Interview with Morwenna Blackwood
Hey everyone! Hope you are enjoying your day. I certainly am as I have the pleasure of sharing an interview with bestselling author, Morwenna Blackwood. Read on and enjoy!
Thank you so much for being a guest on my blog today, Morwenna!
What is the first story you remember telling (not necessarily writing)?
The first story I remember telling? What a thing to have forgotten! I always wrote, read and listened, being very introverted as a child, so unless it was for a school project or similar, I kept stories to myself. The first story I realised I had memorised, was Alan’s Big Scary Teeth. My husband and I were on a long car journey with our son when he was very young, and when I couldn’t make one up off the top of my head anymore, I dredged my brain for bedtime stories. Alan was the first, then The Gruffalo, then Thomas the Tank Engine. I expect I have the complete works of Julia Donaldson in there, now!
You have a few books published - Yay! Do you have a favorite character (and, if so, which one)?
I currently have two novels – The (D)Evolution of Us and Glasshouse – published by darkstroke. Years before I wrote them, I self-published another novel under a different name, but I’ve since taken it off the internet! I have a short story that will be published in the charity anthology, Dark Paris, coming out at the end of the year, and have recently submitted my third novel. So watch this space!
Richard is my favourite of the characters I’ve written. If anyone’s read my novels, please don’t get the wrong idea – it’s just that he is so very different to me, and I enjoy exploring his psyche. I’m fascinated by what makes people tick, and what makes them cross a line. I’d love to do a course in criminal psychology one day. Richard is a brilliant villain, and I can’t quite bring myself to kill him off – yet!
And now for something completely different! My favourite thing to do in the summer, is swim in the sea. I’m at the beach a lot in the winter, too, but mostly for walking!
I absolutely love the beach pictures you share on social media. ❤
How did you get into writing?
It was a natural progression from little meandering stories when I was a kid, to short stories at college and uni (including a dabble with poetry), to novels as a ‘proper grown-up’. Although I still enjoy writing the odd short story here and there!
Cats or dogs?
CATS EVERY TIME! I’ve worked for a cat rescue charity for about fifteen years, and I’m still learning about them. They are fascinating and mostly misunderstood animals. And I do believe they will be there with rats and pigeons and gulls, at the end of the world.
Well, that is an interesting thought. And now I am considering a post-apocalyptic story featuring those four animals, battling it out with the cockroaches, of course.
Any superpower you would like to harness?
If I could pick a superpower that I would have to use for eight hours a day, I’d pick super-speed. Then I’d have a fighting chance of turning all the plots I’ve filled a million notebooks with, into actual stories! It would make mumming easier, too!
Star Trek or Star Wars?
Please don’t ask me to choose – I love them both!
Me, too. Me. Too.
Do you a go-to author? Favorite book?
My favourite author. Hmm. Difficult question. Jack Kerouac, William Burroughs, Daphne Du Maurier, Clare Macintosh, and a guy I discovered through Twitter, William F Aicher. Favourite novel? Dracula.
The zombie apocalypse is on. What is the one thing you need to have in your indulgence pile?
To ride out the zombie apocalypse, I would need to stock up on cider. Either loads of cans of Thatchers Gold if I was raiding a supermarket, or if I couldn’t get there, I’d go to the pub at the end of my road and get a few kegs of Black Rat. Let’s face it – we’d all need something to take the edge off!
I'm there with Tallahassee and the need for Twinkies, to be honest.
When is your favorite time to write?
When I’ve answered this question before, I’ve always said my favourite time to write is in the early morning. But, life being what it is, I’m happy to write at any opportunity. I’m probably at my worst at about two in the afternoon, but sometimes I have to roll with it!
Where do you draw inspiration?
What inspires me? My experience of the world!
I am a sucker for "dad jokes." Do you happen to have one to share?
Q: What’s brown and sticky? A: A stick.
One of my favorites!
Here's one for you.
A friend of mine kept annoying me with puns about birds. But I taught him Toucan play that game!
Do you have a favorite movie? I know, that's kinda like asking if you have a favorite book, but I gotta ask.
I have two favourite films: V For Vendetta and Scott Pilgrim. And Shaun of the Dead. Three, then.
What poster(s) did you have on your bedroom wall when you were a kid?
In my teens and early twenties, my bedrooms at home and at uni were covered, literally. Posters of the Manic Street Preachers, and a million 90’s indie bands. Things I’d drawn. Dali prints. Flyers. It was Blu Tack hell whenever I moved out of somewhere!
Haha! I bet! Better than using tape, though.
It was so fun learning more about you, Morwenna! Best of luck to you!
Thanks so much for having me on your blog, Sarah! Happy writing!
The (D)Evolution of Us
Know your enemies? Know your friends? A small Devon town in the late 1990s. Everyone knows everything about everyone else. Don't they?
Glasshouse
They're doctors. But can you trust them? Delve into the dark world of psychiatric institutions where doctors and patients play a dangerous game in which no one is infallible!
Author bio:
When Morwenna Blackwood was six years old, she got told off for filling a school exercise book with an endless story when she should have been listening to the teacher/eating her tea/colouring with her friends. The story was about a frog. It never did end; and Morwenna never looked back.
Born and raised in Devon, Morwenna suffered from severe OCD and depression, and spent her childhood and teens in libraries. She travelled about for a decade before returning to Devon. She now has an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Exeter, and lives with her husband, son and three cats in a cottage that Bilbo Baggins would be proud of.
Morwenna is the author of best-selling noir psychological thrillers, The (D)Evolution of Us, and Glasshouse, published by darkstroke. The novels standalone but the characters and events interconnect. The third novel in the series, Underrated, has recently been submitted for publication, and she has other projects in progress.
When she is not writing, Morwenna works for an animal rescue charity, or can be found down by the sea.
She often thinks about that frog.
See what Morwenna is up to at:
www.morwennablackwoodauthor.com
www.facebook.com/morwennablackwood
Twitter: @MorwennaBlackw1
Insta: morwennablackwood_
Click on either book to head to Amazon and pick up your copy today!
Shine on! 🌞