I'm so pleased to have not one, but two, guests on the blog today! I first met Cary and Deborah in 2013, at the RWA Conference in Anaheim. We were newly published and had a great time getting to know each other. Since then, we've each grown professionally. For Cary and Deborah, that means continuing to write complex time travel novels as a team, and following their own interests with books delving into science fiction and hot contemporary. Knowing how hard it is to write a book by yourself, I'm amazed that these two can write as a team without coming to blows constantly. Let's find out more about how they accomplish that goal.
How Morgan and O’Neill created the Elizabethan Time Travel series
By Deborah O’Neill
Cordes and Cary Morgan Frates
How many writing teams are there? We know of a few, but their rarity speaks
to the difficulties of working together to create something as complicated as a
novel, let alone multiple series. When we first began to work as a team, we had
different styles and ways of approaching a scene. Our individual styles are
still different, but we’ve learned to blend and edit our work so readers can’t
tell who wrote what.
In addition to the blending of our writing styles we have to
deal with the inherent complexity of time travel fiction. Our stories are woven
with many threads, and in our Elizabethan series it’s particularly intricate
because we have to contend with three separate eras––the present day, the World
War II era, and the sixteenth century. They must be blended together on every
level to make a cohesive whole.
To make things even more complicated, we wrote the prequel,
Begun by Time, after the publication of
The Thornless Rose. It came to us that
readers would enjoy a firsthand account of the story of Catherine Hastings,
Jonathan Brandon, and Arthur Howard in the 1940s.
How did Catherine and Jonathan fall in love?
What happened after he vanished? How did Arthur help her move on with her life?
We wove this together with the plot of
The
Thornless Rose, keeping in mind that continuity must be maintained with our
work-in-progress sequel,
Ever Crave the
Rose.
Blimey! Burnouts are avoided by lots of chocolate and wine!
We work hard to
create rich and memorable time travel stories, with characters who will
not be easily forgotten. We hope you enjoy all of our time travel series: Elizabethan,
Roman, and medieval Italian. Thank you,
and happy reading ~ Deborah and Cary, writing as Morgan O’Neill.
The Thornless Rose
An Elizabethan Time
Travel Novel
Morgan O’Neill
Publisher: Entangled/Macmillan Select Historical
Publication Date: December 29, 2014
Genre: Historical/Time Travel Fiction
About the Book:
No
one ever knew what really happened to Dr. Jonathan Brandon back in 1945. He
simply disappeared from a London pub, leaving behind an unsolved mystery and
his fiancée—Anne Howard’s grandmother. Seventy years later, Anne herself is
haunted by the strange tale, along with inexplicable hallucinations straight
out of Elizabethan England. Including a scarred, handsome man whose deep blue
eyes seem to touch her very soul....
Anne
wonders if there isn’t something more to the story. Is it even possible that
Jonathan disappeared into England’s dark past? And why does Anne keep hearing
him whisper her name? Because now she too feels the inexorable pull of the
past, not to mention an undeniable attraction for a man she doesn’t even know.
It’s
just a matter of time before Anne will step back into history, and face a
destiny―and a love―beyond imagining...
Here's an Excerpt from The Thornless Rose, an Elizabethan Time Travel
novel, by Morgan O'Neill.
In this
scene, time travelers Anne Howard and Dr. Jonathan Brandon are thrown together
for the first time. Prior to
this, Anne has only seen Brandon in
an old photograph.
The lights suddenly dimmed, the atmosphere in
Westminster Abbey hushed, expectant. She halted in her tracks. Flickering
candlelight and deep shadows, no tourists.
What the hell
is going on?
“Anne! Anne!”
Stunned, she turned. A man in costume ran toward her.
“Go back,” he shouted, “back where it’s safe!”
She stood transfixed. As he came closer, she
recognized him—his eyes, the scar.
He halted and pulled her tight against him. “I love
you, Anne,” he whispered into her hair, “but you have to go with him. Save
yourself.”
“But––”
He stilled her confusion with a tender brush of his
lips, and she responded instinctively, their kiss deepening as her body arched
against his, her blood ablaze with sudden desire, until the rest of the world
seemed very far away.
When he finally drew back, he stared into her eyes,
and Anne’s heart seized when she saw his pain, the sheer desperation in his
gaze.
The feeling was apparently mutual, because he pulled
her close and swore under his breath, “Bloody hell, the bastard will pay for
this.”
I don’t
understand.
He opened his eyes and stared at something in the
distance. “Anne, go now,” his voice cracked, “because I can face anything if I
know you’re safe.”
His fingers gently cupped her chin, his touch
unleashing more heat. He lifted her face for another kiss, and then—nothing. He
was gone. She fought for control, her breathing erratic, her legs threatening
to crumble. She touched her lips, still feeling his caress, his soft breath on
her skin, but he was gone.
Begun by Time
The Prequel to The
Thornless Rose
Author: Morgan
O’Neill
Publisher: Entangled/Macmillan Select Historical
Publication Date: August 24, 2015
Genre: Historical/Time Travel Fiction
About the Book:
In 1945, a man disappeared into thin
air...
In the final days of World War II, Catherine
Hastings meets the man she wants to marry. Flight surgeon Jonathan Brandon isn’t just handsome—he’s everything Catherine could hope for in
her betrothed. But her dream of a happily ever after is shattered when Jonnie
disappears shortly before their wedding...leaving Catherine bereft,
broken-hearted, and with a lifetime of unanswered questions.
Arthur Howard is smitten with the lovely
Catherine the moment he sees her. He’s certain he’s found the woman he wants to marry. Yet behind Catherine’s sparkling green eyes is a haunted
look—the look of a woman who has known loss. But can he love a woman who still
grieves the loss of her fiancé? Now Arthur wants answers about the man
Catherine intended to marry.
But the truth about Jonnie’s disappearance
is far stranger than fiction…
Like most authors today, I've considered self-publication. The control of the entire process, from editing to cover design, to price, to placement, has a certain appeal. And the increased royalties and accounting from Amazon certainly have an appeal. All my friends who have already taken the plunge assure me that, although it involves multiple steps, it's not hard to do. A piece of cake.
