Author Interview: Chris Mor
Tell us a little about yourself: your background, random fun facts, how you first started writing, how long you’ve been writing.
I was born, raised, and still live in the Pacific Northwest, mostly in the Portland, Oregon area. I’m an Eagle Scout, which is where my love of hiking and the outdoors comes from. My wife Kelsy and I celebrated our 20th Anniversary in May with a trip to Disney World. She’s my Personal Assistant and I absolutely could not do this without her help. We have one kid and two cats.
Random Fun Fact: I earned a sports letter in High School for Women’s Volleyball. I was the team statistician. Not sure how that gets me a sports letter, but it’s great fodder for “Two Truths and a Lie.”
I think I wrote my first “story” (or at least started my first story) when I was in high school about a cop dating a woman who turns out to be a former assassin for a drug cartel that tries to kill her, and he gets a crew together to take out the cartel. It was very hormonal teenage boy stuff, but it was my first dip into storytelling. I refined my storytelling as the game master for a number of role-playing games over the years and even turned some of our adventures into written stories, particularly a series based on our Marvel superhero game. I did a couple fanfics and got a start on something that might be a future series, then got serious about writing when I got the idea for Trail Magic a year and a half ago. After discussing it with Kelsy, I’ve been writing ever since.
Tell us about your recently released book.
Sierra High is book 2 of my Trail Magic series. It tells the story of Elizabeth, who goes by “Belle” on the trail. She’s a hiker setting out on the Pacific Crest Trail, which she was supposed to be hiking with her boyfriend, who she found out was cheating on her. She meets “Nova” and his two friends “Bats” and “Grinder.” Book 1, California Sunshine, was a slow burn, but things start to heat up. Still not super spicy, but things are well on their way to getting there.
I’ve been a hiker most of my life and done some time on the Pacific Crest Trail. It’s a beautiful, diverse backdrop for a story. Hiking in a group makes for an interesting dynamic. It’s a forced proximity situation that’s hard to safely break from, meaning you have to face issues because you can’t just walk away and cool off, so the possibilities for tension between the characters is up there. Personally, I’ve been slowly checking off segments the past few years. Trail Magic has been like my own personal trip along the Trail.
Without giving away too much, things I’m excited for: What’s Bats reading, the Mt Whitney summit, bikini wax, and not apologizing for the ending.
Sierra High hit Kindle, Kindle Unlimited, and paperback on October 20th.
Who is your favorite character in your book/series? Why?
Such a Sophie’s Choice question. There’s a little bit of me in each character, but I think I’m closer to Bats. Quiet, empathetic, loves football, the outdoors, and Batman comics. Even though she’s not there with the group, I also LOVE writing Rachel. She loves Belle, but doesn’t have much of a filter, so says the kind of things I can imagine the readers wanting to say to Belle.
What is your writing process? Show us a day (or week) in the life.
I work a Monday through Friday manufacturing job. When we’re not pulling 10-hour days, I try to get 30-45 minutes of writing in before work. During my shift I’ll often have 3-15 minutes between tasks while I run a machine, so I’m usually coming up with story ideas, outlining, thinking about characters, or even writing anything from snippets to entire scenes during the day. Then I try to get an hour or two at night. On the weekend, I’m usually up a few hours before Kelsy, so I’ll turn on some soccer and get a few hours in before she gets up and do whatever we’re up to that day. My goal is typically 7,000 words a week, so I’ll spend a few more hours during the weekend to get there. It’s a lot of work, but if I don’t write, thoughts and story bits start to get clumped up in my head until I just have to sit and get them out.
What keeps you motivated to write?
Coffee. Coffee is the fuel of life and writing. As long as I have energy, I’m up for writing.
What do you do when you’re not writing?
A variety of things. There’s a couple of YouTube channels and shows Kelsy and I follow when we don’t have too much energy (which is more often than either of us like), go for walks on nearby trails when we do have energy, watch soccer and football, and I’ll read to Kelsy or listen to an audiobook with her at night before bed.
What subgenres or tropes are your favorites to read?
Oof. Why Choose? This last week I’ve read or listened to paranormal, football, baseball RomCom, fantasy RH, and dark/mafia RH. If it has a good story with good characters, I’ll probably read or listen to it.
Are you a cat person or a dog person?
That depends on if my two cats, Hades and Persephone, are trying to walk across my keyboard while I’m writing or on a video call. Otherwise both are great options. I’ve always wanted a dog, but always had cats.
What’s your reading drink and snack of choice?
Coffee. LOTS of coffee. I don’t have a reading snack, but I do my best writing with a tub of freshly popped popcorn. My wife got me a 4 quart popper as a present when I got my first royalty check.
Where is your perfect reading spot?
Give me a cabin in the woods, preferably by a lake or river, with a fireplace, maybe a campfire, a comfy chair or couch, and a stack of books.
What’s your favorite book / or #1 comfort re-read / or the #1 book you recommend to everyone?
Favorite is probably The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas. The ultimate in revenge stories. He weaves such a deep, intricate web and hangs each of his enemies with their own rope. There’s no story point too small or loose threads.
For comfort, I turn to Pippa Grant. All of her books make me laugh. She’s what I turn to when I need a book hangover cure.
I’ve probably recommended Allison’s Adventures in Underland by CM Stunich the most. I went back and read the original Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland afterwards, and I can honestly say I’ve never known a retelling to be so unique while being so completely faithful to the original.
Who or what has had the most influence on you as a writer?
I credit three authors for getting me to this point. The first is CM Stunich. Allison’s Adventures in Underland got me into romance and reverse harem. I love her style and depth of storytelling. She has a literary style with an incredible vocabulary I can only hope to match. Definite ‘writer goals’ material.
Second, if not for Pippa Grant my wife wouldn’t be interested in the genre and wouldn’t be a part of this, and there’s so much my wife does that makes my books possible I know I couldn’t do this without her. But also, I love the humor and emotion that Pippa brings to her books. She’s the reason for the glitter bomb in California Sunshine and will be a big influence on Trail Magic 4.
Third, I have to credit Tate James for getting the wheels turning. She once shared on a video that when she wrote her first book she tried to write something she would want to read. That started me on the trail to writing California Sunshine.
Finally, Jess Snyder of Happily Ever After Services and her HEA patreon group has been a huge help to me and my growth as a professional.
Where can readers find you online?
Best place to follow me is on my Facebook group, The Trailhead, but I have a Linktree page with links to my newsletter, various profiles, and direct links to my books on Amazon: https://linktr.ee/chrismorbooks
You can find both books of the Trail Magic series here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B2F8MHTG?binding=paperback&ref=dbs_dp_rwt_sb_pc_tpbk
