Hello! Happy 2024! A number that still seems strange and sci-fi and not at all real? Still trying to get used to it, TBH. But I hope that yours is off to a fantastic start.
I am very excited because the first of my 2024 books is coming out in ONE MONTH. Yes! Promchanted, the book I wrote for Disney, is out on March 5th eeeeek!!
Here’s a quick description of what the book is about:
Two modern teens.
One classic fairy tale.
Absolutely no cell service.
Stella Griffin doesn’t believe in fairy tales. Ever since her boyfriend dumped her three weeks before the prom— not ideal timing—she’s convinced every love story is a lie.
She’s ready to skip the prom entirely. But she and her best friend, Nisha, have been planning for years to celebrate at Disneyland before the prom . . . an OG OC tradition. But even being all dressed up at the Happiest Place on Earth isn’t salvaging Stella’s night. Nisha has brought along her friend Reece to join them, and he and Stella do not get along. They’re like oil and water. Cats and dogs. Aladdin and Jafar. And so what if Reece is, fine, kind of cute? Stella’s over it all. Happily-ever-afters, true love’s kisses, princes on white horses. It’s not real.
. . . Or is it?
Because when Stella and Reece push through a hidden door in Sleeping Beauty’s castle, they’re not in Anaheim anymore. They’re in the story. In Sleeping Beauty —with Aurora and Phillip, the fairies, Maleficent, and extremely intelligent woodland creatures.
Unfortunately, they’ve landed right in the middle of the story—which throws things off. Suddenly, Aurora and Phillip are meeting before they were supposed to. The fairies are suspicious of the interlopers, and even Maleficent gets word of their arrival.
Stella and Reece will have to put aside their differences, make sure Aurora and Phillip fall in love, and get the story back on track—because if things don’t end the way they’re supposed to . . . they might never get home.
Will they be able to pull off a fairy-tale ending? And will Stella and Reece get a happily-ever-after of their own?
It’s available for pre-order now should you be so inclined! Here!
I absolutely loved writing this book. It’s my first time doing something with IP, and I’m so thrilled with how it turned out. This whole thing was inspired by my friend Diya (who kindly lent me her name for a character in Firefly). She grew up in the OC, and told me about how teens there would pre-prom at Disney, in their dresses. I always loved that idea - and always thought about how it would be so fun if someone in a prom dress then got pulled into a Disney fairy tale…because they’d be dressed for the occasion. But it was just an idea in my Idea Folder - until my Disney editor reached out to my agent, and asked if I’d be interested in working with their IP. I was like “Yes! And here’s my idea!”
Despite this not being how IP usually works, my editor loved the idea, suggested Sleeping Beauty as the story the characters could be pulled into, and we were off to the races. And last week, my editor and I took a Disney trip together, to bring the book back to where the idea got started.
and then the best thing of all happened…
It’s all super exciting - and I can’t wait for the book to be out in the world soon! It’s full of my favorite things - friendships, slow-burn crushes, fake boy bands, a girl who thinks she’s got it all figured out, spreadsheets, power ballads, magic, and love.
Event info coming soon!!
In the meantime, I’m just working. Putting the very final touches on Darcy & Russell, which is out in May, which is suddenly seeming much closer. If you want an ARC, there’s a Goodreads giveaway happening here!
I’m editing the second Disney book - which I can’t wait to tell you about as soon as I’m allowed. Writing the second Middle Grade book - coming in 2025! Which is, um, next year. Egad.
I've also recently discovered Letterboxd! It’s like Goodreads, but for movies. Here’s my profile. I’m having a blast there - and I’m starting to build lists for my books. But I’ve just done two so far, so I need to keep working on them.
Also, I want to do an AMA (Ask Morgan Anything) soon. If you have any questions, drop them in the comments or feel free to message me on Instagram.
xoxo,
MM
Hi Morgan! I have a question for AMA. It may be a bit too deep but this is what I think about after every YA book I read.
What is your view on romantic love? I want to have the romantic relationship and the magic that we read about. Do you ever feel the same way? And how do you handle it when you can’t have it?
Lots of love,
Idil