Sunday, April 28, 2013

Interview with Robin Leigh Morgan

Today I`d like to welcome Robin Leigh Murphy, author of I Kissed A Ghost.


Q ~ Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
I’m a retired civil servant who’s married with no children, who also has two cats. My first YA novel is a YA Paranormal/Time Travel/First Kiss entitled “I Kissed a Ghost,” which got released on December 20, 2012.

Q ~ What are 5 things that you never leave home without? 
They would be my car keys, cell phone, credit cards, money and knowing what I’m going to be doing.

Q ~ Who, or what, are the biggest influences in your life? In your writing?
I can’t really say that any one thing or person has had a bigger influenced on me than another. I look at the entire package as having made me the person I am today.

Q ~ In your opinion, what makes a book YA/NA, rather than an ‘A’ book?
Since “I Kissed a Ghost” is a YA Paranormal/Time Travel/First Kiss Romance it will definitely have to be the language being used especially when writing the interaction between the main characters in the story. In an adult romance there’s a lot of heavy emotions, kissing, and the like; but in a YA/NA romance there’s more hand holding, kisses on the forehead or cheeks, and an occasional quick peck on the lips. The innocence of these characters is always maintained.

Q ~ How did you get started writing?
I actually began to write back in June 1995, where until June 2006 I wrote over 450 commentary type items for a community newspaper. Along the way I decided to see if I could write something else. I didn’t own a computer back then, but I did have access to one where I wrote my commentaries, and it was on this computer I wrote about two pages a week. Once I got my computer I began to write what I wanted to be a contemporary romance with a paranormal element running through, but I never seemed to get the sense it would be good enough to be read by someone else. Eventually, someone suggested I write for a younger audience, which how I came to write my debut novel, a YA [Young Adult] Paranormal/Time Travel/First Kiss romance entitled, “I Kissed a Ghost.”

Q ~ Do you have a writing routine? Are there things that you always need to have with you, or places you always need to be? Do you need to have something laid out before you put words on paper (or the computer screen)?
If you’re asking me whether I’m a plotter or a pantser, I’d probably say a little of both. As I said in the above, I made a skeleton of an outside, writing down the basic plot points I’d like to hit as the story unfolded; and as a sculptor starting with a wire base of what they’d like to have, I added material, then took some away, until I had the finished product I had in mind.

When I write, it’s usually when my other half is at work, and during the time I write like to have some light easy listening type music playing so as to act like white noise blocking out any other sounds which might otherwise distract me as I type my story directly on my computer into WORD. I also keep a pad and pen on the night table near my bed so in case I should wake up with an idea I can quickly write it down so I won’t forget about it.

Q ~ How did you select the title for your book? 
Selecting a title for a book had been a very challenging experience for me; but after racking my brain over it, I decided to merely summarize the premise for the entire story in as few words as possible until I had something which could be used as the title for my book. Hence, since the story is about a girl [Mary] and her kissing the ghost [George] she had living in her house; the story had to be called, “I Kissed a Ghost.”

Q ~ Can you tell us a bit about your writing?
Mary gets a new classmate named Jonathan who’s a great baseball player and to get on the team, he needs Mary’s help to improve his grades. Six months later when she learns she’s moving, she decides to give him something special--a first kiss.

Moving into her new home she soon discovers it has a ghost named George, her age, who takes her on numerous trips to the past of a hundred years ago. As she meets children her own age, everyone teases her about her house being haunted, but no one will go inside.

Mary likes his help doing her math homework, writing her reports, and taking her back in time. George and Mary’s interaction grows and she eventually gives him a quick peck on his lips while they’re in the past, which is the only place George is a real boy, for having done something special for her.

In an attempt to get her classmates/friends to be willing to come inside her house, she has a Halloween party designed to confuse them as to what is real and what is not.

Can Mary kiss George a second time, at the special date and time he needs to be kissed? What happens afterwards if she does? The answers are all in the book!

Q ~ What’s up next for you, writing wise?
As I’ve stated in the above I had started to write a contemporary romance but never completed writing it. Now with my debut YA novel self-published I’ve return to writing the romance manuscript I had started many years ago, and approaching it anew with the knowledge I’ve gained along the way in writing “I Kissed a Ghost.” The reason I’m writing it is relatively simple, I’ve always felt somewhat incomplete not having completed something I once had started out to do, and I now want to fill the void it has created in my life.

Q ~ If you could give all new authors one piece of advice, what would it be?
I’d tell them never give up living your dream of becoming a writer, as you can from reading about me, I never did. Before you start looking for a publisher or even an agent you MUST have your manuscript edited, granted the editor you select might miss a few minor points, but at least it’s now in a much more presentable condition. Publishers want manuscript which can be easily edited by their own editing staff, without them having to correct countless misspellings and grammatical errors.
Q ~ Where can we find your book and you on the internet? 
My book is available on Amazon at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kissed-Ghost-Robin-Leigh-Morgan/dp/1480030031
The book is also available on Amazon.com Amazon.de Amazon.es Amazon.fr Amazon.it

If anyone is interested in reading several UNEDITED SNIPPETS from my debut novel, they can be found in the GHOSTLY WHISPERS entries on any of my blog sites:
http://www.mypennameonly.blogspot.com or http://www.mypennameonly.wordpress.com or
http://www.mypennameonly.webs.com [this is also my website]
http://www.mypennameonly.tumblr.com

I also can be found on
TWITTER = http://www.twitter.com/mypennameonly
FACEBOOK = http://www.facebook.com/mypennameonly
GOODREADS = http://www.goodreads.com/RobinLeighMorgan

Now lets find out a bit more about I Kissed a Ghost

Published:  December 20th 2012
Page Count:  250

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Mary gets a new classmate named Jonathan who’s a great baseball player and to get on the team, he needs Mary’s help to improve his grades. Six months later when she learns she’s moving, she decides to give him something special--a first kiss.

Moving into her new home she soon discovers it has a ghost named George, her age, who takes her on numerous trips to the past of a hundred years ago. As she meets children her own age, everyone teases her about her house being haunted, but no one will go inside.

Mary likes his help doing her math homework, writing her reports, and taking her back in time. George and Mary’s interaction grows and she eventually gives him a quick peck on his lips while they’re in the past, which is the only place George is a real boy, for having done something special for her.

Can Mary kiss George again at the special date and time he needs to be kissed? What happens afterwards if she does? The answers are all in the book!


1 comment:

  1. THANKS Jonel for the interview.

    I just want to tell your readers that the Kindle version of my YA romance novel is now scheduled to become available around May 13, 2013.

    ReplyDelete