Q. Do you ‘get lost’ in your writing?
CD. Oh, so rarely! Only about 10% of the time does a chapter just write itself. The rest of the time it can be a slog, an act of discipline. Is this scene doing anything? Is it developing the character or moving the plot along? If not, into the trash it must go…Though even then, certain lines or bits can be salvaged and pasted back in later.
Q. What compelled you to choose and settle on the genre you now
write in?
CD. I started in women’s fiction and general fiction, but when I wrote a contemporary adaptation of Mansfield Park and rediscovered the world of rabid Jane-ites, I decided to write a Regency romance like all the ones I’d read and loved when I was younger. Jane Austen is a like a public-domain Marvel Universe—so many of us have launched ourselves from her work.
Q. Are you working on something now or have a new release coming up? If so tell us about it.
CD. I’m working on Book Three in my current Regency series Lord Dere’s Dependents. The Bestowed Bride is the widowed sister-in-law’s story. And then after that I am contracted to write my second traditionally-published romance, an Emma-based follow-up of my first trad book Pride and Preston Lin.
Q. Do you think we will see, in our lifetime, the total demise of paper books?
CD. I doubt it. They’re expensive, but plenty of people love paper books. I do think traditional publishers might start to do smaller print runs for books which aren’t expected to be blockbusters. I myself don’t do print anymore unless I want to look at maps or find it at a used bookstore because who has the space?
Q. What compelled you to choose and settle on the genre you now
write in?
CD. I started in women’s fiction and general fiction, but when I wrote a contemporary adaptation of Mansfield Park and rediscovered the world of rabid Jane-ites, I decided to write a Regency romance like all the ones I’d read and loved when I was younger. Jane Austen is a like a public-domain Marvel Universe—so many of us have launched ourselves from her work.
Q. Are you working on something now or have a new release coming up? If so tell us about it.
CD. I’m working on Book Three in my current Regency series Lord Dere’s Dependents. The Bestowed Bride is the widowed sister-in-law’s story. And then after that I am contracted to write my second traditionally-published romance, an Emma-based follow-up of my first trad book Pride and Preston Lin.
Q. Do you think we will see, in our lifetime, the total demise of paper books?
CD. I doubt it. They’re expensive, but plenty of people love paper books. I do think traditional publishers might start to do smaller print runs for books which aren’t expected to be blockbusters. I myself don’t do print anymore unless I want to look at maps or find it at a used bookstore because who has the space?
Q. What comes first to you? The Characters or the Situation?
CD. They’re almost simultaneous.
Q. Do you ‘get lost’ in your writing?
CD. Oh, so rarely! Only about 10% of the time does a chapter just write itself. The rest of the time it can be a slog, an act of discipline. Is this scene doing anything? Is it developing the character or moving the plot along? If not, into the trash it must go…Though even then, certain lines or bits can be salvaged and pasted back in later.
Q. What makes a writer great?
CD. No two readers will ever agree on this! When I put my own fiction-reader hat on, I’m looking for books with rounded characters and plausible situations, even if it’s set in a fantasy world. Bonus points if the story makes me laugh. Not too much navel-gazing, please, and a plot with a traditional conflict-rising action-climax-denouement. I must be too old to enjoy the stories where there’s no real conflict, or where it’s resolved with 25% left to go, and then it’s just 25% of people riding off into the sunset. Yawn.
When it comes to nonfiction, which I also love, I want to learn something and have it told to me like a story. Books like The Boys in the Boat and Into Thin Air delight me.
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book a stunning review. I am so happy to share it with my readers,
interested in women’s and African American experiences in the 1950s Deep South.
Sarah Morgan always knew she wanted to be a writer but took a slight detour along the way to train as a nurse, an experience that has found its way into many of her books. A lover of the outdoors, many of her story ideas come while hiking in wild places and she is also a keen photographer. She has been a published author for more than twenty years and lives near London, England where the rain frequently keeps her trapped in her office.
because you can scribble down a line of dialogue or a plot point and put it on the wall. It’s easy to move notes around and a great way to visualize your story.
Q. Where/when do you first discover your characters?
5 out of 5 stars Book Review
ideas for a book. Great writers have the persistence, courage, knowledge, and passion to get the story written down, weaving those ideas into the very fabric of existence. 
time, and when I finally took a break, I’d look around in a daze. I’d become so invested in that world, I think I was surprised I wasn’t “there,” instead of sitting on a couch in my living room. That kind of story made me want to create something similar. The idea of affecting a person’s mood, thought process, and emotions resonated for whatever reason.
She’s 18 months
olold and we LOVE her. She enjoys laying on our legs, playing fetch and running in big wide circle on grass.
