I think of the greatest impact, I’ve gotta go with the book that tugged at the ol’ heartstrings the most. That would be...Bridge to Terabithia, the only book I can think of that has ever made me cry. I recently tried to tell people about my favorite part of the book and couldn’t do it without tearing up. I finally had to write it down on a piece of paper because I just couldn’t talk about it.
7-What are you reading right now?
Yesterday I finished Storm Front, book one of The Dresden Files, and I just couldn’t stop. I’m reading book two, Fool Moon. Very fun series, and would be great to take the concept, a wizard PI in Chicago, and use it in a YA story, like a Veronica Mars with a supernatural slant. It would be great!
8-Can you tell us anything about what's next for Lenny & her friends?
Not really. I can tell you they will be appearing in two more books. No, I can tell you some. I don’t have it all planned out yet, but I have a good idea of what’s gonna happen. Of course there will be some more surprises for Lenny. You’ll find out the secret that Brian and Mr. Brown share. There’ll be some more romance. Maybe a little bit of progression with Anna and Brian. Some fun new characters. And you’ll find that Brian is unknowingly playing a much bigger role in Lenny’s fate than he ever could have imagined. And you may want to brush up on your knowledge of the Baba Yaga.
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