Lissa Morgan

Being a big cricket fan, I've spent today listening to the Champion's Trophy final between India and Pakistan. Against all the odds and everyone's expectations, Pakistan won, and by a huge margin, beating probably the best one-day team in the world.  Often the  underdogs, Pakistan can't even play international games at home because foreign teams won't visit, still nervous after the attack on the Sri Lankan national team in Lahore in March 2009.  Seven Sri Lankan cricketers were injured in the attack by armed militants, and six security officials and two civilians were killed during the gun battle that ensued.  Sadly, terrorism is everywhere these days, and the UK is more than aware of that fact after the recent atrocities in Manchester and London. But the Pakistan cricket team, by sheer persistence, passion and hard work, are an example that if  one has the heart and the determination, nothing is impossible and even the greatest odds can be overcome. W...

May has always been a month of change for me. Perhaps it's the gentle turning of late spring into early summer, and the weather recently has certainly felt like it.  As I said in my last post, I've decided to return to part-time work in order to devote more time to writing and, as of the 5th of next month, I'll be working three days and writing the rest of the week. And that isn't all!  I've been lucky enough to get a position as visitor experience manager in one of Wales's most beautiful and historic places, Lake Vyrnwy - Llyn Efyrnwy in Welsh - in the heart of Powys. The lake, owned and run by Severn Trent Water, was formed in the 1880s by the creation of the first stone-built dam of its kind in the world, and it's still pretty impressive today. You get a real shiver down the spine driving across the top of it to the visitor centre and RSPB reserve.  Surrounded by dramatic hills and farmland, it is remote but totally idyllic, and a great day out. T...

Although spring doesn't officially start until 21st March, it really felt like it had arrived early and in all its glory today in north west Wales.  The sun shone warmly and the sky was clear blue so, lucky enough to have the day off work, I went for a long walk up in the hills. The beauty of nature at this time of year is truly amazing.  Hedgerows and trees were showing blossom, daffodils were everywhere and other springtime flowers were making an appearance too. The trees were alive with birds, all of them flitting around looking for mates or, having already paired up, busily gathering material for their nests.  I got a good look at a couple of male Bullfinches showing off before a female, who seemed to be playing hard to get!  Seeing these lovely colourful birds is a real treat as, sadly, they are not as common as they once were in the UK.  Bees too were in abundance and I even saw a butterfly, the first I've seen this year.  So, it may be ra...

February is Fishguard Month and last weekend, as per every year, I headed south down the Welsh coast for another of Kate Walker's fabulous writing courses, organized as always by the incredibly hard working Anne and Gerry Hobbs at Writers' Holiday .  As all the attendees had been several times before, and indeed are now famously known as Walker's Stalkers, Kate tailored the course to our own needs as a group and as individuals, with one-to-one feedback on work we'd submitted beforehand. The approach to the course this year was a little different and we looked in detail at one of Kate's own books, Indebted to Moreno, published in 2016 . We'd all read this prior to arrival and in the sessions looked at key scenes which highlighted the things that every good Harlequin Presents romance novel should have - a sexy Alpha hero, a spirited heroine, a page-turning couple-centred story, and sky high emotional intensity throughout.  Needless to say, the book had all...

Although, to be truthful, this one has been hanging about in the wings since at least the end of November!  Sometimes, like a new seedling, a story needs to take root, to sprout and begin to grow, and that requires a lot of patience on the part of a writer who likes to get going and set a deadline for submission.  As such, this book promises to be a bit of a learning curve but hopefully it will be a period of new growth for me too as a writer.  Perhaps it's because this particular book comes on the back of a fast and furious series of rejections over the last year, some of which were very hard to swallow.  Exploring a different and unfamiliar process, letting the story write itself and set its own pace, means the characters don't do quite what I want them to do sometimes.  But, for now, I'm going with the flow and enjoying a sense of freedom in my writing that I haven't felt for a long time.  I have set a deadline, however, although I have a sneaky suspi...

Although, as I sit and write this, the weather outside my window is looking far from festive, even if it is seasonal - ie strong winds and horizontal rain!  Oh well, perfect for staying indoors with a cup of tea and a mince pie :)   Like last year, I have a whole twelve days off work and, like last year, have lined up some quality reading material. This holiday, I'm planning to revisit the wonderful works of Mary Stewart.  Written in the 1950s and 1960s, her books are now relatively historical, even a little dated.  But her clever mix of romance and suspense, her spirited heroines and enigmatic heroes, and the evocative descriptions of countries as far flung as Provence, Crete and the Middle East is the ideal antidote to the British Winter. I'm also hoping that, after a long period of indecision and procrastination, a holiday and a Mary Stewart fest will spark some renewed energy and enthusiasm in my  own writing!  Maybe the New Year will indeed b...

Having missed the Hay Literary Festival in the summer, I was really excited to get the chance to work at the Hay Winter Festival last weekend.  Smaller than the famous summer one, it coincided with the Christmas Light Switch On by Ben Fogle, a winter food fayre and a vintage fayre, so the town was both busy and festive. I was honoured to get a free pass to one of the talks by children's author Piers Torday, and also a complimentary copy of his book, There May Be A Castle .  His talk was aimed, naturally, at children but the message for clear for anyone, old or young, who is aspiring to write a book: write from the heart and never give up! Hay is a lovely town, all winding streets, interesting shops and alleyways full of secondhand bookshops.  I didn't get time to browse the bookshops, sadly, but did get in a lovely walk along the river Wye on my first morning.  The weather was festive too, crisp and sunny, and the rolling landscape absolutely st...