by Iona Morrison | Jul 28, 2014
The crack of thunder startled Jessie. The scream stuck in her throat, and then she saw him, his sinister face, lusting eyes, and sheer size. She screamed, dropped her keys, and ran realizing too late she was running towards the graveyard and the wooded area just beyond. Too late to run to Matt now. She gasped for breath, heart pounding in her ears.
Making it through the graveyard to the trees, Jessie ran along them, hoping she was headed back towards the church and lighted parking lot. He was closing in fast. Tripping over a tree root she pitched forward into the darkness sliding sideways down a deep embankment grabby at the muddy grass. She chocked off a cry as she fell several feet to a ledge below, hitting her head on something hard.
She lay winded on her back, struggling for breath, looking up in the mesmerizing light show as a fork of lightening unfolded across the sky. On any other night it would have fascinated her, but now it was like a scene from a creepy movie. As she breathed in and out her racing heart started to slow down.
“Jessie, sweet Jessie…” The man’s mocking voice floated down to her. “I’ll be back to play another day.”
by Iona Morrison | Jul 17, 2014
My release date is less than two months away. I am both excited and very nervous at the same time. So much has happened since the day I made the decision to write a book. It sounded like such a simple thing to do at the time. I wasn’t really thinking about having it published. I just wanted to write it. But things have a way of changing and new decisions are made.
A fascinating thing happened as I began to write. I found characters coming to life in my head and clamoring to have their story told. They showed up at the strangest times and in places I least expected them. Their story kept building with twists and turns that surprised even me. My imagination came alive and I found I was hooked from the beginning to the end. I loved the crazy conversations that would wake me up at night or the feelings that came over me when I would see something through their eyes. And then it was finished. I felt slightly lost almost in mourning wondering what to do with myself next.
Thankfully they were not done yet. They had more to say. New stories have taken root, weaving their way through my mind taking me on other adventures, with the hint of more to come.
September 5, is the first time anyone other than my editors will read my debut book. It is strange to think about. The what ifs have come front and center in my mind. All I can say is, it is what is, one of the grand adventures in my life.
by Iona Morrison | Jul 6, 2014
The countdown for my book release has begun. Now I’m thinking of all the things that I must do to get ready for it; promotion, book signings, and a launch party. It’s both exciting and quite nerve racking.
I read this statement which made me smile. “Never be afraid to do something new. Remember an amateur built the ark; professionals built the titanic.” (author unknown) There are many great writers out there, professionals at their craft. I’m an amateur, but it didn’t stop me from trying. I’m an avid reader who has found joy in reading over the years. It seemed like the natural thing to write and try to bring someone else a little of the joy that I found in books. I can only hope that I’ve succeeded at it, but only time will tell.
I admit that I’m nervous about pleasing readers, but it hasn’t stopped me from the process. Book two is now being considered by the publisher, and book three has just been completed. Book four is on it’s way, and I will keep working to improve my craft. The ark really did better than the titanic on its maiden voyage.
I’m determined to keep doing what I love. And I love telling stories with interesting characters who have become like friends to me. I like waking up to their chatter in my mind. I enjoy coming up against walls only to have them tell me how to get through it. I love the beginning of the story and I love seeing the end unfold. I think I just love writing.
by Iona Morrison | Jun 21, 2014
Today I got the release date for my novel The Harvest Club being published by The Wild Rose Press. I have to admit, I’m both excited and nervous at the same time. I’m sure this is something every writer feels from time to time. It’s what keeps us working to improve our craft. Ernest Hemingway said: “We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.”
Everything is exciting right now for me. Who knew that a title page could set my heart to fluttering or a copyright page could make me downright giddy. I’m enjoying every one of these firsts to the fullest. The cover created for the book is the best, the result of someone else’s talent. I find myself walking around with a smile that appears randomly and without warning.
I guess it is that sense of accomplishment that makes the joy palpable; a dream pursued and soon to be fulfilled. It might also be because I discovered writing at a very hard time in my life. It was a therapy of sorts for me and I found myself a little more in every page that I wrote. So for now I’m flying high, and enjoying it all. Like Matthes said: The best days are neither ahead of us or behind us…they’re happening right now cradled in the palm of our hands.” Put September 5, 2014 down as the day this gal gets to see a dream come true.
by Iona Morrison | Jun 1, 2014
Have you ever noticed: that when some folks get older they never lose their beauty, it just goes from their face to their heart; that laughter with friends is great, and the laughter of children is the sweetest of all; or that birds sing the loudest right before the sun comes up? I love the early morning, when there is stillness and yet the world is starting to awaken around me, humming to life. I can hear the whispers of my heart in the early morning hours. It speaks to me of hope and promise; a sense that in the chaos of life there is still peace to be found.
Here’s wishing you true beauty, great laughter, and songs to awaken you from sleep. May you find your sense of calm in the midst of chaos, breathe deeply, and be filled with hope. Welcome June!
by Iona Morrison | Apr 20, 2014
“The spring came suddenly, bursting upon the world as a child bursts into a room, with a laugh, a shout, and a hand full of flowers.” # quote by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Bright blue skies, baby birds, and the budding of new flowers; a few of nature’s reminders that life is renewed once again after the long days of winter. In the spring life expands and stretches in all directions. The earth is green with exuberance, and life creeps out from the places that have sheltered it, to hope again that good things will be their promise.
Spring is crazy good, filled with hope of the new, and resurrection. New is glorious, new is wonderful, but new can be scary, a little disappointing, and confusing too. Life is bursting with hope and possibilities, uncertainties and no guarantees.
And like the new springing up around us, it happens in our lives too. Suddenly we can see. The landscape we’ve passed before without seeing, we hear the lyrics of hope in the songs of the birds, and waves of the sea. We find the joy in a single moment that renews us enough to face another of the challenges that life is sure to bring us, and we breathe.
