Interviewer: lindavorjeinova

Interviewee: MorrighansMuse

Our first question, slightly general, but it gives you a chance to tell us about your book and sell it to those who haven't read it yet. What inspired you to writing "Finding Sam"?

Two people inspired Finding Sam. John Legend and his song, All of Me and my late best friend Pam who lost her 2-year battle with ovarian cancer in 2010.

I first heard All of Me while stuck in downtown LA traffic. Running late for an evening gig, I remember asking myself if there was ever a man would ever love "all of" someone even with all her faults? When you're stuck in DTLA and you're running late for an appointment, it's easy to be negative. When I returned home at midnight that night (my gig ran from 6pm to 11pm), I was ashamed of asking such a negative question so I began writing the first chapter of Finding Sam which surprisingly starts with Sam's loss of her best friend Rosie.

I don't even know why I started the story that way but I'd realize later on that "Rosie" represented my best friend Pam whose last wish for me a week before she died was that she'd get to hold my first book in her hands. One of her final wishes was NOT to have a memorial and it devastated me because I really wanted to say goodbye to her in some way. But the absence of a memorial also became an ongoing honoring of her life because when I had secretly given up on my wish to become an author for ten years, she never did. She believed me always. So in many ways, Finding Sam is for her.

It's a beautiful way to honor someone and you've done a wonderful job with the book. Your friend, Pam, would for sure have loved it. Our next question is; What did you learn whilst writing this book? Did it impact you in any way after you have finished it?

Before Finding Sam, I'd never finished writing an original story. I never got to the end or even the middle of a story (with the exception of fan fiction which I wrote a lot of). I used to outline to the minute detail from beginning to end and then start writing. Usually I'd have a strong beginning but by the middle, I'd be bored of my story because I knew exactly what was going to happen based on the detailed outline I wrote. By then, I'd set it aside because there was nothing exciting about the story to write.

After all, I knew what was going to happen so where was the fun in the writing if I knew everything? Because Finding Sam was inspired by a song, writing the story meant that each day, I was learning something new. It felt like I was following Sam and Erik around with a notepad and pen and writing everything down as they went about their business. It was a lot of fun "knowing" only up to a certain point and letting the characters tell the story. When I finished Finding Sam, I knew then that I could write—and finish—any story I set my heart and mind to.

That is an interesting way to look at things. We're glad you decided to write and finish writing "Finding Sam" because it was a lovely read. One of our favorite characters in the book, after Olivia, is Sam herself. Tell us about Sam! How did you manage to build such a realistic character that was so natural in her own way? Was it just the song that inspired her or is there a real life person behind it?

I love Olivia! She's feisty and funny and loves so fiercely. Sam is a sweetheart and her character was inspired by aspects of different people I know, but mostly me and the answers to the questions I posed to myself like, if this or that happened, what would I do if I were at my lowest point in life? Would I be positive or would I be negative? Whatever the answer is, how would Sam react then? it meant going into some dark places that I had long left behind me to get my answers.

It's true what they say then, every main character if not another, always has bits and pieces of their creator. What about the theme of fine arts in your book? What inspired that? You have managed to talk about it in such precision as if you were the artist herself.

I love art and can draw in graphite as well as pen and ink but I just don't know how to deal with colors on canvas because I was always afraid I'd mess up. So I admire artists who can work with colors so deftly like D.J. Hall, a California native who is known for her photo-realistic paintings. Her art is what inspired Sam's own work especially The Strand, which is the large piece she painted that ends up tying many of the characters together in the story.

We love how you've managed to wrap around all the characters with The Strand, it was such an interesting way to have a story fall into place. Tell us more about who is behind Olivia? She is our favorite character!

Olivia is probably a combination of a few people I know, the ones whose presence always makes us smile and feel good about ourselves. She's the one who, when dealt with a terrible hand in life, picks up the pieces and makes the best of life. She's who I would like to be on my bad days, basically, someone who'll tell me to get up and keep going. She's that person whose mere presence lights up the room and I'm sure we all know someone like that in our lives. She's the one who'll fix your crown instead of telling you it's crooked.

That's why we love her so much. She's such a wonderful and realistic character and her positivity has never failed us! What do you think happens to the characters after the book has ended? What possible conflict could they face?

