6/11/2013

Falling in Love with a Genre

I thought I'd share my post from Just Romantic Suspense last week. I hope you don't mind the rerun.  >>grin<<

I'm often asked in interviews "why romantic suspense?" Without thinking much, I've always been drawn to things with a mystery. Scooby Doo and Johnny Quest were two of my favorite Saturday morning cartoons. The Hardy Boys & Nancy Drew… Even the original book of 101 Dalmations had an element of the unsolved crime and righting a wrong. And I loved the NBC Mystery Movie in the 70's that rotated between Columbo, McMillan and Wife, and McCLoud. Who could resist Dennis Weaver in a hat and boots walking the streets of NYC? But my love of reading came from being taken to the library as a child.

I was fortunate that my mother didn't take a full-time job until I was 12. My summers were full of walking to the swimming pool and stopping by the library on the way home. Lots of reading when there wasn't much more to do on rainy days. In fact, I still feel like writing or curling up with a good book when the rain is pouring outside.

I can't remember when I found Mary Stewart. It could have been as early as the fifth or sixth grade. Or maybe I saw THE MOONSPINNERS on the Wonderful World of Disney. Whenever I did, I devoured everything she'd written. I couldn't get enough. I loved the combination of mystery and love story. Timeless stories and writing… And then I discovered THE CRYSTAL CAVE and the Arthurian Saga, but that's another post. LOL

So I fell in love. From the first western I began to the current work-in-progress about twin brothers determined to save not only the women they love, but their family ranch… mystery, suspense, danger, honor, and love tangled together somewhere in the state of Texas. 

Helped by the anticipation that a book would be on the shelf and available to borrow. Spurred on by my imagination and curiosity about how the characters sounded, how they moved. Driven to recreate those images long-after I'd returned the book. Compelled to want more adventures for the characters I loved so much. I guess I was destined to become a writer. Seven sales later and I still love my genre. And to think…it all began with a love of reading and trips to the library. 

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Angi Morgan writes “Intrigues where honor and danger collide with love.” She combines actual Texas settings with characters who are in realistic and dangerous situations. Angi's work has been a finalist in the Bookseller’s Best Award, Romantic Times Best First Series, Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence and the Daphne du Maurier.
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I'd love to know what inspired you to read or what's your favorite rerun?

20 comments:

  1. I started when I was a little girl. My sister was too big to play with me and my brother was too young... So reading books become my favorite activity!

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    1. My youngest daughter always had three books going in elementary school. Book reports were never a problem for her (or me for that matter).

      I still remember a teacher telling me that the Three Musketeers was too long and I could use it for 2 or 3 book reports if I wanted. I told him I finished it in 3 days. LOL
      ~Angi

      Delete
    2. Hello I'm so happy sharing this, I still can’t thank you enough powerful Priest Elijah, My husband left for a younger lady because i was unable to give birth due to PCOS,I was so devastated i was lonely i cried a lot i even tried taking my life, Then my friend told me about this great man Priest Elijah who helped her made her marriage perfect, I also went online and did more research about him i was not too sure but i decided to give him a try he told me not to worry everything was going to be alright, He told me all i needed to pay which was a convenient fee and i did and he did his work and sent me video proof and told me to wait 24hrs that he will be back, The next morning to my greatest surprise it was Shawn my husband on his knees begging I'm so happy, It didn’t stop there, I'm proud to say that I'm 3 weeks pregnant thank you so much Priest Elijah I'm forever grateful contact him

      Email: universalspellhelp@gmail.com or

      universalspellhelp@yahoo.com

      WhatsApp him +2347054380994

      Website: https://universalspellhelp.wixsite.com/priestelijah

      Delete
  2. Hi Angi!
    I started reading books when I was pretty young, too, and my dad was the big one for trips to the library. He knew I loved books about horses best, but he was adamant about stopping by and bringing me home books I hadn't requested or found myself. I would say, without fail, I loved every book he "made" me read. But--horses have always won out and I ate, slept and lived The Black Stallion books. To this day there are horses in every book I write and a horse on the cover of anyone else's book will make me snap it up!

    On the other hand, may I say that The Moon-Spinners was one of my favorite Disney movies ever? I kind of had my first girl-crush on Haley Mills :-) Love the post. You KNOW I loves your stories!

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    1. I love your stories too, lady !!

      I introduced my youngest to The Moon-Spinners which got her started on all the Hailey Mills films... But her main crush was LUCILLE BALL. She read her biography and really admired how smart that woman was ! It's amazing how 1 thing can lead to another.

