Interview to Megan Morrison

Hey, there! Laura and Cristina interviewed Megan Morrison, author of the Tyme Series. Thank you so much, Megan!

Hi, Megan! To start, Do you want to tell us something about you?
I just finished decorating for Christmas and am about to make some chocolate chip cookies. I love this time of year.

On your website, there is your biography: you’re a writer, a mum and a teacher. Which subject do you teach?
I teach Drama and Language Arts. Language Arts is a fancy name for English class, where students become better readers and writers. I teach 7th and 8th grade, which means that students are aged 12-14.

What’s jour relationship with your city, Baltimora? Baltimora has inspired many witers, such as Lippman and in Europe Julia Kristeva: to you, its mysterious atmosphere can be a key of literary storytelling?
I don’t live in Baltimore, though I did live there thirteen years ago or so, for about a year. I do have a relationship with hires_morrison_6861_cropthe landscape around me. Living in the Pacific Northwest is incredibly inspiring. I can’t get enough of the evergreen trees, the mountains, and the beautiful lakes, which are breathtaking all together. When I write the landscapes of Tyme, I definitely borrow from the real world.

What’s your favorite children books in the US and internationally?  Did they inspire you for Tyme Series?
As a young girl, I loved Louisa May Alcott’s books, and L.M. Montgomery’s. Later, I fell in love with Jane Austen’s novels and the Harry Potter series. I think that every book I read inspires me in some way, but my favorite authors have deeply influenced me. They have shaped my voice and my understanding of what makes a satisfying story.

 

1610845_1662853283941353_2326877427025555149_nHow were Tyme Series born? And why did you choose Rapunzel as the main character of your first book?
It’s hard to say exactly what inspires stories, but I know there were a few strong influences. My friend and co-creator of the Tyme series, Ruth Virkus, asked me to write her a fairy tale. I chose Rapunzel as the first protagonist because I felt a connection with her. I had always had long hari myself (not a hundred feet long, of course), and I loved the idea of living up high in the tower. However, I also found the traditional story frustrating. Why didn’t she try harder to escape? How could she accidentally tell the witch about the prince? Why didn’t the prince give her more help? I wanted to write a story that made more sense to me – a story about a girl who loves her tower, and who loves her “mother” even though she is deeply flawed.

On 11th of October, Disenchanted: The Trials of Cinderella came out. Cinderella is your second character? Can you tell us something? The book hasn’t come out in Italy yet.
DISENCHANTED is a story told from three perspectives. The first is Ella Coach, whose mother died working in a sweatshop. Now, because of her father’s recent business success and remarriage, she finds herself at school with the wealthiest socialites in the Blue Kingdom, whose parents run the same sweatshops her mother died in. The second is Prince Dash Charming, who has spent his life under a curse, forced to flatter everyone he meets. At the end of GROUNDED, that curse is broken, and Dash is now trying to find out who he really is, and what he really stands for. The third is Serge, a Blue fairy and the Executive Godfather of the Glass Slipper. Serge has been pampering the rich and spoiled youth of the Blue Kingdom for so long that he has almost forgotten what it is like to work with a godchild who truly needs him and who is truly good – until Ella Coach comes along.

Do you already know which will be your next character in Tyme’s world?
The third book, which is due out Summer 2018, is called TRANSFORMED: THE PERILS OF THE FROG PRINCE. And guess what, GROUNDED readers? You’ve already met the frog…

Cristina Catanese and Laura Testoni

Photocredit: Megan Morrison – Author (page Facebook)

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