Welcome to another fantastic stop in our World-building Showcase blog hop! On this stop, we’re highlighting a story where the world changes or ends as we know it, but you can find a full list of authors and topics on the OWS Cycon website. Let’s dive in!
Welcome H. Glogau-Morgan!
1. Before we dive into the nitty-gritty, what is the Midnight to Morning trilogy story about?
The United States has been attacked but not by another country. Nuclear bombs, as well as secondary ones, have decimated it. People are fleeing to refugee camps there and abroad. In the shadows, a secretive U.N. sanctioned special task force is at work. They know who attacked - and know that deadly organization is only getting started with its plans to control most of the world. They know the enemy will not hesitate to poison the Earth in order to achieve their goals. But the secretive task force also has a plan, and at its heart is a woman they’ve rescued from one of the squalid camps…
Go with her as she reaches the midnight of her life. Witness her rescue and amazing recovery. Learn alongside her as she discovers the world is not how it appears to be. Read as those who rescued her teach her how to save countless others. And see how one person can tip scales and change the future so it goes from midnight to morning.
2. Does language play any role in your world? Does everyone speak the same language, or is there variety? Did you invent any new slang or terminology during your world-building process?
As with Earth as we know it, this version also has many languages. Within the task force itself, most speak English or Welsh. However, the translator on the team has the most vital role and speaks over 20 languages. I did invent a couple of new terms throughout the three books, mostly revolving around the future-tech which had been brought into the past.
3. What kinds of climates do your characters experience? Do they see a lot of change or is it always the same? Has your world always had this kind of climate, or has it changed over time?
Due to the effects of multiple nuclear blasts, on top of a streak of severe natural disasters as the Earth starts trying to shake its inhabitants off, there are references to how the climate has changed. The characters end up trapped in several instances because of the unpredictability of the current weather systems. It is changing faster than anyone had expected, but the group believes they can help slow it down if they can prevent future nuclear attacks from happening.
4. Is there any kind of faith system in your world? Did you draw inspiration from any real cultures, living or dead?
I have purposely kept the trilogy bland when it comes to faith systems. The main character has her own moments with it and does sporadically attend a nearby church, but I’ve left anything specific out of all three books.
5. What kinds of transportation and other interesting technology do your characters have access to? Are they ahead, behind, or a mix of different kinds of tech compared to where we are now?
In the first two books, the technology is slightly more advanced than our own Earth’s. Much of it is military use, though there is the day to day objects like the thin tablets everyone uses. There is also the presence of future-tech, sent from another version of Earth over a hundred years into the future. That tech makes some pretty big waves, though not all in a good way...
6. Without giving away too much, what can you tell us about your world-ending event and how it led to the world of your story? Was it a distant event or does it happen as part of your tale?
That is a very good question! Which version of Earth would we be talking about? The one which is almost dead and is trying to save others and who sent the future tech? Or the one the main characters are on? The answers are quite different!
Your Process
7. When you build a world, what is your process like? Do you do a lot of research upfront, wing it completely, or something in between?
Because I kept my story on an alternate version of Earth, I did research into what would be probable within a set number of years. I also added a few unique twists to each timeline, showing the variances which happen as time goes by.
8. How central is the setting of your story to the story itself? Is it more of an interesting backdrop, or is it integral to the events of the story?
What is happening on this version of Earth, as what is happening to the future version is absolutely central to the story. It is why everyone is where they are when they are, and for what reasons they are in existence in that form.
9. How much of a role does realism and hard scientific fact play in your world-building? Do you strive for 100% accuracy, or do you leave room for the fantastical and unexplainable in your world?
I looked for what is probable using the current sciences we have and where it could possibly go in a couple of decades to a hundred years or so in the future.
10. Do you have any specialized training or background from your “real life” that has informed your world-building?
I used to teach Earth Science and Environmental Science, which has helped in developing the various timelines and what could be happening to the planet. I also have connections to lifers in the military and to a few scientists and researchers, whose brains I picked about particular details and long-term effects.
11. How do you keep all of the details of your world and characters straight? Do you have a system for deciding on different factors and keeping it all organized, or does it live more in your head?
It totally lives in my head. I have a single document listing the variances between the timelines and that is it.
Where can people find you on the web?
Thank you so much for having me here today. It has been a blast! (pun intended!) If anyone is interested in the Midnight to Morning trilogy, it can be found at https://www.amazon.com/Holly-Glogau-Morgan (Third book in the trilogy comes out in June!) I’m also on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MidnightToMorning/ and Twitter at https://twitter.com/Mdnght2Morning
For more stops on our End of the World World-building Showcase, visit the tour page on the OWS CyCon website. You can also find more great Sci Fi authors and books on our main Sci Fi event page.
