Wednesday, August 05, 2009

Wednesday Promo- Alexis Morgan


I met Alexis Morgan/ Pat Pritchard several years ago at an Emerald City conference. At the time she was a western author, since then she has delved into the paranormal.

BIO:

Author of over eighteen full-length books, short stories and novellas, Alexis began her career writing contemporary romances and then moved on to historicals set in the American West. However, beginning in 2006, she crossed over to the dark side. She really loves writing paranormal romances, finding the world building and developing her own mythology for her characters especially satisfying. Alexis currently writes three paranormal series set in very different worlds, which serve as backdrops for her powerful warrior heroes: The Paladins of Darkness, The Talions, and her exciting new vampire stories for Silhouette Nocturne. She loves to hear from fans and can be reached through her website, www.alexismorgan.com.

You write historical and paranormal, which do you find more challenging and which gives you more pleasure?
Both genres definitely present their own challenges. I did a lot of research to make my American West romances historically accurate. A friend still teases me because I started my writing career saying I’d never write historical of any kind because I hated research. Turns out, though, that I really enjoyed studying history when I could pick and choose the location and the time period, especially when I studied the impact of events on the lives of everyday people. For example, I read local histories on the Civil War in Missouri. Portraying those events so that they came alive for my readers was very satisfying.

The challenge of creating a paranormal world was in either making up my own believable mythology, as I did with both the Paladins and the Talions, or taking an existing mythology and changing just enough to make it my own, as I did with the vampire world I’ve created for Nocturne. .

I’ve loved writing in both genres, but if I had to pick, I’d have to say that writing paranormal romances has really allowed me to be more creative.

How is world building in a paranormal different from world building and research in a historical?
In my paranormals, I look for real features in the settings I choose that I can use to anchor my stories in a believable reality. For example, I use the Seattle Underground as the headquarters for my Paladins. Missouri is known for it’s limestone caves, so I added one to the southeast corner of the state for the headquarters there I also used the real possibility of an earthquake or volcanic eruption as triggers for the instability of the barrier that separates our world from another one. For my Talions, I took the nomadic tendencies of the tribes of northern Europe and gave them a whole new reason for their migrations.

For the westerns, as I’ve already said, the challenge is being as accurate as possible with the day-to-day reality of how the people lived. What kind of clothes did they wear? What did they eat? What were stagecoaches really like? What kind of steamboats did they use on the smaller rivers? I read books on transportation, newspapers, entertainment, and even one on the history of housekeeping in America. The trick then is to use all the information with a light touch, creating the right backdrop for the story without overburdening the reader with too many dry facts.

What would a western reader find in your paranormal books that would fulfill them like a western?

The heroes in my westerns have much in common with those in my paranormal stories. Both involve men with a powerful sense of honor that drives them to stand the line and protect the innocents of their world. Regardless of their weapon of choice (fangs, swords, guns, or an inborn ability to manipulate energy), these men are warriors at heart. My heroines are strong in their own right, and find ways to ease the burden their men live with in facing the darkness in their world Like most writers, I have themes that I come back to time after time—honor, redemption, loyalty, etc. So whether I writing about a lawman or a Paladin with alien DNA, their driving motivations are the same.

Back BlurbDark Warrior Unbroken

Enter the secret world of the Talions—fierce, passionate warriors fighting for their very existence—in Alexis Morgan’s sizzling new paranormal series.

Sandor Kearn is the Talion Enforcer tasked with policing his people, the Kyth. His latest assignment is the new killer stalking the streets of Seattle. But while Sandor is hunting the Kyth renegade, someone else is hunting him.
She’s on a quest for the truth.

When Lena Wilson’s friend and mentor died investigating an arson case and the police ran out of leads, she vowed to find justice herself. Lena—who doesn’t know she is part Kyth—has the ability to see fragmented flashbacks of the crimes she’s investigating through her sense of touch. And when she meets Sandor, she feels suspicion—and desire—like she’s never known.

It’s only a matter of time before they touch. . . .
With dark forces closing in, Sandor must keep Lena from digging deeper and exposing the existence of the Kyth. The only way is to convince her of his innocence. But how can he when he can’t keep his hands off her?

