MY INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR ISAIYAN MORRISON

MY INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR ISAIYAN MORRISON

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What’s your name and what genre would you consider your books to be?

My name is Isaiyan Morrison. I write paranormal and urban fantasy.

Tell me about your book. How did you come up with that (story, angle, idea)?

The thought came to me back in 1999 when I was working at a comic book store. I had just finished reading a book about vampires (I don’t remember the name of the book.) After work, I started to think about the different types of vampires out there and why sanguine vampires seemed to be popular. That’s what I decided I wanted to write about psychic vampires.

A decade later and after tons of research, I finally sat down and began to flesh out this idea I was carrying around in my head. I wanted these creatures to have their own name, origin story. But I didn’t just want to write about one. I wanted to write about eight of them from eight different ‘clans’ so to speak.

I came up with: Ramanga, Lamia, Metusba, Lugat, Estrie, Ekimmu, Adze, and Empusa.

They also had to have unique differences and they are defined on how they feed off the psychic energy of others. For example, Lamia feed off the life force while a Metusba feeds off the psychic energy in auras.

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How did you get interested in writing this particular genre (historical novels, mysteries, sci-fi, children’s books, etc.)?

I grew up reading a lot of books in different genres: supernatural, western, romance. My favorite was supernatural. I read a lot of Stephen King and Anne Rice.

I also loved poetry and eccentric novels. Jack Kerouac is an all time favorite of mine as well.

What kind of research did you do for this book?

I did a ton of research on mythology from all around the world. You wouldn’t believe how many different types of vampire creatures there are. Not only did this broaden my knowledge of the undead, but it inspired me to bring some of these unknown creatures to the spotlight.

Can you tell me about your Series?

The Deamhan Chronicles is an urban fantasy series about psychic vampires who live among us. They were created thousands of years ago by a powerful magician to combat sanguine vampires. Obviously, that didn’t work out that well and now Deamhan roam the planet. This ‘Universe,’ as I like to call it, primarily follows supernaturals created by this release of dark magic which includes a long list of different types including Deamhan. There are a total of 10 books in the series and counting.

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Do you have a favorite book out of this series?

I think my favorite is Maris. The Brotherhood Files. I really enjoyed writing the novel and molding Maris into who she is today. She was raised in a brothel by a single prostitute mother and later, kidnapped and sired by a Deamhan. Throughout her journey she finds out that her blood is important to Deamhan because she’s descended from the powerful magician who created her species. The novel starts in later 1800s England, early 1900s America, to current day.

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Was it always meant to become a series?

At first, I planned on four books but as the story progressed, I realized that many of my characters have complex and interesting backgrounds and stories that I wanted to explore and it was a little difficult to cram all of that into four books.

What’s a typical working day like for you? When and where do you write? Do you set a daily writing goal?

Besides writing I have a full time job and other hobbies like gardening. I also love playing video games. I feel that setting daily writing goals isn’t my thing. My main goal is just to get out as many words as I can a day. Real life happens so there are days when I don’t write at all. There are other days when I write over 3,000 words. I write the most on weekends. However, I do manage to write after work.

Do you have a new book in the making and if so, what’s the name of your upcoming book?

I’m almost down with my third edit of the newest Deamhan book. I don’t have a title yet.

How important are character names to you in your books? Is there a special meaning to any of the names?

You can expect strong female protagonist along, characters with different and intriguing backgrounds, mystery, suspense, and a little infatuation mixed in and I’m just referencing the human characters in the novel! As for Deamhan you run into both brutal yet sympathetic individuals who all have a desire to survive among the human world. You’ll find yourself wanting to know who can and can’t be trusted.

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Is there a genre that you’ve been wanting to experiment with?

I’m a sucker for American western novels. I love history and the mid to late 1800s is an interesting time to me. I’ve had this plot in my head for a decade and a half now. Lately, this idea has hounded me so maybe, I might go for it, under another pseudonym.

What is the hardest part of writing for you?

Doubting myself. A day hardly goes by when I question why I’m writing and who I’m writing for. I love my fans and the idea of sharing my Universe with them excites me.

What do you think of book trailers? Do you have a trailer or do you intend to create one for your own book?

I have four book trailers in total. I like them and I’ve always wanted to do a little more with my Youtube page. But as of now, I’ve placed trailers on the back burner. They aren’t my top priority but I hope to create some more for my future books.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

My hubby and I plan on buying some land next year in Texas and settling down. I love the idea of being far enough away from the city and being self-sufficient. We also want a large garden where we can grow our own food and ‘can’ the food what we don’t use. We also want a few chickens for fresh eggs as well.

Right now, I have a small garden and I’ve been growing veggies and other goodies for three Summers. Gotta get that practice in for when I have bigger land! We’re currently looking for our perfect place. We did come across a few prospects but nothing yet. We also talked about traveling throughout America in either an RV or a converted bus.

If you didn’t like writing books, or weren’t any good at it, what would you like to do for a living?

I’ve had plenty of jobs in my past: clerk at a comic book store, the military, Pharmacy Technician. I’ve worked for a commercial company in Hollywood, taught in Dallas, Texas, and currently I work at a bank, creating loan documents for customers.

But my main passion (besides writing) is gardening. It’s what I really want to do: garden, grow my own food, and live on 10 acres. I also want to travel to different states. So, I think that’s my job would be, if I wasn’t writing. Probably living in a converted vehicle on a small plot of land growing food to sell at Farmer’s Markets. Maybe a microgreen farm of some sort.

