Help me welcome Morgan L. Busse, author of the Follower of the Word trilogy. She’s giving away one copy of your choice of Daughter of Light or Son of Truth in your format of choice (paperback or ebook) so don’t forget to comment below to enter the giveaway.
Hi Morgan! Thanks so much for venturing to other worlds with me today. Before we jump into the amazing world you created with your Follower of the Word series, tell me a bit about where you’re from.
I was born and raised in Montana, but moved to the state of Washington during my teen years. I would consider myself a native of the Pacific Northwest. Many of the scenes in my books are based on real places I have visited such as the Oregon coast, Mt. Rainier, and the high desert. I now live in the Midwest, but I miss the rain, the trees, and the mountains back home.
Sometimes (okay, a lot of times), it seems film adaptations of books don’t quite capture storyworld scenes the way authors and readers imagine. What is your favorite film adaptation of a book? Why?
Lord of the Rings, hands down. I remember when I first heard LoTR was going to be made into a movie. I went online and found out everything I could and followed the production of all three movies. LoTR is still one of my favorite movies of all time!
Agreed. The film adaptations are really incredible. Now, let’s talk about your Follower of the Word series, particularly Daughter of Light. How long did it take you to write your debut novel?
Haha, years! I started writing Daughter of Light in 2002 and finished it around 2008. Son of Truth, the second book in the series, took me a year and a half. Heir of Hope took me a year. I see a pattern now. Maybe I’m getting faster?
Definitely a pattern of increased speed, which is great for you readers (ahem…me!). Tell me a bit about your main characters. Who did you have the most fun creating? Why?
Rowen Mar is a quiet young woman who bears the burden of being a Truthsayer, a being with the ability to see inside people’s souls. I don’t know if I would consider writing her story fun per se, but it was definitely a journey. I felt her sorrow, her longing to be normal, and her final understanding of what it meant to follow God.
Caleb Tala is another interesting character. At the beginning of Daughter of Light he is an assassin for the Lord of the Temanin Empire. As I grew to know him more, I realized Caleb had a deep fear: that he would have to pay for all the blood he had shed. His journey is different than Rowen’s. His story is about redemption and how God can save anyone and use anyone no matter their past.
Caleb is actually my favorite character. [big smile] It’s been a while since I read Daughter of Light, introduce me to your villain again. Is there a flicker of good within him?
The main villain in my story is actually not fully introduced until Heir of Hope, the final book in the Follower of the Word series. His name is Valin and he is one of the Shadonae, beings of great and terrible power. He is a good example of how love can morph into something dark and dangerous if that love does not come from a sacrificial and selfless heart. Is there a flicker of good within Valin? I think there once was a long time ago, but he was deeply hurt by people to the point that anything good was extinguished, leaving behind a cold heart.
What message do you hope your readers will take away after reading Daughter of Light and the continuing volumes of your Follower of the Word series?
Hope. No matter how dark life gets, there is always hope. But the journey to hope is a long and hard one.
Before we finish, please tell me a bit about the sequels.
Yes. Son of Truth is the second book in the Follower of the Word series and is available now. Heir of Hope, the last book, was originally slated to release fall of this year, but due to changes in publisher it will now release early 2015. I also have plans for a standalone novel that follows Caleb Tala after the events in Heir of Hope.
Yay! More Caleb! One last question…what advice do you have for fellow writers (published and unpublished)?
Enjoy life. Spend time with your family. Be in fellowship with God. The writing will always be there, but those special life moments will not. Don’t miss out on them!
What if with one touch you could see inside the soul?
Rowen Mar finds a strange mark on her hand, and she is banished from her village as a witch. The covers the mark with a leather glove and seeks sanctuary in the White City. She lives in fear that if she touches another person, the power inside her will trigger again, a terrifying power that allows her to see the darkness inside the human heart . . .
But the mark is a summons, and those called cannot hide forever. For the salvation of her people lies within her hand.
Daughter of Light is the first book in the Follower of the Word trilogy, an epic Christian fantasy series.
See more Daughter of Light at Enclave Publishing.
