Morgan Lockhart

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[00:00:00]

Laura Yamin: Hi Morgan. Welcome to the next podcast.

Morgan: Thank you for having me, Laura.

Laura Yamin: So happy to have you here. Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Morgan: Yeah, I am a former video game writer, or can, I guess I say a video game writer on leave, but at the moment I'm focused on books. I've, I wrote video games for almost 20 years, and then last fall decided to take a break to focus on my books for a bit. And thankfully, right at that time managed to sell my first book, spell for Mid Winter's Heart,

and now I'm doing that thing writing books. It's been great so far.

Laura Yamin: So talk to us about video game writing. Like what does it look like? I grew up with, I grew up in the eighties, so first consoles, Atari, Nintendo, and all the different iterations. But, it's interesting the industry has grown since, since we probably were children to what it is.

And so you've been doing this for 20 years, so what does it look like? Like what does it actually entail?

Morgan: Yeah. What does it mean? It's, and it's funny because the job has meant many different things depending on what kind of game I was working on what the [00:01:00] company structure was like, how big it was.

Laura Yamin: Mm-hmm.

Morgan: Because there were times where my job really overlapped with video game design and I'd be writing the world building and the characters and all the text and dialogue, but I'd also be doing things like thinking about how we tell the story in the game and designing systems for that.

And sometimes even putting in content too that people are actually playing. I mean, or most of the time doing that too. But then other companies, I would really be able to focus. On larger projects or really narrative driven projects, I really would get to focus on the writing and that would be most of my job.

And so, yeah, it looks really different too, based on drama. Like I mentioned that some of the games I've worked on are very narrative driven, and those games would have a lot of really strongly scripted moments cinematic moments or long sections where you're hearing the game, experiencing a lot of narrative that, but I've also worked on games that were very action oriented or multiplayer games where, a lot of the writing is just really short and is really utility driven, really focused on basically [00:02:00] telling you how to play the game in the most interesting way possible. And if you can give it some nice little world building and resonance to the world that you've created, it's good. But at the end of the day, what it really needs to do is communicate.

You've successfully shot like you're, or you're throwing a grenade or somebody else is throwing a grenade at you. And so sometimes you're writing stuff that's. That's really functional and sometimes you're writing stuff that's actually very narrativey and so the job really asks you to stretch yourself in many different directions.

Yeah.

Laura Yamin: I think about it, 'cause I read your book, I was like, oh, it makes sense like you had a world building. Like it's not just a regular romcom with witches and like. Specific things. There's actually a world that we're taken to. There's, it's said in the real world too, but there's this magical aspect that someone who comes from a long line of witches, that we did practice things.

Actually in my real life, I felt compelled. I was like, oh, it makes sense in this real world. But it's so unknown and there's so much shame around it and there's specifics. So now I can see your background [00:03:00] actually can translate into this book and it probably helps, not just Romans that contemporary Romans, but there's actual world that entails with it.

Morgan: Yeah, absolutely. I think there are some things that translated over really well between games and books and that's one of them. World building. Absolutely. And there's the other things that were more challenging were things like pacing, which were totally different. Like the pacing of a book is so different than the pacing of a video game where the players are really in control of how they engage with that story.

Laura Yamin: Yeah.

Morgan: And then other things kind of met in the middle. I think I've. Dialogue, for example, that carries over a lot from video games as well. And in fact, often I would find that I would write a scene, just the dialogue, because I'm so used to that only having the dialogue to communicate a scene, and then I would go through and build out the scene.

But yeah, but world building of course, is definitely something that carries over. And as you say, it's set in the real world, but it's also definitely a place that. Is also very constructed for the story being [00:04:00] told for the people who inhabit it. I was just remarking yesterday at one of my events about how there's you probably couldn't find a town exactly like this in Washington, but it's okay because it's, that's not the point.

The point is the story being told and what's, what is said about this place and who lives there and who's welcome and invited there. And so, took some liberties.

Laura Yamin: It just, I felt very like cozy and comforting. And as someone I've talked to quite a few cozier others who are writing in this cozier space right now. It's

Of comfort and I know it's a reflection of what we've been going through the past five years

Morgan: Mm-hmm.

Laura Yamin: for an escape, and this is like a fun scape that we can control it, that we can actually feel.

And in Roman space, we know the ending's gonna be fine,

Morgan: Yeah.

Laura Yamin: gonna be alive, everyone's gonna be okay. And then the couple will be together, which is always a plus.

