I'm thrilled to have friend Leigh Morgan visit today. Leigh is an amazing person (check out her bio) who writes wonderful, vibrant romance. Welcome Leigh!
Inspiration is a funny thing. Sometimes it eludes me as I
sit at my keyboard randomly hitting keys, hoping something wonderful sticks.
Sometimes it smucks me upside the head and screams: “Pay attention. I’m
inspiring here!”
That’s what happened
with Second Chances. I
heard a song on the radio, fell in love with the gravely, raw voice and I built
the rock star of my dreams around that voice. Of course I had to have someone
so off his radar that had they met under normal circumstances they may have
looked right past one another. Someone so real and so intriguing that she
captures his imagination from the moment he first sees her shouting at a sheep
in the road, to the moment she inevitably captures his heart, which quickly
follows. I love these characters and this story so much that Ramsey Macleod and
Rhiannon Thorson-Macleod make a cameo appearance in Fighting Fate, Book Two of
the Warrior Chronicles.
I read my first romance
novel: DEFY NOT THE HEART by Johanna Lindsey the summer after my first year of
law school. My husband and I were on our way to the Rockies
to camp after an incredibly stressful year. The gas station had a turnstile of
books, most of which were male thrillers I’d already read. I wasn’t interested
in the non-fiction aimed at saving my soul (although arguably I could have used
one of those). And there it was, a vividly erotic cover with those words
emblazoned in gold lettering: Defy Not the Heart. What the heck, at the time I
needed some defiance and some romance. I read that book all the way through by
flashlight as evening came and went. I’ve been hooked on romance ever since.
Romance novels got me through the rest of Law School
I created a world in Sparring Partners as a result of being
hit in the head again with inspiration. This time, the inspiration made me mad
as hell. I had an elderly client in a nursing home that was not meeting her
needs. She had no family to complain about her lack of care, and she was paying
$6,000.00 a month to share a room, drink Ensure. I had to fight to get her a
used walker. It took me two months to get her out of that place ($12,000 later)
and into a home-like facility where she now has her own room and bath, complete
with a kitchenette, library and a communal dinning area she loves. (She pays
less than ½ what she was paying.) I couldn’t change that system, so I created
an alternative health care facility: Potters Woods, where people could live
with dignity and where they’d get the best care for their bodies, minds and
spirits. Of course it helps to have a spare billionaire to help fund it!
Another instance of writing the world as I want it to be, being the best
therapy. The result is fabulous, the inspiration still has me grating my teeth!
In Fighting Fate, I explore myth and magic, two elements I
believe dance through our daily lives. I set part of the story in Glastonbury , England
Defending Destiny, Book Three of the Warrior Chronicles will
be available soon. It too has some myth and magic woven into everyday life.
Daisy, my heroine, is in Argyll ,
Scotland Scotland and its many mysteries is my
inspiration. I can’t wait to finish this book and go back in time to when the
Druid’s Scroll was first created and hidden. My next project will be set in Scotland about
1100 A.D. laying out the framework for my contemporary myth-hunters in Fighting
Fate and Defending Destiny.
I love creating worlds that look and feel like ours, but
where the magic is real and anything can happen. Inspiration can come from
anywhere. What moves your soul? Where do you find inspiration? What is your favorite
book? Does it take you away, make your world more colorful? Does it make you
believe anything can happen? I wonder how different my life would have been had
I never picked up: DEFY NOT THE HEART. Inspiration is an odd thing indeed!
Leigh's books are available at Amazon, including Second Chances and The Warrior Chronicles Sparring Partners and Fighting Fate.
GIVEAWAY! Leigh is offering not one but TWO prizes! All three ebooks to two lucky winners! Comment to enter. Through Sunday. Winner announced here Monday.
GIVEAWAY! Leigh is offering not one but TWO prizes! All three ebooks to two lucky winners! Comment to enter. Through Sunday. Winner announced here Monday.
About the author:
A native
mid-westerner, Leigh lives in Southeastern Wisconsin and is currently dreaming
of owning a cottage in Scotland.
Leigh is
currently working on a series of stand alone contemporary novels, The Warrior
Chronicles, with a tie to the martial arts. Adventure, romance, and themes such
as ‘what constitutes a family’, and ‘living by a personal code’ all wrapped up
in a tail-kicking package that will make you laugh, cry, and feel good about
the world and your place in it.
A graduate of
Marquette University Law School, Leigh studied Comparative Mythology, History
and Philosophy as an undergraduate. Who knew this would lead to a lifetime of
love with mystical romance, both contemporary and historical.
Leigh is a fourth
degree black belt in Okinawan Shorin Ryu karate. She has continuously trained
over a twenty year period with Master Daniel Schroeder in Hales Corners,
Wisconsin. She also holds a fourth degree black belt in Matayoshi Okinawan
Kobudo; weapons training. Leigh has taught self-defense for women and practical
defense sequences for writers.
Leigh is an avid
motorcycle enthusiast. (There’s nothing like a TRIUMPH!) Most summers (when
she’s not out riding) you can most likely find her in Highland Gear walking her
Scottish Deerhounds and promoting Macski’s Highland Foods at local Scottish
Games and Festivals.
You may visit Leigh at: www.leighmorganauthor.com
For speaking engagements and martial arts seminars, please
email Leigh at: leighmorgan@bardintraining.com
Leigh, thanks so much for being my guest today. I love a heroine who's "Someone so real and so intriguing that she captures his imagination from the moment he first sees her shouting at a sheep in the road"!
