Saturday, June 8, 2013

An Interview with Morgan Crowe from Maggie Berkley's Morgan Crowe Trilogy

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:

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