An Interview with Morgan Crowe
It's a bright beautiful
day outside as I sit down at Fang-tastic Books, waiting for my
interviewee, Morgan Crowe, heroine (or anti-heroine, depending on your view) of
the Morgan Crowe trilogy, to arrive.
When she finally does, she tosses a leather jacket on the table between us and
grabs a chair. Morgan looks a bit tired. I wait until she reclines back into
her chair, sipping on a grande Starbucks coffee and settles her intense green
eyes on me. She stares at me for a moment as I wish her a good morning then
clears her snorts.
"In a matter of speaking." Using a foot, she snags
another chair, pulling it closer, then places her boots on the seat as she
leans her head back and closes her eyes. "So, you wanted to interview me.
Go for it. I had a long night."
I put my question cards in order and pick up a pen, studying
Morgan. Tall, slender, with long black hair and pale skin, she is dressed in
form fitting faded denim and a red tee stenciled with 'Bite Me' on the front. I
feel intimidated, sitting across from her, as well as a bit jealous. Who
wouldn't with someone that beautiful dominating the space. As if feeling the weight
of my gaze, she cracks open an eye and stares back.
"You gonna start?"
I mutter a brief, "Sorry" then glance down at my long
list of questions and turn on my tape recorder, sliding it toward the center of
the table. She glances at her watch then takes another drink of her coffee.
"Well, Morgan. I'm pleased to meet you. You are the central
character in the books by Maggie
Berkley, called the Morgan Crowe trilogy.
Book 1: Enter the Night, introduced
you to readers and we got a glimpse into the life you were leading during your
banishment from the," I peek at my notes, "Mor'sin'dar Court. It was
said you killed an entire family that was considered nobility in the
Courts."
"I was pissed off."
"And so you were banished by King Silvas." I nod.
"Okay." I started tapping my pen on the desk until I caught the
annoyed look she shot me. "I also understand that the Queen of the
Mor'sin'dar hates you, but no one really understands why. Care to
elaborate?" I took her silence as a no. "Well, in Enter the Night the readers are
introduced to three men who become an integral part of the Morgan Crowe story.
Malachi, the Werepanther and also Queen Moriethe's assassin. Ty Bucannon the
Werewolf, who we don't his name until book 2 and High Lord Requiem, who has
more than a passing interest in you. How do you deal with so much male
attention?"
"I ignore it. I'm not here as their plaything. I have a job
to do, so I do it. Being an assassin is a fulltime gig and not something you
can take lightly, especially when Moriethe sends her bitch patrol after
you."
"Which brings me to my next question. You knew Malachi
belonged to Queen Moriethe so why let him into your life, and bed, into the
first place?"
"Stupidity. And I was horny." she shrugs. "You
should see the abs on the guy."
I could imagine but shoved the mental picture aside to continue
the interview. "But because of him you lost two close friends. How did it
make you feel to know you were a dupe a game Queen Moriethe was playing with
you and because of that your friends died? I understand you were also blamed
with the death of King Silvas."
Morgan's body stilled, reminding me of a show I watched in snakes,
where a cobra froze before striking it's victim. Maybe I shouldn't have said
that. Turning her head slowly to face me, she spoke in a very calm, soft voice.
"We're not going to talk about that."
I quickly agreed and went on to my next question. "The
readers also found out that you discovered that you had a destiny, via the
Cauldron Witch, who you visited when you snuck back into Mor'sin'dar."
"I was trying to find out the truth about Silvas' death. My
King had to have been murdered by someone close to him."
"Did you find anything interesting?"
"Read the book."
"Ah, okay. So, in book 2, Behind the Throne, you seek the help from the daughter of Tibault,
King of the Sin'din'dar Court, a rival of the original King you worked for. Bet
that didn't go over very well."
"Vivienne was happy to see me."
"And Ty," I added, "for he shows up in this story
too, but this time he has a bigger role."
"He's Viv's brother-in-law. She asked him to guard me since I
was sasquatch at the time."
I picked up a card and read it quickly. "Yes, you were quite
heavily pregnant, with twins, right?"
Morgan nodded. "Sierra and Thalos."
"Malachi is the father."
Morgan shrugged.
"And you and Ty become close in this story. In fact, he's
around you for most of the time."
"Kid's got a crush. He helped me out until the kids were
born." Morgan shrugged again, but this time her face softened a bit before
settling once more into its more expressionless visage. "He was a good
respite from the others."
"Others, being..."
"The other Sidhe who were also at Viv's. The asshole, Prince
Khelvan was visiting at the time and brought his guard."