Oh my! I wrote Olivia's story shortly after I finished Finding Sam but unpublished it so I could fix a few things but her story is called In His Heart. Guess whose heart? I'll be posting it on Wattpad in the next few weeks. It's one of my favorite stories because she's as feisty as ever fighting for the man she loves.

We're so excited to have it in our libraries and give it a read. Looking forward to it! Let's focus a little bit on you now, when did you first realize you wanted to become a writer?

I've always wanted to be a writer. When I was younger, I'd make my own magazines, write articles, draw, and the staple them like a mini-book. My family thought I was crazy. In college, I majored in Journalism and Communications and worked on radio as a newscaster, but after I moved to the US, my family suggested that I should be a nurse and so I went to school for that but it was just not for me. The moment I'd get home, I'd write until dawn.

I Interviewer: lindavorjeinova

Interviewee: MorrighansMuse



Our first question, slightly general, but it gives you a chance to tell us about your book and sell it to those who haven't read it yet. What inspired you to writing "Finding Sam"?

Two people inspired Finding Sam. John Legend and his song, All of Me and my late best friend Pam who lost her 2-year battle with ovarian cancer in 2010.

I first heard All of Me while stuck in downtown LA traffic. Running late for an evening gig, I remember asking myself if there was ever a man would ever love "all of" someone even with all her faults? When you're stuck in DTLA and you're running late for an appointment, it's easy to be negative. When I returned home at midnight that night (my gig ran from 6pm to 11pm), I was ashamed of asking such a negative question so I began writing the first chapter of Finding Sam which surprisingly starts with Sam's loss of her best friend Rosie.

I don't even know why I started the story that way but I'd realize later on that "Rosie" represented my best friend Pam whose last wish for me a week before she died was that she'd get to hold my first book in her hands. One of her final wishes was NOT to have a memorial and it devastated me because I really wanted to say goodbye to her in some way. But the absence of a memorial also became an ongoing honoring of her life because when I had secretly given up on my wish to become an author for ten years, she never did. She believed me always. So in many ways, Finding Sam is for her.

It's a beautiful way to honor someone and you've done a wonderful job with the book. Your friend, Pam, would for sure have loved it. Our next question is; What did you learn whilst writing this book? Did it impact you in any way after you have finished it?

Before Finding Sam, I'd never finished writing an original story. I never got to the end or even the middle of a story (with the exception of fan fiction which I wrote a lot of). I used to outline to the minute detail from beginning to end and then start writing. Usually I'd have a strong beginning but by the middle, I'd be bored of my story because I knew exactly what was going to happen based on the detailed outline I wrote. By then, I'd set it aside because there was nothing exciting about the story to write.

After all, I knew what was going to happen so where was the fun in the writing if I knew everything? Because Finding Sam was inspired by a song, writing the story meant that each day, I was learning something new. It felt like I was following Sam and Erik around with a notepad and pen and writing everything down as they went about their business. It was a lot of fun "knowing" only up to a certain point and letting the characters tell the story. When I finished Finding Sam, I knew then that I could write—and finish—any story I set my heart and mind to.

That is an interesting way to look at things. We're glad you decided to write and finish writing "Finding Sam" because it was a lovely read. One of our favorite characters in the book, after Olivia, is Sam herself. Tell us about Sam! How did you manage to build such a realistic character that was so natural in her own way? Was it just the song that inspired her or is there a real life person behind it?

I love Olivia! She's feisty and funny and loves so fiercely. Sam is a sweetheart and her character was inspired by aspects of different people I know, but mostly me and the answers to the questions I posed to myself like, if this or that happened, what would I do if I were at my lowest point in life? Would I be positive or would I be negative? Whatever the answer is, how would Sam react then? it meant going into some dark places that I had long left behind me to get my answers.

It's true what they say then, every main character if not another, always has bits and pieces of their creator. What about the theme of fine arts in your book? What inspired that? You have managed to talk about it in such precision as if you were the artist herself.

I love art and can draw in graphite as well as pen and ink but I just don't know how to deal with colors on canvas because I was always afraid I'd mess up. So I admire artists who can work with colors so deftly like D.J. Hall, a California native who is known for her photo-realistic paintings. Her art is what inspired Sam's own work especially The Strand, which is the large piece she painted that ends up tying many of the characters together in the story.

