Okay, a little slow starting, but if you stay with it, it’s full of spy stuff, secrecy, double-crossing, and conflicting loyalties. The ultimate loyalty - is it to your life partner or your country?
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Margarita Morris and Steve Morris are the husband-and-wife writing duo who excel at mystery and police procedural drama at university. They write individually under their own names, and as a couple under the penname, M S Morris. They live near Oxford, England.
Good morning, Margarita and Steve! Welcome to Vision and Verse, the site for art and authors and those who love them. Can you tell us a little about what you've written?
As Margarita Morris I write twentieth-century historical fiction set in Europe. Oranges for Christmas is about a family escaping from the confines of the Berlin Wall and Goodbye to Budapest is about the Hungarian Uprising of 1956.
Steve Morris is currently writing a werewolf apocalypse series called Lycanthropic.
What is your favorite genre to write?
We love writing crime and mystery novels together. It helps to have two people when you are trying to work out a plot with lots of twists and turns. When it comes to writing separately, I lean towards historical fiction, and Steve likes
science-fiction and fantasy.
Favorite food.
I adore a perfectly boiled egg with a runny yolk! Steve loves mince pies at Christmas. We both agree that you can’t beat fish and chips from Scarborough.
Tea or coffee?
For me it’s peppermint tea. Steve can’t do without a strong black coffee. But at mealtimes we share a pot of jasmine tea.
Pizza or ice cream?
Nine times out of ten the answer has to be pizza. Unless we’re in Italy of course, where the gelato is divine.
Wine or beer?
We both love a good red wine with dinner, maybe a Shiraz or a Merlot.
Where would you like to visit?
My ideal trip is travelling around Europe by train. I’ve visited most western European countries and am gradually working my way eastwards. Recent trips include Romania and Poland. I’d love to visit the Baltic States and Russia.
Steve would like to see more of America, particularly New York.
Favorite musical artist.
I sing in choirs so I have a passion for things like Bach’s St John Passion, Verdi’s Requiem and Mozart’s Requiem. I also love early twentieth-century English songs by composers such as Vaughan Williams and George Butterworth. And I’m a lifelong fan of David Bowie.
Do you listen to music when you write?
No, neither of listens to music when we write. It would be too distracting.
But if the neighbours’ dogs are barking I sometimes listen to the sound
of falling rain on YouTube.
Favorite work of art or sculpture.
We both love the Impressionists and the Pre-Raphaelites. On a recent visit to Kraków I was lucky enough to have Leonardo da Vinci’s Lady with an Ermine all to myself for a few minutes. I now have a framed postcard of it near my writing desk.
How old were you when you started writing?
We both did lots of other things before we started writing so we didn’t start until we were in our forties.
Describe your perfect evening.
A delicious meal with a glass of wine, good conversation and then an engrossing film. Our favourite film of all time is The English Patient.
Where do you get your inspiration?
The Bridget Hart series is set in Oxford so much of the inspiration comes from the city and the university. We both studied at Oxford so we know it well. The city with its history and idiosyncrasies is really the main character in the books. My historical fiction is inspired by my travels and my reading. In his science-fiction writing Steve likes to ask big ‘what if’ questions.
What do you do when you get a writer's block?
Fortunately, writer’s block is rare in the Bridget Hart series because we spend so much time planning up front. Reading and watching TV are good ways to get inspired with new ideas.
Who is your favorite author?
Impossible to pick just one, so for general authors I would choose Sarah Waters, Kate Atkinson, Charles Dickens, Robert Harris and Robert Galbraith (i.e. J.K. Rowling). Steve loves George R.R. Martin, Frank Herbert and Joe Abercrombie. In the crime and mystery genre we both like Elly Griffiths, Ann Cleeves, Ian Rankin, Anthony Horowitz and Agatha Christie.
Best book you ever read.
I would have to choose Bleak House by Charles Dickens. Steve would go for The Dune Series by Frank Herbert.
Last book you read.
The last book I read was Lustrum, the second book in the Cicero trilogy by Robert Harris. Steve has just finished Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield.
What would you do for a living if you weren’t a writer?