Order the first two books in her epic series at…
http://www.enclavepublishing.com/books/daughter-light/
http://www.enclavepublishing.com/books/son-truth/
Morgan L. Busse writes fantasy for the adult market. She is the author of the Follower of the Word series, including Daughter of Light, 2013 Christy and Carol Award finalist. Morgan lives in the Midwest with her husband and four children. You can find out more about Morgan at www.morganlbusse.com.
And follow Morgan…
On her website: www.morganlbusse.com
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/morganlbusseauthor
And on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MorganLBusse (@MorganLBusse)
Venturing to Other Worlds 
I have this series on my to-be-read list! It sounds so awesome! I also find it interesting that you base the places in your novels on the geography of the United States. I love finding fantasy books based on geography other than Europe’s!
I hadn’t thought about that, but you’re right. Almost every fantasy seems to be based on Europe lol. I found it easier to base locations on places I’ve actually been. I even went on a walk on the beach one night on the Oregon coast just to see how much I could see in the moonlight so I could write that scene more accurately.
I can’t wait to read this series! I love finding new Christian fantasy series!
Thanks!
That was a good interview. 🙂
(for Morgan or Angie) What do you drink while writing? Coffee or tea(or something else…?)?
-Ryebrynn
Hi Ryebrynn 🙂
Definitely tea. And if I’m really having a hard time sitting down and writing, I make a whole pot and make myself write until it’s gone!
Is it ok for me to participate if I live in Europe? what an enjoyable and enlightening interview. Thank you for sharing. 🙂
Hmm, I’ve never mailed something to Europe before, but we can always try. If that doesn’t work, I can always email you an e-book copy 😉
Hmm, I’ve never mailed something to Europe, but there’s always a first! And if that doesn’t work, I can always send you an e-book copy 🙂
I loved the interview it was wonderful! Morgan I have learned about your books from my good friend and author Emerald Barnes. She has opened my eyes to a lot of things that I had closed off. I am thrilled to be able to read your books! Thank you for the giveaway!
Yeah!
This sounds like a great series I’m going to have to check it out. 🙂
I’m also from Montana and love to see the beauty of this state Incorporated into books 🙂
Montana is a beautiful place 🙂
Great interview with Morgan! I love Christian fantasy. “Follower of the Word” trilogy is on my TBR list. Morgan, what is your favorite worship song/group?
psalm103and138″AT”gmail”DOT”com
Hi Caryl,
Let’s see, I like Blessed Be His Name and Oceans.
I LOVE Oceans also!
I love the Lord of the Ring movies too!!! Have you watched the Hobbit movies?
Your book sounds really interesting! I love Christian fantasy!!!!
Yes, I loved the Hobbit, even with all the extras in it. And it’s even more fun because I get to watch them with my son every year (he’s hooked on the books and the movies).
Morgan, I wish you all the best. I have both of your books that are out, so I don’t need entered in the giveaway, but I wanted to say I’m enjoying your series. 🙂
Thank you, Gloria 🙂
Great interview! I enjoyed getting to know more about Morwen and Caleb. I’m definitely adding these to my TBR shelf. 🙂
Thanks Tyrean 🙂
*blinks* How have I missed this series?!?!! Sounds awesome! Adding to my list pronto!
Thanks Heather 🙂
Christian fantasy is my favorite genre! I would love to discover your books. Thanks for the interview and giveaway! I was initially skeptical when I saw they were making a movie of Lord of the Rings, but I agree they ended up being very well done! Someday I want to visit New Zealand and see where they were filmed 🙂
Yes! I want to visit New Zealand as well 🙂
I can’t wait for the next book
Less than 6 months to go, whoot!
Wow! How cool!!! I LOVE author interviews!! I’m so excited about these books!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂
Thanks Rosalie 🙂
Sounds interesting. I’d love to win an ebook.
I love the ideas presented here. They got me to thinking on a tangent or two. If ever I can actually devote enough time to create something publishable, perhaps I should put in a footnote of thanks here. 🙂
Your Rowen Mar and my Alain Harper should “do lunch” sometime. They’d find much common ground. 😀
Ooo, sounds interesting!