"And, of course, none of you got a long." I smiled
slightly. I could see where this was going.
"As if. Numb nuts couldn't get the hint that he wasn't
wanted." Morgan muttered under her breath.
I picked up another card. "Prince Khelvan is Queen Moriethe
and King Silvas' middle son. Why was he there? Did he know you were coming and
hoped to capture you?"
Morgan snorted as she tossed her coffee into a nearby garbage can.
"Dumb ass can't find his way out of a paper bag, much less find me. No, he was there trying to woo Vivienne. The
two had a romance a long time ago and he thought he could convince her to leave
her husband." She chuckled. "Idiot."
"But trouble soon finds you anyway for Vivienne is kidnapped
by your enemies."
A flicker of irritation crosses Morgan's face but she answers.
"I have to work with Khelvan to rescue her. We do but Viv was hurt bad and
comatose."
"Which leads us into book 3: Out of the Shadowedlands. If anything, things get worse for you.
Dealing with the after effect of Vivienne's kidnapping, trying to be a mother
while your ex and the Queen are after you, Lord Requiem becomes more active
(within the Court) in your quest, Ty getting a girlfriend..."
Morgan makes a face at that.
"And having to face that destiny, the one you were apparently
not dealing with throughout the whole story."
"There's a lot going on behind the scenes that's a
bit...personal. I was confronted for not doing what I was supposed to and in
the end," she shrugs, "I did what I had to. All's good in the world,
so sue me if I took some time for myself."
"You mean by running away." That comment earned me a
glare. "It's the truth. I don't blame you. You went out of your way to
help others when they needed it, but when it was your time to rely on someone
else they all were too busy. I'd be pissed too. It's a bit overwhelming. Your
King was dead, the Queen and a few others wanted you dead, your best friend was
in a coma, and you were getting blamed for everything that was wrong in life.
I'd runaway too."
Morgan looked at her feet and was quiet for a few moments.
"But I got my revenge."
"So did you get the happy ending you want?"
Tilting her head slightly, she looked at me from the corner of her
eyes. "You'll have to read the books."
Out of the ShadowedLands
Book Three of the Morgan Crowe trilogy
Maggie Berkley
A storm is brewing in the Dark Courts and her
name is Death.
Tired of broken promises and betrayal, Morgan Crowe takes matters
into her own hand and carves a destructive path through the maze of political
intrigue the Dark Queen of the Mor'sin'dar had created. After rescuing her
friend Vivienne from the dungeons of UnderArch, Morgan returns home to discover
her son missing, taken by the man she had once given her heart to. Seeking help
to retrieve him she finds those she served unwilling to give assistance and
realizes that loyalty is not always a two way street. Tired of being used by
those she thought of as allies and hunted by those she knows are enemies,
Morgan is determined to end the game she had been unwillingly pulled in to and
strikes out in fury at everyone around her.
But when her past finally catches up with her and threatens the
lives of those she loves, Morgan knows it's time to take a stand. Charged by
her dead King to bring justice to him and the throne and still haunted by the
prophecy given to her about the future, she must make a decision that could
change the ShadowedLands and those who live within its borders forever. With
the help of the mysterious Lord Requiem and the young Werewolf Ty, Morgan steps
forward to bring a true King to the Ebon Throne and to remove the threat to her
and those she loves. Will she give into her destructive nature or will she
finally step into the destiny she was born for?
Links
to all three books of the Morgan Crowe trilogy
About the Author:
A long time fan of dark fantasy
with a touch of romance and horror, Maggie Berkley grew up in a world all her
own, one she created as a teenager during her long times of parental lock down
due to a rebellious nature. As a youth she created stories and plays for her
friends to act out for anyone willing (and at times unwilling) to watch and as
time went by drew upon her love of fantasy and horror to write longer stories
and fan fiction. Due to the encouragement of friends and family she decided
rather than keep her stories for herself she would publish and in doing so
created different worlds to feature her vast imagination.
Maggie currently lives in
Portland, Oregon, home of the 'Keep Oregon Weird' campaign. She shares her life
and heart with her husband of many years, and lives in a home filled with humor
and insane pets (a goofy Rotten Ridge who thinks he's a human, and two cats
that rule their lives with an iron claw). Much to her surprise and dismay, her
son has finally escaped their clutches and is currently the responsibility of
the United States Air Force.
Feel free to
contact her at maggieberkley@yahoo.com
She can also be
found on:
and her homepage
No comments:
Post a Comment