We both had other careers before becoming writers. I worked in the IT industry before joining Steve in our internet business. Steve was a nuclear physicist before becoming a dot.com entrepreneur. But at the moment we have no plans to do anything except write books.
No, my dears, that does not sound corny. That sounds wonderful. That is something we are strive for, but rarely get. Good on you!
If you could sit down and have a conversation with ONE person, living or dead, real or fictional, who would it be and why?
It would be fascinating to meet Agatha Christie and to talk about her books and how she developed her amazing plots. Steve would like to be Doctor Who’s companion for a day.
What advice would you give someone who aspired to be a writer?
It’s important to enjoy what you’re doing, but also to have the discipline to sit down each day and commit to a regular routine. Writing is hard work and progress can seem painfully slow at times. It’s important to remember that writing a novel is a marathon, not a sprint. If you want to be commercially successful as an independent author then it’s important to understand the market and genres. Being an independent author is as much about running a business as being a creative. That’s why we love what we do!
Do you have some links for us to follow you?
Websites:
https://www.stevemorrisbooks.com/
Facebook pages:
https://www.facebook.com/msmorrisbooks/
https://www.facebook.com/margaritamorrisauthor/
https://www.facebook.com/stevemorrisauthor
Amazon author pages:
https://www.amazon.com/M-S-Morris/e/B07H1HHZKR/
https://www.amazon.com/Margarita-Morris/e/B00G8KTA0C
https://www.amazon.com/Steve-Morris/e/B076547GBG/
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Vision and Verse does not store any personal information like email addresses, home addresses, etc. We do not give any information to third parties. And cookies? We eat cookies.
VISIONANDVERSEDISCLAIMER:
Note:
Vision and Verse does not store any personal information like email addresses, home addresses, etc. We do not give any information to third parties. And cookies? We eat cookies.
VISIONANDVERSEDISCLAIMER:
Note:
Vision and Verse does not store any personal information like email addresses, home addresses, etc. We do not give any information to third parties. And cookies? We eat cookies.
VISIONANDVERSEDISCLAIMER:
Note:
Vision and Verse does not store any personal information like email addresses, home addresses, etc. We do not give any information to third parties. And cookies? We eat cookies.
VISIONANDVERSEDISCLAIMER:
Note:
Vision and Verse does not store any personal information like email addresses, home addresses, etc. We do not give any information to third parties. And cookies? We eat cookies.
Coyote’s Regret by Rich Curtin was the best western mystery I have ever read in my old, well-read life. It kept me riveted to the book, delaying dinner and sleep.
An older couple, dressed as hippies, are found shot in the high desert country, away from everything and everyone. Detective Manny Rivera is called in to solve the case. A tightly woven intricate plot weaves its way through the story. Terrific characters. Beautiful scenery. I loved it. I will be reading more Manny Rivera.
Do yourself a favor. Buy this book.
VISIONANDVERSEDISCLAIMER:
Note:
Vision and Verse does not store any personal information like email addresses, home addresses, etc. We do not give any information to third parties. And cookies? We eat cookies.
VISION AND VERSE DISCLAIMER
Note:
Vision and Verse does not store any personal information like email addresses, home addresses, etc. We do not give any information to third parties. And cookies? We eat cookies.
"'The Captain and The Ambassador' is an enjoyable blend of science fiction adventure, space-travel and lighthearted romance, with some well-developed mystery and drama woven through the story, infusing it with greater depth and tension.Regardless of the fact that the book is largely set beyond earth, Kauffman demonstrates the universal truths of human nature through her characters. It's easy to see that a character in a book is putting other concerns ahead of those of the heart, but on reflection, the reader understands that this is very often the sort of limitation that an individual puts on oneself for one or more different reasons. It takes only a little empathy for the reader to want the heroes of the story to end up happy, but this also carries the reminder that it's important for each individual, reader included, to choose the life that makes them happy, too. Whether it's because they have enjoyed them or because they haven't, everyone understands the value and importance of acceptance, love, personal freedom and justice, and it is those qualities that make 'The Captain and The Ambassador' a satisfying and enjoyable read."
VISIONANDVERSEDISCLAIMER:
Note:
Vision and Verse does not store any personal information like email addresses, home addresses, etc. We do not give any information to third parties. And cookies? We eat cookies.