If you will pardon the “shameless plugs”, because you expressed interest, you may learn more at these pages:
http://alainharper.com/
https://www.triond.com/users/Jack+Shepherd (very slow to use)
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tales-of-the-Undying-Singer/563448943688888
http://rakkav.blogspot.com/
Oh yes: check out the stories by me writing as “Johanan Rakkav” here:
https://www.scribd.com/crossandcosmos
My favorite of that lot is the EMBERS trilogy.
It’s been quite a while since I’ve been able to write anything new but a friend who is completely new to creative writing has asked me to develop some heroines who interact with Alain. I’ve done quite a bit of online work with Jason Ward of Barbados and one series he’s done with my editorship (yes, believe it or not, I have fanfic and he writes it) is featured on the Blogspot page. It’s not perfect, but it’s one of my favorite co-ops.
Actually, our collaboration on Blogspot is not fanfic but collaboration – as I was just explaining privately to Yisraela, these are not the same thing. Jason has done fanfic proper on Triond.com.
Reblogged this on Tales of the Undying Singer and commented:
This interview is worth recording here for posterity…
Thanks John!
I’m sorry you thought I was confused and because it is noted here, I shall take a moment to say John, that I did understand correctly. I did not think fanfic and collaboration were the same. What I said was fanfic as you explained. to me was someone using your characters or aspects of your stories and writing a new story from that. I said collaboration could end up being a end result of fanfic if both people consented. I understood, you just didn’t realize it. That’s ok
Yisraela
What about the idea of not having to touch someone to see inside their soul? It is possible. In fact it is something I can do with ease. And perhaps it is a concept for writing something I’d like to write.
Best wishes Yisraela
As you know, Yisraela (and Angie and Morgan), characters whose powers have few if any limits are very hard to write about at all, let alone to make interesting. “For every strength there is a weakness” (and vice versa) applies here.
Rowen Mar is limited by the power of her touch. The inverse of that is she probably can see much more of the darkness of the human soul than you can – or that you could if you were not so oversensitized by so much contact with demons and demon-influenced people when younger.
Alain Harper doesn’t have Rowen Mar’s limitation in being able to read other’s minds and intents. Line of sight is enough for him. He has another limitation, the limitation of every Gift of every Lightchild: the Need of the Hour. He can only perceive what the Hooded Man (a thinly veiled symbol of Jesus Christ) lets him know and only when he really needs to know it. And Alain has no control over that “need”. In that he reflects my own experience, magnified.
Actually I would t want to test the theories here. I can see into the soul of others and I am not being metaphorical. The darkness I see can only be seen by those who have that gift. Or curse if that’s the case . Sometimes it is. I am not going to go down that road in a contest of who sees greater darkness John. Given you know me it shouldn’t be hard. I simply was tossing out a premise of “what if you can see the spirit without touching the soul? It simply was my premise. Based on a title here. That perhaps my reality and all the darkness that can go with it, could be a story I could write. Don’t need defending what was simply a premise. It is an idea is all. No one would want to see what I’ve seen. Thanks yisraela
Sent from my iPhone
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Actually the reason I am so hyper sensitive to the spirit world is because of my life long need to be aware. Not out of choice but necessity. So I won’t debate the experience of who has more than another. It isn’t worth debating.
When I saw the title of your story here, ” touching someone to see their soul,” provoked a thought that I put forth above…” what it would be like to not have to touch someone to see their soul.” It provoked that thought because that is my life. And maybe that is a good place to start writing on one hand. Maybe that would give me a place where I can stir up imagination despite it being a real life experience. When I first started coming to NAF, it was because of someone else here who is going to help me learn to write. And I felt if this a place they found inspiration, then I’d try it. Also a need to want to understand the person and their writing.
But this is not the genre I am interested in. So i have been told that Space Opera is probably what I need to explore. And will do that. I appreciate the wisdom’s some of you have helped me with. And I believe you all believe in what you are writing. Me? I can’t afford to gamble fiction and Christianity. There are boundaries I can’t cross and won’t. But that is not a judgement of anyone here as much as my desire to not mix certain elements with Christianity. I understand Alain Harper and his gifts at need. I also understood the limitations of the above author. The title of your story simply made me see something I hadn’t seen before and think I could be worth pursuing. So thank you for that.
Yisraela
And the winner of Morgan’s giveaway is…drum roll please… HEATHER LANGSTON! Thanks to everyone who commented.