ℚ♫ Harbingers: Sword and Starship [2] - Ellis Morning

Today we have the pleasure of meeting up with author Ellis Morning to talk about Harbingers (13 January 2017, Ellis Morning, 410 pages), a Science Fiction / Fantasy, book two of Sword and Starship series.

“WOW!! I really liked BLOODS FORCE when I read it in 2015 but HARBINGERS knocked me out of my seat. You really took the story and from the first few pages hit 4th gear with a flourish. 

Your writing has always been more than just really good but I can see your talent in story-telling has improved even more in HARBINGERS than your earlier work; by leaps and bounds!! So much so that waiting for SWORD AND STARSHIP - BOOK 3 is going to leave me in anticipative agony that knows no bounds. *sigh*"

|| Synopsis || Teaser: KCR Preview || The Series || Author Q&A || About the Author || Giveaway & Tour Stops ||

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A very warm welcome to Ellis Morning; thank you for joining us on BooksChatter!

Here at BooksChatter we love music; do you have a music playlist that you used in Harbingers, or which inspired you whilst you were writing it?

"There’s tons of music I listen to while working, but here are some songs that feel especially appropriate."

What was the inspiration for Harbingers?

"There are a lot of answers! It’s a common question, so I hope to give partial answers over the course of this tour that will eventually form a big picture.

I’m a fan of Sergio Leone’s “Man With No Name” as portrayed by Clint Eastwood: a mysterious stranger who shows up in a town full of trouble and secrets, saves the day, then rides off toward the horizon. That fits the model of knight errantry in my stories pretty well, the ideal that Dame Jessamine (our heroine) strives to live up to. Not all knights errant are as good-hearted as she is, though. Plenty find ways to exploit their position for personal gain."

How much of yourself is reflected in this book, and how?

"Since I went with a first-person protagonist, Jess and I share a lot of personality and outlook by default! It’s inescapable. Otherwise, I have experience with martial arts, both open-handed and with weapons, which definitely helps with fight scenes. I also have a degree in Computer Science, so I can speak competently about things like hardware, software, AI, and what have you. I assemble my own ebook files when it comes time to publish!"

The first thing that draws me to a book is its cover. Can you tell us about your cover for Harbingers - why you chose that concept and who the artist is.

"The cover artist is the ever-wonderful Chris Howard, who is fantastic to work with. Since this is an adventure series, I like making sure the covers convey action, movement, tension and/or suspense. I’ll have a general idea of what I’m looking for, and Chris and I will collaborate to fine-tune and make it awesome."

Why should we read Harbingers and what sets it apart from the rest? What makes your book unique?

"I found a way to feasibly smash swords and starships into the same universe! You definitely want to check it out! :D"

Can you tell us something quirky about Harbingers, its story and characters?

"I spent an inordinate amount of time looking up Norse and Scandinavian words to invent good curse words for the people of Nidaros to use. I like adding that authentic flavor wherever I can!"

Who would you recommend Harbingers to and what should readers be aware of (any warnings or disclaimers)?

"I’d recommend it for preteens/young adults and older. It doesn’t matter whether you typically read sci-fi and fantasy or not, there’s still plenty to keep you interested."

If you could / wished to turn Harbingers and the Sword and Starship series into a movie, who would be your dream team?

"I have a good feeling that Steven Spielberg would know what to do with it. I’d also beg, plead, and perform ritual sacrifices to have John Williams compose the soundtrack!"

What do you like to write and read about? Do you stick to a particular genre or do you like to explore different ones?

"I write all over the place genre-wise, and happily take elements I like from here and there and combine them. Sci-fi is where I feel the most comfortable, but I also bring fantasy, mystery, detective, and Western themes into Sword and Starship. I read all of these, too, although lately I’ve been on a nonfiction kick (history, science, you name it)."

What is your writing process?

"Once I’ve outlined enough to know what’s going to happen and how things will play out between characters, I draft scenes until there’s a complete manuscript. My editor gets a first look then, and once she passes back her comments, it’s time for editing and rewrites. After I’ve tweaked it, it goes back to my editor again, who provides her final comments. I do one more editing/rewriting pass, then read over the whole thing one final time to eliminate any lingering typos or flaws in logic.

I write full-time, so I get to work on these things every weekday. I have a little office upstairs all to myself where I can throw on some music and get immersed in the work. I usually work from about 8 or 9:00 AM to about 12 or 1:00PM."

What is in store next?

"I’d love to give hints, only I don’t know what they are myself! :) There will definitely be more books in this series. I don’t work on a strict schedule; I take as much time as I need to write the book and do it justice.

If you’re curious to know when future books will be released, you can join my mailing list: I’ll send you some free short stories to read while you’re waiting!"

And as a final quirky thing, to get to know you a little bit better... do you have a pet or something that is special to you that you could share with us?

"Absolutely! My little boy Lockheed makes sure I get up each morning and feed him at the right times, and then herds me off to bed each evening. I don’t know what I’d do without him! Here he is on the piano, waiting for me to notice that it’s time to play."

Ah! He's a naughty blackie! (we have three of those... two are young siblings...)
Hello Lockheed! Lots of head scratches and belly rubs to you!

Thank you for sharing him with us ;-)

Harbingers
Available NOW!

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