Do you read reviews of your book(s)? Do you respond to them, good or bad? How do you deal with the bad?

I do read both. However, I don’t respond to the bad ones unless it’s helpful to myself, like some advice. Every reader has the right to express how they feel about a product they purchased and not everyone is going to like what I write and I’m okay with that. I guess I’m lucky in that I haven’t had a bad trollish review.

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What is your least favourite part of the writing / publishing process?

Promo. I’m more of an introvert and in this business, it’s better to be an extrovert. Also, promo has become quite expensive nowadays. It seems like everyone and their mom is jumping on that bandwagon. It’s a necessity for authors like myself and it takes a huge chunk out of my profits just to be seen. Sometimes I feel like I’m drowning in an ocean filled with other authors and everyone is reaching out to that one rescuer.

Can you give us a few tasty morsels from your work-in-progress?

Untitled. Deamhan Chronicles #5

Crows. Why does it always have to be crows?

Hallie watched a fairly large one land just a few feet from herself and Remy. It twisted its small neck to look at them before it hopped toward the parking lot. She assumed the little thing was looking for food which was scarce on a cool night like this.

Fall in the lovely state of Minnesota wasn’t anything to take lightly, especially for humans. The season signaled the oncoming threat of winter with below zero temperatures, snow and bitter cold nights. Fall was their last chance to leave their comfortable homes and bask in the nightlife before the weather’s artic change.

And the nightlife in downtown Minneapolis was extraordinary, sometimes downright crazy on the weekends. Hallie thought she saw it all until a fight broke out down the street between two drunk girls. She watched as one of them in a short skimpy dress slapped the other one before they both fell to the ground and pulled at each other’s hair.

Remy laughed at the spectacle and elbowed her before he asked, “Who do you think will win? The brunette or the blond one?” The sound of a police siren stopped the fight. “Aww,” he pouted. “I was enjoying that.”

“Of course, you were,” she replied. “Nothing like a little action to heighten your senses.”

“And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, my littlest Deamhan.”

“Never said there was but after 150 years, I’d think that you, of all people, would start to find it boring.”

He enjoyed watching altercations and how humans reacted to them. Lamia Deamhan usually did. As a Metusba Deamhan, she didn’t like the attention. Also, she believed that the organization housed in a building across the street was the cause of most of her discontent. The Brotherhood.

Over the span of six months, the city saw a huge influx of supernatural creatures and there wasn’t anything they could do about it. They felt that the agreement they made with the Brotherhood left them with the short end of the stick. The Brotherhood helped the Deamhan deal with their itty bitty magical problem and in return they had no choice but to step aside and allow them full access to the city again.

Now Remy was so close to saying ‘screw the deal’ and he wanted to take them out one by one, but their vampire friend, Lambert, advised him to use caution. Deamhan weren’t known for discretion, especially when faced with a strong and annoying adversary who couldn’t keep their nose out of their business. That’s what the Brotherhood were: annoying humans who made it their job to interfere.

A week ago, two Brotherhood researches spied on her from a car parked just down the street from a local park. Last weekend, Remy complained that they scared his meal away, and just a three days ago, one of them snapped a picture with his phone of Hallie casually walking down the street.

Remy had enough. By cataloguing their scents and spying on them from across the street, he returned the favor. Well, that’s how he saw it.

Yet there was once scent that neither of them picked up in the past month; a scent from years ago and that bothered him the most. He hadn’t spoken her name since she returned to Minneapolis, a full blown Brotherhood member and the President of the Midwest Division of the organization. Once their friend, now he viewed her was the enemy but Hallie knew the truth. Deep down, Remy still thought about her just as much as she did. He missed her. In fact, he still loved her.

“Stop thinking about her.” Able to pick up on Hallie’s thoughts, Remy whispered to her.

“Sorry, it’s hard not to.”

“Think of something else.” He inhaled his cigarette and noticed that it burned itself out, down to the filter. He flicked it over his shoulder and placed his hands in the pockets of his dark jeans.

“You know it’s not that easy.”

“It is for me my littlest Deamhan,” he replied. “She doesn’t think and she doesn’t care about us anymore, so why should we?”

“You should tell yourself that.” Hallie locked eyes with one of the researchers; a male who looked just a little older than herself with straight dark hair and chestnut-colored eyes. He was attractive, to say the least, and a little older looking that herself. Remy knew him fairly well. He nearly came down to blows with the teenager shortly before most of the researchers traveled back to San Diego for reasons unknown.

“I wonder if he knows we’re out here, stalking him,” he laughed.

“I’m sure he does.”

“He hates me.”

“Yeah, he does.”

“I mean, he really, really hates me.”

“He thinks you’re a murdering psychopath.”

Remy smiled. “Good.”

“But you’re not a murdering psychopath.”

“Shhhh. Don’t tell him that.”

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Of all the characters you have created, which is your favorite and why?

Ohhhh! I can’t pick just one. I love Maris and her innocence. I love Anastasia and her ability to switch back and forth from being cruel to compassionate. I also love Remy because of his like-minded nature and his snippiness.

What is your writing Kryptonite?

Cats. All it takes is just one of my cats to jump on my lap and purr. This literally stops all my writing in its track.

Do you try more to be original or to deliver to readers what they want?

I prefer originality. I understand my genre and how sales in my genre are. I try not to compare that with other, more successful genres like romance, for example. I also try not to incorporate romance in my novels due to this. If it’s needed, I will include it. I feel that forcing myself to do so is a disserve to myself and to my fans.

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