I am a published writer living in Worcestershire, UK with my husband, two sons and tiny white dog, Lily. I wrote my first novel when I was fourteen. It was a swashbuckling seafaring adventure, complete with galleons, cannons and a dashing hero. The story was heavily influenced by the Errol Flynn films I used to watch with my grandmother on Sunday afternoons. I got swallowed up after that by the education and work system and didn’t write much more than reports and meeting agendas for many years.
Starting to write more seriously when I was taking a break from work due to ill health, I took lots of writing courses and began to shortlist in writing competitions. Then in 2016, I got my publishing break, I won Choc Lit Publishing’s Search for a Star competition!
I have had three books published by Choc Lit so far – The Girl on the Beach, The Truth Lies Buried and Christmas at Borteen Bay, these are all romances with a mystery to solve and set in my fictional seaside town of Borteen. I am promoting the three Borteen Bay series while I finish my next books.
I write almost everywhere I go the old-fashioned way with notebook and pen – cafés, appointments, waiting for trains. I have piles of notebooks filled with stories. I generally prefer to write away from home, as I get too distracted by things that need doing in the house and, of course, by the dog. At least writing longhand in this way, the first time I put the words onto my computer it acts like a first edit of the manuscript.
My genre is romantic suspense, but I usually get so carried away with the mystery part of the book that I have to catch up with the romance when I’m editing. I don’t plan, I just write, that way the novel writing process is enjoyable for me as I don’t know what is coming next. My novels appear to naturally evolve. I read a book called Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert (the same person who wrote Eat, Pray, Love) and in it she talks about ideas and stories floating in the ether waiting to download to a receptive person and this is truly how it feels when I’m working.
I love writing, but with a teenager doing exams, a dependent mother, a husband who works abroad and a demanding dog, I often struggle to find time to myself (hence the haunting of coffee shops!). Nothing can compare to the feeling I get when the words are flowing and I get very twitchy if I haven’t had space to write.
For aspiring writers I think the most important thing is to write a story that sings to you, because that will allow you to write a story that sings to your readers too.
Biography for Morton S. Gray
Morton lives with her husband, two sons and Lily, the tiny white dog, in Worcestershire, U.K. She has been reading and writing fiction for as long as she can remember, penning her first attempt at a novel aged fourteen. She is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and The Society of Authors.
Her debut novel The Girl on the Beach was published after she won the Choc Lit Publishing Search for a Star competition. This story follows a woman with a troubled past as she tries to unravel the mystery surrounding her son’s new headteacher, Harry Dixon. The book is available as a paperback and e-book.
Morton’s second book for Choc Lit The Truth Lies Buried is another romantic suspense novel, The book tells the story of Jenny Simpson and Carver Rodgers as they uncover secrets from their past. This book is available as an e-book, paperback and audiobook.
Christmas at Borteen Bay is Morton’s first Christmas novella. It is set in her fictional seaside town of Borteen and follows the story of Pippa Freeman, who runs the Rose Court Guesthouse with her mother, and local policeman Ethan Gibson, as they unravel a family secret as Christmas approaches.
You can catch up with Morton on her website www.mortonsgray.com, on
Twitter – @MortonSGray, her Facebook page – Morton S. Gray Author – https://www.facebook.com/mortonsgray/ and
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/morton_s_gray/
Purchasing links for The Girl on the Beach at http://www.choc-lit.com/dd-product/the-girl-on-the-beach/
Purchasing links for The Truth Lies Buried at http://www.choc-lit.com/dd-product/the-truth-lies-buried/
Purchasing links for Christmas in Borteen Bay at https://www.choc-lit.com/dd-product/christmas-at-borteen-bay/