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm looking forward to the continuation of the Warrior Chronicles!
Mary, thanks for such a wonderful opportunity to engage with readers and writers! Any day talking about creativity and what sparks the imagination is a good day, indeed. Love your site, it's beautiful!
Deletesuch a wonderful author to share her books
ReplyDeleteDear Kathy, thanks for stopping by and commenting. I'd love to share my books with you and am always interested in what readers enjoy. Happy Tuesday, may the magic of this beautiful season follow you wherever you go.
DeleteTerrific post! It's really interesting to find out the story behind the story and to know what inspired you.
ReplyDeleteI think so too, Edie! I love it when inventors, authors, actors share their stories of where inspiration comes from in any given endeavor. I think grade school children are wonderful examples; they create and pattern using everything and every sense around them. It's just cool exploring this topic! Thanks for posting :)
DeleteWow these books sound wonderful. They are going on my to be read list. This blog post not only gave us a synopsis of Leigh's books but an insight as to what inspired her. It's great to see how creative minds work.
ReplyDeleteMichel, Thanks for visiting and commenting! I can't wait to hear what you think of my stories. I'm always curious about how people see the world and what resonates in their lives one day as a small seed and turns up years later as an occupying force :). I'd love to hear what inspires you or sparks your work. Thanks for posting!
DeleteLove the cover of Fighting Fate! I think I find inspiration in my travels. I always return from a trip with a new outlook, be it a new way to decorate my house, a new food I want to try, or if I'm really lucky, a new story idea. I always bring something back with me be it a trip for business or pleasure. Good luck with the release of Defending Destiny!
ReplyDeleteDear Eliza, as a fellow luster of travel, I agree travel always inspires! Thank the travel gods it's usually a good kind of inspiration (when my luggage arrives safely with me). I'll travel to Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland any day, preferably many, many days a year :) Congratulations on your new release and your blog tour! Thanks for commenting.
DeleteLove seeing the inspiration behind books! (And Joanna Lindsey was my first exposure to romance too.) :) Good luck with all your releases, Leigh!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Vivi! I often wonder what would have happened had my first exposure to romance been less that stellar. Would I have kept reading? I hope so. Now, more than ever before readers have access to really good story-telling in almost every format imaginable. It's a great time to be a reader and a great time to be an author. BTW: I still have that copy of DEFY NOT THE HEART sitting on my desk. Talk about inspiration :)! Thanks for visiting and commenting
DeleteCongratulations, Leigh, on your work. They sound fascinating. And thank goodness, you picked up the romance while at the gas station. lol
ReplyDeleteThanks, Vicki! Who knows where I would have ended up had I picked a travel memoir or a tome on the merits of naked-sky-diving ? Romance writing is as good a path as any, and better than most. Thank you Johanna Lindsey! (And Tobin gas & drugs.)Thanks for reading and posting, Vicki!
ReplyDeleteThere was supposed to be a big grin after the sky-diving comment, (she types, tongue still firmly in cheek).
DeleteI love it how you never know where that next great idea will come from. Your post on inspiration is... inspiring!
ReplyDeleteThanks! Amy
Thanks, Amy! I think anything, any experience we have that sings to us in some way is inspiring. The question for me always is: Now what am I going to do with that?! Thanks for commenting. :)
DeleteInteresting post! I was especially intrigued to hear how reading romance got you through law studies. I used to bring Mills and Boon books into my philosophy lectures, placing them right on top of Kant's Critique of Pure Reason. Somehow it just seemed right!
ReplyDeleteYou could use Kant's Pure Reason as a weapon, Edith! Wonderful image, you just made me laugh out loud -- at work! I think we are destined to be friends :)
DeleteLeigh, Love your name, so pretty, and I think Johanna Lindsey was the first romance author I read also. Your books look intriguing. Congrats on law school and karate and now your a fantastic romance author. So big congratulations and I would love to win your books. :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks, CK! It's hard not to fall in love with romance when you read an author who speaks to your heart and makes you laugh. Johanna Lindsey did both for me. I hope my stories resonate half as well. Thanks for reading and commenting and I hope you win as well :)
Deletelove the covers and thank you for running a nice contest!
ReplyDeleteDear Moon, thanks! It's funny that you should mention the covers. My first cover for Sparring Partners, I love, but was disastrous for sales. No kidding. I had an artist friend draw my idyllic vision of Potter's Woods, complete with my statuary of flying pigs and peace sign flying frogs, and of course there had to be 3 Deerhounds. It's lovely, and hanging on my wall. But it costs me sales...too children's bookish...too inspirational-esque (I write too hot for that)...too cute. I'm pretty happy with the bare chested males though! A much better choice as far as "feel" goes. :) Thanks again for stopping by!
DeleteThank You, Mary! I've had an absolute Blast engaging with your readers. I've enjoyed your beautiful site. It's been Wonderful all the way around and I am looking forward to giving my books away! Thanks again. Loved my time spent with all of you!
ReplyDeleteLeigh Morgan
Hello, All! Thanks again for all your comments. I wasn't sure how to forward the books to the winners and Mary has suggested direct engagement. So if MoonPie and CKCrouch e-mail me directly, I'll forward all 3 books to each of you, just tell me Kindle of PDF or other format. ANYONE else who commented and would like to E-mail me, I will forward one book of your choice, just let me know which story and what format. It was wonderful engaging with all of you!
ReplyDeletePlease contact me at: leighmorgan@bardintraining.com and put WINNER in the subject line so it'll pop out at me :)