Featured Interview With Morgan Lee Clasper
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I write primarily dragon rider fantasy, and I have nine books as of writing this. My debut and flagship series, The Frostwing Quadrilogy, follows a girl and her dragon as they survive in the Frozen Wilds. Meanwhile, the Chronicles of Alcabaza explores a harsh and dangerous Badlands with ancient ruins, gangs of raiders, and the giant eagles they fly.
I’m also a copywriter, and I’ve written over 4,000 blurbs for authors including New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling authors. My business and my passion are to help authors sell more books and grow their careers. To that end, I’ve written The Blurb Puzzle, a free book on copywriting.
I grew up all over the place, having moved over 16 times across 3 different countries. I was born in the UK, but I’ve spent most of my life on the beaches of New Zealand. I’ve often lived rural, including on a lifestyle block/mini farm for five years with many different animals. We had chickens, ducks, sheep, pigs (kunekunes are such a wonderful breed), and many more.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve been crafting stories since I could first write, honestly. I fondly remember my first novel attempts as a child, when I wrote a comedic detective series about a character named Jim Stupid. Fast forward to 2018 and I began writing as a serious endeavour. Multiple different projects later, I released my debut series, the Frostwing Quadrilogy. I still have a (virtual) drawer full of half-finished and unreleased projects, so keep an eye out for future books!
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite genre is (no surprise!) fantasy, though I fondly remember listening to cassette tapes of Enid Blyton’s Famous Five as a child. I wasn’t a massively voracious reader until quite recently, funnily enough. I finally bit the bullet and bought an ereader, and while I’ll always love a good paperback, it does make things more convenient.
I try to learn something from every author I read. I love seeing how different writers tell stories and express their craft. I tend to read plenty of fantasy, as well as some science-fantasy crossovers. For non-fiction, I spend most of my time reading classical philosophy, psychology, and theology.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is a return to my original Frostwing world, with brand-new characters and brand-new dragons. One thing I enjoyed most was the interactions between my two MCs, Seraya and Mikhail. They have completely opposite personalities – Seraya being a tough, feral outlaw girl and Mikhail being a pampered noble.
Having them both bond with the same dragon and have to work together led to many of my favorite moments in the book. You can see them start so cold and distrusting toward one another, then they slowly warm as they try to keep this dragon safe.
The other thing I enjoyed was writing the primary antagonist, Rovan Greycoat, the charismatic outlaw leader and Seraya’s surrogate father figure. He’s a force of nature, as firm and unshakeable as the icy mountains themselves.
I tend to write quickly. At 2-3k words per day, I can finish a first draft in as little as a month. After that comes around 5 editing passes – my own self-edit, a readthrough, and then three passes from my editor, Darcy Werkman. After that, I read my physical proof copy, and that lets me catch any final typos.
Because I'm a heavy outliner, my first drafts are structurally sound and (touch wood) have never required big overhauls. I start my books with a 10k word scene-by-scene outline that tells me exactly what I should be writing. That doesn't mean I can't tweak the outline, and things usually evolve during the writing process, but it keeps my focused and lets me avoid messy first drafts.
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