      I love that your dad was the big reader and brought you books. My father educated himself by reading the encyclopedia.
      ~Angi

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  3. Growing up I loved to read The Bobbsey Twins....full of mystery and adventure. Then I moved up to Gothic Romance Mysteries and watched the Dark Shadows soap opera. I think my favorite Hailey Mills film was That Darn Cat....smile. I still love getting lost in a library or bookstore.

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    1. Oh Brenda... I was so grateful when Disney began releasing all their earlier films on video -- I'm slowly replacing them all on DVD. I lluuvv THAT DARN CAT. I just loved watching Kurt Russell on Disney Sunday nights.

      Dark Shadows...used to run home every day from school to catch this.
      ~Angi

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  4. Hi Angi,

    We had a wonderful children's librarian when I was little and I lived for story time during the summer breaks. In third grade, we had an in-school reading program called SRA's. Each time you finished a unit, you got to wear a colored ribbon on your shirt. (It was a big deal:)

    Then in fifth and sixth grades, we had Battle of the Books. The school librarian supplied a list of one hundred books and you had to read at least twenty-five to try out for the team.(I read them all:) A team of five would then compete against other schools. Our school won both years!

    Long before DVD players in cars, we read books to make the eight hour ride seem a little shorter.

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    1. That's awesome -- reading in the car AND Battle of the Books! I'm envious. Sounds totally wonderful and I hope someone is continuing that tradition.
      ~Angi

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  5. inspired by good stories

    bn100candg at hotmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  6. I guess I was always into the dark and creepy. Every Friday night my sister and I got to stay up to watch the old black and white horror movies, the old ones with Boris Karloff and Vincent Price. Loved them.

    As for books, anything, but Andre Norton's Witch World series topped them all.

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    1. That's awesome, Clover.
      I remember Saturday nights at my grandparents' -- Hee Haw, Wrestling & Roller Derby.

      LOL
      ~Angi

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  7. I remember reading HQ Intrigue when I was a teen. It's really awesome that I grew up to meet an AWESOME Intrigue author!

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    1. Awe...thanks Chrissy. But my goodness, you've just made me feel old. Intrigue wasn't around in my teens or twenties or ... I think I'll stop right there.

      ~Angi

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  8. Angi,
    I tried to comment on Get Lost in a Story, but the site wouldn't let me.

    Carolyn Rae Williamson
    Carolyn Rae Author - facebook
    Romancing the Gold, coming soon from Noble Romance

    SORRY ABOUT THAT CAROLYN. THANKS FOR TRYING !!
    ~Angi

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  9. I started reading at a very young age, probably because I enjoyed being read to :) Growing up, my favorites were Where the Red Fern Grows (I sobbed for _days_), The Three Musketeers, Gone With the Wind, and of course, Nancy Drew and the Sweet Valley Twins series. A strange mix of kids books and adult, but it worked for me! :)

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    1. I was too old for the Sweet Valley series...I think. Or they just never came up. Loved all your other favorites, Lara. I love Dumas !!
      ~Angi

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  10. Thank you for this great interview and the offer you have given. As to books, our family always had loads of books around. My mother read to all three of her daughter's every night, and as soon as we could all read ourselves we started collecting our own style of books. I always love mystery, and from the Bobbsey Twins to Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys Adventures, I was off. To this day, my favorite books are still mysteries; cozy mysteries especially but a real good thriller type mystery can also be thrown in.

    When I went through the stage of riding horses, I wanted to read Westerns, and longed for Westerns with mystery included but I don't think that many of those were written years ago.

    I wish that I had kept a log of what I have read as I am sure that I would be astonished at how many books there have been but more so, how many books that are out there that I still want to read and will never have time to do so. Time is ticking, must get back to reading!!!:)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hello I'm so happy sharing this, I still can’t thank you enough powerful Priest Elijah, My husband left for a younger lady because i was unable to give birth due to PCOS,I was so devastated i was lonely i cried a lot i even tried taking my life, Then my friend told me about this great man Priest Elijah who helped her made her marriage perfect, I also went online and did more research about him i was not too sure but i decided to give him a try he told me not to worry everything was going to be alright, He told me all i needed to pay which was a convenient fee and i did and he did his work and sent me video proof and told me to wait 24hrs that he will be back, The next morning to my greatest surprise it was Shawn my husband on his knees begging I'm so happy, It didn’t stop there, I'm proud to say that I'm 3 weeks pregnant thank you so much Priest Elijah I'm forever grateful contact him

    Email: universalspellhelp@gmail.com or

    universalspellhelp@yahoo.com

    WhatsApp him +2347054380994

    Website: https://universalspellhelp.wixsite.com/priestelijah

    ReplyDelete