We love how you've managed to wrap around all the characters with The Strand, it was such an interesting way to have a story fall into place. Tell us more about who is behind Olivia? She is our favorite character!

Olivia is probably a combination of a few people I know, the ones whose presence always makes us smile and feel good about ourselves. She's the one who, when dealt with a terrible hand in life, picks up the pieces and makes the best of life. She's who I would like to be on my bad days, basically, someone who'll tell me to get up and keep going. She's that person whose mere presence lights up the room and I'm sure we all know someone like that in our lives. She's the one who'll fix your crown instead of telling you it's crooked.

That's why we love her so much. She's such a wonderful and realistic character and her positivity has never failed us! What do you think happens to the characters after the book has ended? What possible conflict could they face?

Oh my! I wrote Olivia's story shortly after I finished Finding Sam but unpublished it so I could fix a few things but her story is called In His Heart. Guess whose heart? I'll be posting it on Wattpad in the next few weeks. It's one of my favorite stories because she's as feisty as ever fighting for the man she loves.

We're so excited to have it in our libraries and give it a read. Looking forward to it! Let's focus a little bit on you now, when did you first realize you wanted to become a writer?

I've always wanted to be a writer. When I was younger, I'd make my own magazines, write articles, draw, and the staple them like a mini-book. My family thought I was crazy. In college, I majored in Journalism and Communications and worked on radio as a newscaster, but after I moved to the US, my family suggested that I should be a nurse and so I went to school for that but it was just not for me. The moment I'd get home, I'd write until dawn.

I actually started writing regency stories because I loved Jane Austen and then later, historical romance before I stopped for ten years because I kinda just gave up. In 2012, I stumbled upon the BBC mini-series "North and South" and fell in love with Richard Armitage's John Thornton and Elizabeth Gaskell's other books during the era. That's when I started writing again and one of my blog readers suggested I post my stories on Wattpad as well and that's how I ended up here!

Well we're glad you found Wattpad, you're such a great addition and it's lovely of you to let readers read your work for free! How long does it usually take you to write a book?

It depends whether I'm on a deadline or not. When I started, I just wrote the story the way it came to me. I relied on inspiration to get me writing. Finding Sam took me about six months while Loving Ashe, which was written during NaNoWriMo 2013, I wrote the first 50k words in 30 days and in 60 days, I got 105k words down. If there's a deadline, I sometimes go for it and use that to motivate me. So writing a book for me takes from 30 days to 6 months, give or take.

That's interesting and we're impressed with your speed! We're glad it works out that way for you. What would you say is your favorite word and why?

My favorite word is "joy." There was a time when I was overwhelmed, doing everything that everyone was doing even when they didn't bring me joy. Multitasking, always saying yes to everything because you don't want to miss out, hopping on the next trend especially in social media. But I was so miserable. So from that moment on, I promised to "find my joy," find what makes me happy and do it. And for me, finding my joy meant connecting with others through my stories. It's not easy to do because there's so much out there that want your attention, but it's a work-in-progress.

That is such a wonderful and meaningful meaning behind a word. What's a fun fact about you that users might not come across on your profile or from reading your books?

I used to have a civet cat for a pet. After a few days, I would had to give it a bath because it would have this musky smell. In the rural areas of the Philippines, it's called "musang." A friend gave him to me after he grew too big for her to handle and she had named him "Rocky." She used to only feed him bananas and fruits and one day I went to the grocery store (he had a special harness and a leash) and he just went crazy over the raw chicken. He was nocturnal, too, and I later learned that they could grow up to five feet long which meant I definitely couldn't raise one in the city so my father took him to our mango farm and set him free.

Oh wow. That is very interesting! And we're sorry you had to let it go. It's really hard to let go of a pet and very easy to get attached to them. Is there anything else you would like to share with your readers before we draw this interviews to a close?

I'd like to say that I got my start on Wattpad and that the readers gave me the confidence boost I needed when I needed it I am really grateful for the opportunity to share my stories to so many readers from all walks of life. And thank you so much for interviewing me! Hope I didn't bore anyoe!