My hearts, I am excited to introduce you to my new friend Romy Morgan. Romy and I met through Nicole Frail’s social media challenges. Romy is publishing the first book in a lesbian magical realism romance trilogy in February. As a part of her marketing plan (we all know that’s the challenging part!), she volunteered to let me pick her brain. Let’s get started.

I’ll let her introduce herself.

ROMY: Hi! I’m Romy Morgan. I live in the North of England, and I have written a trilogy of LGBT+ fantasy romance books between Christmas and August.

JEN: Wait! You wrote all three books in less than a year?

ROMY: Yeah, I was just so obsessed with writing them! I initially wrote each chapter on a note app on my phone so I could write wherever I was, I think that helped. I felt excited to write them, and they flowed so much it almost felt like they were writing themselves! After trying to write other things before, but not really getting into them and it feeling like a real effort, it was nice to write something that just felt right, that was easy and that I looked forward to writing. I wrote the first book between December and March, the second between March and May, and the third between May and August.

JEN: That is ambition I envy! Sorry. I interrupted you. Please introduce yourself. [both laugh]

ROMY: I have always loved making up stories, but when I was a child, I hated writing (with pen and paper) because I struggled with spelling. Still, I always wanted to be an author, inspired by my love of Jacqueline Wilson books. I had endless story ideas, and when I was older, I started writing a few things, but I couldn't properly get into any of them. But in December I started writing Fallen Feathers, inspired by my favorite TV program Good Omens, and became totally obsessed. I wrote every single day, and finished the book in February, and was so sad to have finished that I immediately started a sequel. Then after finishing that one in May, I started the third and finished in August. I'm still completely obsessed with my story and characters and have been focusing on researching and preparing to publish the first book, which will be released at the beginning of February. As well as a writer I am a theatre actress and am currently directing my first show. I am also a historian and I'm doing a master’s degree in museum studies, and sometimes work in TV production.

ROMY: As I said, I have always loved making up stories and wanted to be an author since I was a child. In fact, we have some hilarious little stories that I made up when I was three that my mum wrote down for me. In terms of my trilogy, I was inspired by the Good Omens TV series. I started off writing a little fanfiction about it and loved writing it so much that I was inspired to create my own angel and demon love story, which is really not a genre that I imagined writing, but I love my books!

JEN: I definitely missed the fanfiction boat. I have regrets.

What is your favorite genre?

ROMY: Romance! (Bonus if it’s LGBT) I like light fantasy/magical realism (magical things happening in the real world rather than fantasy kingdoms), and my favorite books to read have always been historical fiction, as someone who has loved history since a young age.

JEN: What other creators are you friends with, and how do they help you create better?

ROMY: My little sister also writes, and we are actually writing a series together. Me and my 17-year-old sister Tansy have a series planned out that we have made up together. We initially wrote it as a tv script, but we are planning to rewrite it as a book series. We love writing together and we have similar writing styles, so even we can't really tell who wrote which bit of our scripts! Our story is a found family story about a group of people brought together by mysterious time travel.

JEN: Found family is not merely a trope for me, it’s a necessity. I love that! Can’t wait to read it. Your family is supportive then?

ROMY: My family are very supportive! I have read out all three books to my mum and sister, and my dad has read chapters in his dinner hour at work. They are all very excited about it, and my mum is even editing them for me.

Not many people have read my books yet, but the biggest compliment is when my family had told me they were excited to find out what happens next or were shocked by a plot twist. My mum always says she can't imagine how the characters are going to get out of situations, and that she doesn't know how I think of them. I also think the biggest complement is when people care about my characters, because I care about them! Like when my mum and sister were excited that characters kissed or got together. Most of all I hope people will care about the characters and the world I have created. That means a lot.

JEN: This makes me so happy that they are all so supportive. Where are you from? 

ROMY: I am from and live in the North of England. My stories tend to be set in the North, particularly Yorkshire, and often have a Northern feel to the dialogue. My trilogy in set in the city of York.

JEN: Tell me more about your writing routine. Are you a morning bird or a night owl?

ROMY: Definitely night owl! I stay up very late... I do often feel more inspired at nighttime to be fair! As I mentioned, I actually wrote these books in an unusual way, but I really think that's why I was able to write them so fast. I initially wrote each chapter on my phone's note app, and then transferred each one to a Google Doc for editing. I personally found it flowed way better, and it meant I could write on the go in any spare moment. I have written my books in the car (not driving obviously!), at rehearsals and backstage at shows, on the train, in hotels/on holiday. Basically, whenever I had a free moment. (Told you I was obsessed!) ;)

JEN: What sort of themes do you most enjoy tackling in your work?

ROMY: My books have loads of themes. LGBT is the main one, but I find myself writing about complicated emotions with insightful thoughts and healing moments for my characters, influenced by my mum who is a counsellor and NLP practitioner. I also like to write about soulmates and found family.

JEN: What’s coming next? Do you have any planned releases or works in progress?

ROMY: My first book will be coming out in February, and the other two will come soon after. I am currently working on a new book, but I'm battling with whether or not to write more about Nessa and Ophelia's world, because I can't let them go, lol.

JEN: Where do you get the ideas for your stories? What inspires you?

ROMY: I honestly don't really know. I didn't have my books fully planned out when I started writing them, but they flowed, and I wrote down ideas as they came and that became the books. Often, I think the characters write themselves, and sometimes I feel like I’m not even sure where they are going with something, but it always seems to work out! Lol.

JEN: I can absolutely relate to that. I work for my characters, not the other way around. What advice would you give to someone just setting out to write a trilogy?

ROMY: Find a story that flows and feels easy and exciting, and you will find it, but it might not be a story you're expecting to tell. I tried to write a few different stories that were 'my type' of book, but I didn't really get into them, but these books are totally different to the kinds of stories I usually make up and writing them has felt exciting and they have come so naturally.

Please seek out Romy Morgan in all her worlds! You can find her on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and her website. And please watch for the launch of her debut novel early next year!

Are you a human author? A human who narrates audiobooks? A human who designs book covers? Or a human who does PR and promotion for other authors? I'd love to interview you, too. Let me know when you’re ready!