Morgan: Yeah.

Laura Yamin: but I think it's some ways it's like, it just gives you that space of comforting, of like a good escape. The news are so terrible,

Morgan: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Laura Yamin: so talk to us about transitioning over from . Video game [00:05:00] writing and just being in the space to writing books. You had mentioned a little bit about transition, about like, the differences between one and the other, but what was it like for you to go into decide to do this, side quest pivot?

Morgan: I, writing books was basically my first love when I was younger. I mean, I also wrote, I suppose my first, when I was really young, I would just write short stories. But then as a teenager, I actually wrote a lot of serialized novels for other teenagers. Teen people used to have this feature online where they would have every six weeks they'd pick a few teen writers to like to write serialized novels for other teens that would visit their not website.

Their section on a OL is how old I am. Yeah. Yeah. And so I used to write them back then. And then I went to school originally for theater and then. Creative writing eventually. And before I was done with that degree where I really thought I would go off to graduate school, continue writing books, I had the chance to write my first game and that just became the thing, right?

I got swept up in it and it was great and [00:06:00] I've had a lot of great years, a lot of great projects, a lot of great teams. Made so many friends. But certainly approaching like that second decade of it, I really did need a little bit of a change. Especially because of the pandemic.

I experienced a pretty bad burnout and it's a tough, it can be a tough industry in terms of just what the demands are and especially if you're a parent. I have two little kids and I think. This felt right for now, and it's like, hey let's go back to that first love for a bit and see how that feels.

And like I was saying I don't actually like to think of myself as a former game dub 'cause I would like to do it again, but at the moment I'm very content to do this, especially with, it's so much easier to make this work with my busy mom schedule too, because it, I can fit the writing around the rest of my life as opposed to like having to fit the rest of my life around my 40 hour work week.

So,

Laura Yamin: Yeah.

Morgan: yeah.

Laura Yamin: I love this idea of like, just pursuing it, but not closing the door, not closing this. if another project comes in, you'll pursue it. And

Morgan: Mm-hmm.

Laura Yamin: But you have this place to use your skills, use your creative space,

Morgan: Mm-hmm.

Laura Yamin: [00:07:00] freedom to, and the flexibility to pursue it at your own terms.

Morgan: Yeah.

Laura Yamin: When you actually have to work for writing, like, or have to do something for. For a job, you lose. It's fun. You lose

Morgan: Yeah.

Laura Yamin: And obviously, if you're doing this long enough, like there will be times where you're like, there's burnout and there's a sense of like, it's a job. It's not that

Morgan: Yeah.

I know people burn out of novel writing too. Like it's, it can happen with anything. And I was definitely a little bit worried, like had I burned out of any kind of writing, and thankfully that doesn't seem to be true. It's like I am able to do this one in a way that my nervous system doesn't hate. So, yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Laura Yamin: is the elevator pitch?

Morgan: The elevator pitch is that we have a witch who has sworn off her magic. She hasn't done it in eight years, and she's also been avoiding home at the holidays because for the witches yule is such a magical time, especially with how they invest in this magical wintery festival. But this year she has to go back.[00:08:00]

Because there's no snow and her coven needs her to help them bring back the snow, to help bring life back to the winter festival. And she finds out that it's also under threat from buyout from this corporation. The landlord might sell off the land. And so when she's there, that's, the situation deepens and she.

Also along the way finds out that her former childhood rival, academic rival, but also a little bit of family rivalry too, that he is also trying to save the festival. And so they have to work together to figure out how they might save it. And of course, as I, I won't take credit for this, it was, I believe my editor wrote this their chemistry keeps literally setting off the lights.

And so that, that could, that complicates their, their desire to save the festival.

Laura Yamin: Yes. I have to tell you, I love their meet happening, like revisiting their mecu, stuff like that where she's like, she cursed him when she was in

Morgan: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yep.

Laura Yamin: still, and she's ashamed of that curse, but that curse is still there and there's.

Morgan: Mm-hmm.

Laura Yamin: And I love this [00:09:00] idea of like, this banter, this sizzling fire, and she they're denying it themselves.

That's

Morgan: Yeah.

Laura Yamin: about romances. It's like the tension of like, we're denying

Morgan: Mm-hmm.

Laura Yamin: feelings, and you're like, but you are gonna explode.

Morgan: Yeah. Yeah. You absolutely.