Anyone who leaves a comment will be in the running for their choice of either one of Pat's westerns (A Lawman for Christmas) or Alexis's paranormal Dark Warrior Unleashed.

16 comments:

Margaret Tanner said...

Good evening Pat/Alexis,
Wow paranormal and Western. Afraid I am not into paranormal but Westerns I love them, always have. Used to be a Zane Grey fan when I was young. He was my mother's favourite author.
Cheers
Margaret

Helen Hardt said...

Hi Alexis -- I loved the description of your heroes!

Helen

Teresa Bodwell said...

I agree that Alexis' paranormal heroes are a lot like western heroes. There's something about the simple concept of honor that is at the heart of so many western stories that translates beautifully into the paranormal world where brave heroes are selflessly defending the world. Only the scale has changed.

Judy said...

Dark Warrior Unbroken sounds like a very good read. Love the cover. I also love the westerns. I read them before I knew about the genre of paranormal. I enjoyed the interview and blurb.

Alexis Morgan said...

Good morning, everybody!
Margaret--I grew up reading Zane Grey, Louis Lamour, and a whole bunch of other western writers. I loved those stories and know that they profoundly influenced the kinds of stories I write.

Helen--The hero is often the first person I "see" when I'm starting a new book. From him, I can develop the right heroine.

Teresa! Waving at you! Nice to see you hanging out here!

Judy--I still love westerns and find the same satisfaction from reading them as I do my favorite paranormal writers.

Alexis

Anonymous said...

Alexis, Thank you for guesting at Paty's. I think your analysis of your heroes is spot-on, Give me an honorable man anytime! :)

Mary Ricksen said...

I gotta give you credit, it's not easy to write in what is basically two different genres. Lucky for me I love westerns and I love paranormals too. You're my kind of writer.
Good luck Alexis and I am looking forward to reading them both!

Alexis Morgan said...

Anon--I've always had a soft spot for the honorable heroes--especially the ones who aren't reckonized for what they really are.

Mary--I hope you enjoy my books if you give them a try. Most of my westerns are set in the Post-Civil War era, especially Missouri, where I'm originally from. I enjoyed researching the effects of the war in that particular area.

Alexis

Lauri said...

Hello Alexis, thanks for visiting Paty's blog. I couldn't agree more as far as a hero goes. Give me a man who knows right from wrong, and it doesn't matter what settings he's in! Congrats on your success!

Alexis Morgan said...

Lauri--you're so right! And for me, a really dark hero who's been through hell but still hangs onto his sense of honor even when it would be easier to compromise--seriously wonderful!

Debra St. John said...

I'd love to try my hand at a historical someday, but making sure the history is right is a little intimidating. I admire writers who can create their own worlds to set their stories in. A paranormal is way out of my league!

Aleixs Morgan said...

Debra--Don't let the history thing scare you. As I said, I never thought I'd enjoy doing the research, but it turned out that I did. Once you start reading about a specific area of interest to you, the information builds on itself, giving you a sound basis for more than just one book.

As far as creating a paranormal world, for both my Paladins and my Talions, I use modern day Seattle and Missouri as my settings because I know both places firsthand. That allowed me to concentrate on what makes my paranormal characters different from regular humans. It wasn't until I started my vampire series for Nocturne that I also made up my own world.

Few writers start out being able to juggle all those balls in the area at one time.

Alexis

Paty Jager said...

Alexis, Thank you for guesting today! I appreciate you taking the time to spend with us.

If anyone is interested I was a guest blogger at Petticoats and Pistols which you can find a link for on my blog.

Jennifer Ross said...

And here I would have thought Western and Paranormal had nothing in common (apart from the commonalities of all romance novels). The very idea of switching gears so drastically scares me, but then again, I hear that working on two very different stories can help the muse because its got alternatives. My muse hasn't heard that though--it can't even switch between chapters!.

Alexis Morgan said...

Paty--Thank you for inviting me.

And Jennifer,I've found shifting gears actually really gets my creativity flowing. I've written short contemporaries, historicals, and now paranormals. I've also dabbled a bit in writing fantasy proposals. Each genre offers its own challenges, but there is a surprising amount of carryover for me.


Alexis

LORETTA CANTON said...

Hi,

I love both genres because I love alpha men.


lorettaC,
lbcanton@verizon.net