Laura Yamin: exploding.

Morgan: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Laura Yamin: So I love this. I think this is a great book for a holiday reading for people that are looking for something cute.

Escape. Don't be worried about the witchy, paranormal, supernatural. I think it's really for someone who is new to that genre, this is a great entry point

Morgan: Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Laura Yamin: a real world consequences and just real world space. It feels like a Hallmark movie just with the magic. So.

Morgan: Yeah, it's definitely a light touch of the magic, and so I think I, I do think there's enough that, that people who want the wi the magic will find it there. But that I agree. I do think that like for people who just love contemporary holiday romance, I think it's so grounded. Like so much of the conflict is grounded in real human problems.

It's, there's [00:10:00] not like a big. There's not magical high drinks that you, that they're trying to overcome. Like the, all of the conflicts are rooted in interpersonal and human to human problems, and the, and the characters are really rooted. The character journeys are really rooted in there too.

So I do think it's something that can appeal, hopefully. That's my hope. To, to people who like both, or, I mean, people who like one or the other, or people who like both, so, yeah.

Laura Yamin: think this is like a good, escape and we, it's celebrate yue and like,

Morgan: Mm-hmm.

Laura Yamin: We don't get enough Yue books, so we might as well,

Morgan: yeah. Yeah.

Laura Yamin: So talk to about, what books do you tend to read? Do you read like contemporary paranormal, or like, not even related to romance or other

Morgan: Mm-hmm.

Laura Yamin: se?

What books do you tend to read?

Morgan: I tend to read basically all of the speculative genres. Fantasy, sci-fi, horror mag, magical realist. But I also do read, I read most genres of romance

Laura Yamin: Yeah.

Morgan: Everything from contemporary to romantic to paranormal. And then I also read a lot [00:11:00] of I guess. Up market and literary fiction.

So I'm usually bouncing between those. So I do like a lot of contemporary stories and I think that comes through, but I also do, I love magic as well, and so, yeah.

Laura Yamin: Yeah. I think in this day and age, a little bit of magic. Would it be fun just to have like a little curse or a little like

Morgan: Yeah.

Laura Yamin: to do that or just to look at different world

Morgan: Mm-hmm.

Laura Yamin: way?

Morgan: Yeah.

Laura Yamin: or like the specific do you have any books to recommend or listeners to pick up?

Morgan: Yeah I was just talking about this one, so it's gonna pop in my head because I was talking about The Arc with someone yesterday. Which is Grayson Henry's holiday movie Marathon by Matthew Norman. A another great Christmas book for this year. I also recently read Good Spirits, BK Borison

I loved that one. And, another Dutton Author's book that I just read. This is more of the upmarket. But , the Peculiar Gift of July by Ashley Reem. That was a recent favorite. Gosh, what else? Oh. The, oh, here, I've got it here. Oh, yes. [00:12:00] The Witches Guide to Magical in Keeping Sangu's newest book.

I didn't think I could love anything more than the very Secret Society of a Irregular Witches. And then I read this one and I was like, wow, I love it even more. And it's, it's another one that's really great and cozy, but also has a really good message for the time we find ourselves living in.

Laura Yamin: Yes, I agree. And I love Sangus first book. You're the second author this week who has said you need to read the second book. Is this even better than the first book? And I don't know how that can top it off,

Morgan: I know I said, I just said it and I don't know how, like, but yet I did love it even more.

Laura Yamin: I think it's a cozy aspect of

Morgan: Mm-hmm.

Laura Yamin: and I think it's a companion to your book

Morgan: Yeah.

Laura Yamin: ways. Like it's the same, rooted in that cozy space. So,

Morgan: Yep.

Laura Yamin: Morgan, tell us, we can find you online.

Morgan: Yeah I'm most active especially as a writer on Instagram. That's probably where most my up, my latest and greatest updates usually are. If you mostly just want to hear me ranting at the sky, you could follow me on blue sky, like that's. [00:13:00] But, and then I occasionally post tiktoks, but most of the time, most of that content's still on Instagram.

So I would recommend I my Instagram or also possibly my substack. I'm trying to get better at that. And all of these links are available at my website@lockhartwrites.com.

Laura Yamin: Awesome. Thank you Morgan for being

Morgan: Yeah. Yeah. Thank you so much for having me.

Laura Yamin: If you enjoyed this podcast, please Ray review, subscribe. Thank you so much for listening. Happy reading.